Hello, Ruthanne Cape Cod.

I appreciate you letting us know the results of the steps you've done. Don't worry I am here to help you.

Here's how:

1. Create an invoice for your customer.
2.  On the last line of the invoice, In the Product/Service field, choose Retainer or Deposit item.
3.  Enter the retainer amount as negative to subtract it from the invoice. An invoice can have a 0 total, but not a negative one.
4.  Select save and close.
    

Doing so will decrease the amount in your liability account and apply the credit to your customer which is now your income.

For future reference, you can check this article that provides helpful steps on how to reconcile: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

Let me know if you have additional questions about deposits. I'm always here to help.