I often see people asking what the correct procedure is for selling an item that a customer put on layaway and has made deposits on.  There have been people that have simply created a sales receipt and discounted the deposit amount.  This will create problems if you have a QuickBooks financial program linked to your QuickBooks Point of Sale.

Questions?  Talk to our experts at (800) 609-0788.

When a customer puts an item(s) on layaway, you create a Layaway ticket with the customers name, the item(s) put on layaway and typically a deposit is taken.  Over time, the customer may make additional deposits that should be recorded through the layaway ticket.  When the final payment is made and the customer is actually picking the item up, it needs to be sold via that same layaway ticket.  This way all deposits are brought forward to the sales receipt and only the balance will show for the amount due.  In the financial program, the deposits are originally put into an account named Customer Deposits which is a liability account.  When the sale is completed via the layaway ticket, the funds in the Customer Deposits account are moved to an income account like a normal sale.  Step-by-step in POS this would look like:

1.  Create Layaway.  Customer Orders > New Layaway.
2,  Complete the Layaway form like a sales receipt. Scan the item(s) into the document, enter the customer name and take the deposit. If you have a minimum deposit amount or persentage set in Company Preferences you will be prompted for the deposit when saving the document. Otherwise, you can select Take Deposit from the I Want To menu.
3.  Complete the deposit payment screen for method of payment and save the document (Save & Print).

When a customer makes a deposit on an existing layaway:
1.  Open the layaway document. Customer Order List > Layaway List
2.  Versions 10 and newer, click the Take Deposit button.  Versions 9 and earlier – click the I Want To button and select Take Deposit.
3.  Complete the take payment screen as normal.

When the customer makes the final payment and completes their purchase:
1.  Open the layaway document. Customer Order List > Layaway List
2.  Versions 10 and newer – click Sell Items.  Versions 9 and earlier – click the I Want To button and select Sell Item(s).  This will move everything to a Sales Receipt.
3.  Complete the Sales Receipt as you would normally.  When you click on the Take Payment button you will see the total for the items, the deposits taken and the balance due.  Take payment from the customer for the balance due and complete the sale.

Following these steps will keep your reporting on your inventory accurate and also keep your financial reporting correct. 

Interested in a merchant account service that will work seamlessly within QuickBooks Point of Sale?  Call us at (800) 609-0788 to find out about any current promotions and to help expedite the application process.  Be sure to ask about Go Payment, Intuit’s mobile app for processing credit cards!