Here are two use cases to illustrate how QBO creates a problem by blocking matches between bank deposits and receipts of a greater value than the deposit value.
Case #1.
Let’s say, for example, that on Thursday of last week I had just two customers: one customer purchased merchandise creating a sales receipt of $150.00, and another customer purchased a membership creating a sales receipt of $50. The payment processor would collect the $200 from, keep the fees, and deposit the remainder ($179) into my bank account.
If I cannot match the deposit to the sales receipt, refund receipt, and COGS expenditure, then the books will be inaccurate, because QBO will show a revenue of $200 in sales receipts plus a revenue of $179 in deposits from my payment processor.
So, when the deposit shows up in QBO, the correct/accurate accounting is to match the deposit to the two gross sales receipts (+$200), which is greater than the after-fees deposit amount ($179), and then resolve the difference by adding a COGS expenditure for the $21 in fees. Thus, I would be able to accurately track the gross sales, refund, fees, and net sales. Happily, in this case, QBO allows me to do this, because none of the individual receipt values are greater than the deposit value, so it shows me those receipts as options to match to the deposit.
Case #2.
However, let’s imagine that the second customer immediately changed their mind and cancelled the order thus creating a refund receipt of -$50. The payment processor would collect the $200 from both but refund $50 to the second, making a total collected of $150; then it keeps the fees and deposits the remainder ($134.25) into my bank account.
If I cannot match the deposit to the sales receipt, refund receipt, and COGS expenditure, then the books will be inaccurate, because QBO will show a revenue of $150 in sales/refund receipts plus a revenue of $134.25 in deposits from my payment processor. That is incorrect.
So, when the deposit shows up in QBO, the correct/accurate accounting is to match the deposit to the two gross sales receipts (+$200) and the refund receipt (-$50), which totals $150 and is greater than the after-fees deposit amount, and then resolve the difference by adding a COGS expenditure for the $15.75 in fees. Thus, I would be able to accurately track the gross sales, refund, fees, and net sales.
However, QBO will not allow me to do this. It has a cap which blocks matches of deposits with receipts of a greater value than the deposit value, even though I could potentially resolve the difference on the match screen by adding a COGS expenditure!
Instead, on the match screen, it ONLY shows me the second customers’ sales receipt for the membership ($50) and the refund receipt (-$50), because those receipts are each a lesser value than the deposit value. But the match screen refuses to even show me the first customer’s receipt, because that receipt value of $150 is greater than the deposit value of $134.25. And, because QBO unnecessarily blocks matching with receipts greater than the value of deposits, I cannot match it and thus correctly balance my books.
