I'm glad you reached out to us, francesca-procto.

You can either record the payment as Deposit or Receive Payment for the monthly partial amount. The steps on how to do both ways are outlined below.

To create a Deposit:

1. Go to the +New icon.
2. Under Other, choose Bank deposit.
3. Fill in the necessary information.
4. Click Save and close.

Learn more about recording deposits in QBO through this article: Record and make Bank Deposits in QuickBooks Online.

To receive partial payment:

1. Go to the +New icon.
2. Under Customers, choose Receive Payment.
3. Enter the customer name. Select the invoice by putting a check mark.
4. On the Payment column, enter the partial payment amount (see screenshot).
5. Click Save and close.
   

The status of the invoice will automatically change to Partial. For a more in-depth information about invoice payment, you can refer to this article: Record customer payment in QuickBooks Online.

I'll be right here if you have further questions. Keep safe and have a good one.

How do you record a small loan given to someone and also record the payment when received?

Example:

I give someone a $2,000.00 loan and they pay me back without interest. How would I record this so that the payment does not show like I am receiving $2,000.00 in deposit income?

Also, if I loan someone $12,000.00 and they pay me back $12,500.00. How would I record this transaction?  

Both of these scenarios are a straight loan I did not make invoices because there was no work done. So I figured I did not have to make an invoice.

Can someone please help me as this is so confusing. Thank you

Good day, @cezer2000.

You can create an account of to track the loan you've provided and its payments. I can guide you in doing so.

Here's how to create an account:

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Choose the Chart of Accounts tab.
3. Select the New button.
4. Set the Account Type to either Other Current Assets or Current Assets.
   • Create an Other Current Asset if the loan is to be repaid within the current fiscal year.
   • Create an Other Asset if the loan will be repaid after the current fiscal year.
5. Pick Loans to Others in the Detail Type drop-down.
6. Add a recognizable name like "Customer Loan-LastName".
7. Click Save and close without entering an opening balance.

Once completed, you can create a cheque to record the loan that you've issued. Then, you can create a bank deposit to record the customers payments. You can read through this article for more detailed steps: Track customer loans.

Let me know if you have other questions or concerns. I’ll keep an eye for your response.