Hello there, @MBS3.

Allow me to guide you to record customer prepayments and deposits in QuickBooks Desktop.

To record the customer prepayment and deposit, you’ll need to record a retainer or deposit. This way, the transaction will show correctly in your financial reports.

Let's go over and create liability accounts to track the amount of the retainer you received from your customer.

Here's how:

1. Go to List menu, then click Chart of Accounts.

2. Under Account field scroll-down, then select New.

3. In the Account Type drop-down, choose Other Current Liabilities.

4. Click Continue.

5. Fill in all necessary information, then hit Save and close.

Once done, you can now create a retainer item you can use to receive the deposit or retainer from your customer. See the steps below on how.

1. Go to List, then click Item List.

2. Under Item scroll-down, then choose New.

3. On the Product/Service information window, select Service.

4. Enter a name for the product or service item.

5. Under Account field, enter Trust Liability Account.

6. Hit OK.

That should get you fixed right up. Let me know how it goes or if you're referring to something else by leaving a comment. I'm always here to help.