Prepayment of sales order

Question

Our invoices are numbered the same as our delivery dkts. We have a large order and the customer is going to prepay a 30% deposit. How do I then record this against delivered products? I don't want to lose track of where we are up to.

jenniek · Answer

Hi @VanessaAUT

I would invoice the customer and code it to an account called "customer deposits" in the balance sheet. The may or may not include GST depending on your BAS implications. Then when you invoice the customer for the goods - add an extra line "less deposit paid, and code that back against the same account the deposit went to. That way you are only invoicing the goods once - when they are being sent out, and the deposit is not income until you send the goods.

VanessaAUT · Answer

Thanks for responding.  My problem is that I have to invoice the customer for the 30% deposit so the invoice will be sent to customer and they will pay against that.  As per the article I can't send a nil value invoice to the customer which is a government department.

Unsure how credit gets created.

Princess_R · Answer

Hi @VanessaAUT,

Love that you’re thinking ahead on this! Keeping track of where you’re up to with big orders is a smart move so nothing slips through the cracks.

In AccountRight, you’ll handle this as a customer prepayment. You’ll first create a credit note for the 30% deposit, then later create an invoice to apply that prepayment against the products you’ve delivered, so everything lines up with your delivery dockets and invoice numbers. We’ve got this article that walks through the steps in more detail. And if you’d like advice that’s really tailored to how your business runs, it’s always worth having a quick chat with your accountant too, just to make sure it all fits your setup.

Cheers,

Princess