Ok, cool! So two different bits then:
1. Sending invoices early.
Regardless of when you send the invoice, the invoice date should be reflective of when you want to record the revenue. For example, if you want to recognize the revenue in April, but are sending the invoice in March, be sure to set the invoice date in April. Then, even if you send the invoice early, the revenue is still reflected in the correct period, and you can simply void the invoice using the credit memo as we've discussed if need be.
2. Deposits
Deposits can be a little funky in QuickBooks, but there is a right way to record them so that you do not charge (and owe) HST/PST/GST on them until they become recognized as revenue.
- Under your Invoicing -> Products and Services, create a new item titled Deposit, and link this to a balance sheet account for pre-payments. This will be a liability account showing that a customer has paid you for goods/services not yet delivered.
- Create your invoice for the deposit using this new Deposit item, but do not charge tax (HST, GST, PST) and issue the invoice to your customer.
- At the same time as creating the Deposit invoice, create a Delayed Credit Memo -- +New -> Customers -> Delayed Credit
- This credit reflects the deposit your customer is expecting to make to come off of the later/final invoice.
- When issuing the invoice for the final work, you include all services and items you're billing for, and attach any of the Delayed credits you've created. This has the effect of the final invoice collecting all taxes related to the job, as well as adjusting the invoice appropriately for the deposits the customer has made.
Hope this helps!
