Work snippet 17 / 34Payments + accounting
Customer deposits, stage payments and refunds from Jobber into QuickBooks Online
How I'd approach deposits for a premium renovation company on Jobber and QuickBooks Online, so a deposit is a liability until it is applied, refunds are booked properly and the deposits held on open jobs tie to Jobber.
Work snippet with example figures.
- Area
- Payments + accounting
- Tools
- Jobber · QuickBooks Online
- Typical scope
- US$1,800–3,200
- Timeline
- About 5 weeks · 4 fixed milestones
01Context
A premium outdoor living and renovation company with several locations. Jobs run for weeks, are paid in stages after a deposit, and are sold and scheduled in Jobber. The books are in QuickBooks Online and the bookkeeper reconciles weekly.
The systems in play
In the example the company takes a deposit of 25% when a quote is approved, applies it to the stage invoices, and sometimes refunds all or part of it. It also needs the deposits already held on open jobs to move across correctly.
| System | What it does for the business |
|---|---|
| Jobber | Quotes, jobs, stage invoices and card payments, including the deposit taken at approval. |
| QuickBooks Online | The ledger, customers, invoices, payments, credit memos and refunds. |
| Card processor | Takes the payment, keeps its fee and pays out a net amount to the bank. |
| Sales coordinator | Handles approvals, deposits and customer questions about what has been paid. |
| Bookkeeper | Reconciles weekly and answers the customer when a balance looks wrong. |
02Problem
What the owner sees
- Deposits that show up as income the day they are paid
- Customer balances that are wrong after a refund
- No list of how much deposit money is held on open jobs
- A year-end where nobody can explain the deposits liability
A deposit is the customer’s money until the work is done. If it is booked as income, profit is overstated and the first stage invoice looks overpaid or unpaid. Refunds make it worse, because they reverse a payment that was never booked as a liability.
| Everyday situation | What goes wrong |
|---|---|
| Deposit synced as a sale | Income is booked on the day the quote is approved, before any work is done |
| Deposit applied on the final invoice | The invoice shows paid, but the payment sits on another document in QuickBooks Online |
| Refund after cancellation | The refund is entered as an expense or as a negative sale, and the customer balance is wrong |
| Non-refundable part of a deposit | Kept by the company with no entry that says why |
| Deposit moved to another job | Two customers or two jobs end up with the wrong balance |
| Existing deposits | Open jobs already carry deposits that were never booked as a liability |
03Approach
Four steps, in this order. Each one ends with a result that is checked.
- LookA read-only review of 12 months of Jobber deposits, payments and refunds against QuickBooks Online. Nothing is changed.
- Agree the rulesHow a deposit is held, applied, kept or refunded, and which accounts and items carry each step, are written down.
- Set up and connectA liability account, a deposit item and the mapping are set up. Existing deposits are loaded as liabilities, job by job.
- CheckA liability tie-out compares QuickBooks Online to Jobber’s unapplied deposits, every week.
| Item | Example setting |
|---|---|
| Deposit received | Recorded as a customer deposit in a liability account, not as income |
| Deposit applied | Applied against the first stage invoice, so the invoice and the liability both reduce |
| Refund before work starts | A refund payment against the deposit, in full, to the same card or account |
| Non-refundable part | Per the signed terms: moved from the liability to a cancellation fee account, with a note |
| Refund after variation or reduced scope | A credit memo for the amount, then a refund, never a negative sale |
| Processing fees | Recorded as a cost when the payout arrives and not reversed by a refund unless the processor returns them |
| Deposit moved to another job | A written approval, then a journal between the two customer deposit balances |
| Approval | A manager approves any refund above an agreed amount |
04What the setup includes
What the setup includes, and why each piece is there. The detail of how it is configured is agreed in the scoping call.
Show the setup, layer by layer
| Layer | What is set up and why |
|---|---|
| Liability account | A customer deposits account in QuickBooks Online, so held money has a home and its balance is a check in itself. |
| Deposit item | A service item mapped to that account, so a deposit never lands in income. |
| Sync mapping | Jobber deposit and stage invoice mapped to the deposit item and the revenue items, tested on one job for each tax rate. |
| Application step | The deposit is applied to the first stage invoice. Applied and unapplied deposits are visible per job. |
| Refund and credit memo flow | A written sequence for a refund: credit memo, refund payment, note, and the matching processor entry. |
| Opening deposits | Deposits already held on open jobs loaded one by one as liabilities, tied to the bank and to Jobber before anything else is changed. |
| Weekly tie-out | The deposits liability in QuickBooks Online compared to Jobber’s unapplied deposits per job, with a list of differences. |
| Approval and audit | Refunds above the limit need a manager. Each carries a user, a date and the signed terms it follows. |
How the data moves
- Quote approved
- Deposit taken
- Customer deposit liability
- Stage invoice issued
- Deposit applied
- Refund or fee retained if needed
- Weekly tie-out
05Edge cases
These are agreed with the sales coordinator and the bookkeeper and tested on closed jobs first.
| Situation | How it is handled |
|---|---|
| Deposit larger than the first stage invoice | Applied up to the invoice total. The remainder stays in the liability for the next stage. |
| Deposit and final payment on different cards | Each payment keeps its own record, so a refund goes back to the card that paid |
| Cancellation after the deposit | The fee under the terms moves to the fee account. The rest is refunded with a credit memo and a note. |
| Customer pays the deposit twice | The second payment is refunded the same day and the pair is logged |
| Deposit taken on a quote that later changes | The deposit stays at the amount paid. The next invoice shows the difference. |
| Refund after the payout has arrived | Refunded from the processor and recorded against the credit memo, so the next payout is explained |
| Refund after the sales tax return period closes | Handled in the current period with a note, as agreed with the accountant |
| Deposit moved between jobs | Journal between the two deposit balances, approved in writing |
| Job never goes ahead and the deposit is unclaimed | Listed after an agreed number of days for the manager to decide, never written off automatically |
| Customer with several jobs | Deposits stay per job, so a refund cannot use another job’s money |
06Worked example
The tables below use one job and one cancellation with example figures. They show the shape of the checks, not a client result.
| Event | Invoiced | Cash received | Deposit movement | Deposit held |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quote approved, deposit taken | 12,150.00 | 12,150.00 | 12,150.00 | |
| Stage 1 invoice issued (30%) | 14,580.00 | 12,150.00 | ||
| Deposit applied to stage 1 | -12,150.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Stage 1 balance paid | 2,430.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Stage 2 invoice issued (40%) and paid | 19,440.00 | 19,440.00 | 0.00 | |
| Stage 3 invoice issued (30%) and paid | 14,580.00 | 14,580.00 | 0.00 | |
| Total invoiced and total received | 48,600.00 | 48,600.00 |
| Step | Amount | How it is booked |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit received | 12,150.00 | Customer deposits (liability) |
| Cancellation fee under the signed terms | -1,500.00 | Moved from the liability to cancellation fees (income) |
| Refund to the customer | 10,650.00 | Credit memo, then refund payment |
| Deposits liability after the refund | 0.00 | Cleared |
| Job | Jobber, unapplied | QuickBooks Online liability | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| J-7102 | 12,150.00 | 12,150.00 | 0.00 |
| J-7118 | 8,400.00 | 8,400.00 | 0.00 |
| J-7131 | 15,200.00 | 15,200.00 | 0.00 |
| J-7140 | 6,750.00 | 6,750.00 | 0.00 |
| J-7155 | 9,900.00 | 9,900.00 | 0.00 |
| J-7163 | 21,000.00 | 21,000.00 | 0.00 |
| J-7170 | 4,500.00 | 4,500.00 | 0.00 |
| J-7188 | 11,800.00 | 11,800.00 | 0.00 |
| Total, 8 jobs | 89,700.00 | 89,700.00 | 0.00 |
07How the result is checked
Two checks matter most: the deposits liability must equal what Jobber says is unapplied, and no deposit may ever appear in income before it is applied or kept under the terms.
| Check | How | Pass condition |
|---|---|---|
| Liability tie-out | QuickBooks Online customer deposits compared to Jobber unapplied deposits, per job | Equal, or each difference is on the exceptions list with an owner |
| No deposit in income | A profit and loss run on a day when only deposits were taken | Income is unchanged by deposits |
| Test job per tax rate | A deposit, a stage invoice and an application for each rate | Each ties to the cent and carries the right tax code |
| Refund test | A cancellation with a fee and a refund on a test job | Liability is zero, fee booked once, customer balance correct |
| Opening deposits | Loaded balances compared to Jobber and to the bank | Equal before the first weekly tie-out |
| Processor payouts | Each payout checked to its payments, fees and refunds | Bank line equals the payout, with fees booked as a cost |
| Approvals | Refunds above the limit | Each has a named approver and the signed terms attached |
08Scope and milestones
A fixed scope agreed in writing before anything starts. Each milestone is paid when you sign off its deliverable.
| Area | Included |
|---|---|
| Audit | Read-only review of 12 months of Jobber deposits, payments and refunds against QuickBooks Online, a 45-minute call, written findings and a fixed quote |
| Rules | Deposit, application, fee and refund rules in writing, approved by the bookkeeper and the manager |
| QuickBooks Online set-up | Liability account, deposit item, fee account and mapping, tested on one job per tax rate |
| Opening deposits | Deposits on open jobs loaded and tied to Jobber and the bank |
| Refund flow | A written procedure and test cases for full and partial refunds |
| Weekly tie-out | A tie-out report and an exceptions list with owners |
| Approvals | Refund limits and an approval log |
| Handover | Written SOPs, a recorded handover video and files you own, plus 14 days of fixes after go-live |
| Not included | Tax filing and statutory returns. |
| Also outside the scope | Changing the signed customer terms. Chargeback disputes with the card processor. Moving to a different accounting package. Software subscriptions (billed to you by the vendors). |
| Milestone | Deliverable | Timing | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 Audit and rules | Findings, a fixed quote and the deposit rules in writing | Week 1 | 20% |
| M2 Set-up | Liability account, item and mapping working on test jobs | Week 2 | 30% |
| M3 Opening deposits and refunds | Deposits loaded and tied, refund flow tested | Weeks 3 to 4 | 35% |
| M4 Tie-out and handover | Weekly tie-out running, SOPs, handover video, 14 days of fixes | Week 4 to 5 | 15% |
Typical scope for this kind of project: US$1,800–3,200
About 5 weeks across 4 fixed milestones. The Systems Audit (US$300, fixed) comes first and confirms the scope.
Describe what is going wrong between your job system and your books, and I'll say where I'd look first.
Send a short note through the form on the home page. I will reply with where I would start, and whether the US$300 Systems Audit is the right first step.