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How do I enter returns at Lowe's from previous purchases?

Gary Hicks

I just upgraded to 2019 Home, Business and Rental Property. I have never been able to figure out how to enter a return as a negative expense. I am using only the Rental Property features in Quicken to store properties, tenants, rental income and rental expenses, print reports for tax preparation, but no other features of this software. After repair projects I usually have items left over to return for refunds. I can't always tie them back to the original purchase to reduce that amount as I have high volume activity. How do I process a refund in this software? Hope someone can help. Thank you.

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mshiggins

From C. D. Bales:

"I only use the Rental Property tab functions."

That's is a user choice: it is not a Quicken requirement.

ALL the transactions you enter via the Rent Center are placed into regular Quicken account registers.

You could enter all the transactions you have been entering from the Rent Center, directly into the appropriate account register, if you wished.

But for the purpose of offsetting the purchases you previously entered via the Rent Center, just go to the Quicken account register where those transactions were entered.

If the original transactions were entered (by Quicken when you entered them in the Rent Center) in the Spend column in a Quicken cash account; enter the returns (directly) in that same cash account ... in the Receive column.

Preferably, you would use the same payee, category and tag as you did in the purchase transaction. If you don't know the payee or category, you should at least attempt to use the appropriate Property Tag, if you used one on the purchase.

All comments

NotACPA

Enter the transaction as if it were a payment to Lowe's ... and use the same category and amounts as you used for the purchase.

Gary Hicks

I only use the Rental Property tab. Don't see any drop down where I would make such an entry?

NotACPA

SO, how did you record those original purchases? OR, did you not record them in Q?

And, when you receive rent payments, do you not transfer those to a bank account?

Gary Hicks

I only use the Rental Property tab functions. Under that tab I select Add Transaction, Enter Expense, select which property I want from my list I have set up, then enter expense to log the purchase. To enter a Rent, use Add Transaction, Enter Rent, select the tenant from my established list and apply. At the end of year I have everything I need to print reports for tax purposes. I do not use the Quicken checkbook. I maintain a traditional checkbook and bank accounts for deposits and writing checks.

Greg_the_Geek

Can you enter the return as a negative number?

Gary Hicks

No, I have tried that.

GeoffG

Can you provide a screenshot of your register? There is no reason why returns cannot be entered without a better understanding.

Gary Hicks

Attached is a screenshot. I tried to enter a negative $51.00 in the expense tab to represent a return, but won't accept it. That would be logical, but didn't work. I haven't yet found a way. Returns are very common when you have a rental business, doing many repairs, making daily purcahses and taking things back at end of a job, sometimes many weeks after you purchased them.

Quicken screenshot.docx

GeoffG

Gary, can you please re-post your image using the image loader?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6031128/uploads/editor/l9/40nlr5pwkn76.jpg

docx files are not supposed to be able to uploaded and can harbor malware.

Gary Hicks

Not sure how to do that. Never used image loader. Is that using my Android phone?

GeoffG

However you captured the image and inserted into Word, the image is on your PC. Click the icon I highlighted above and you can browse to the image file.

If the image is not on your PC (on phone), then email it to an address you use accessing from your PC and save to your download folder.

Gary Hicks

Here it is.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6031128/uploads/editor/hl/5nuhwmab89p4.png

GeoffG

Perfect, that helps. Couple of issues, and I will profess to not using H&B, but all versions share a similarity. I see you have selected a cash account. Normally Quicken uses checking, savings and credit card accounts. While you can have a cash account, it's not easily tracked. Quicken should mirror your "real life" financial activity. So did you actually purchase this item using cash? Do you solely use cash to operate your business?

Gary Hicks

Ok, interesting! I must have set it up that way 5-6 years ago not knowing anything about why or implications. I don't pay any attention to the "cash account" label and it doesn't tie out to anything. I have monthly charge accounts at major suppliers and charge cards that I primarily use, but I don't need Quicken to track them. Should I change the "cash" to something else that will allow me to enter returns?

NotACPA

@GeoffG Based upon prior statements, including that he doesn't use "Quicken checkbook", I think that this is actually a pseudo-cash-account, that doesn't really exist.

Gary Hicks

That is correct. The number is meaningless, it doesn't exist, I just ignore it.

Gary Hicks

Any other suggestions to be able to process "returns" ?

GeoffG

I have to say I'm a bit confused. You are using a cash account which typically does not get reconciled and so then as you stated the number is meaningless. So why bother with a return at all? If this were a checking or credit card account, you would simply enter the amount as (-) and be on you way. You cannot enter (-) in a cash account because you cannot have negative cash only >0 or 0.

Gary Hicks

I need to process a return to legitimately reduce my previous expense for that property. I now understand why the cash account won't take a negative number. I will poke around and experiment to see if I change the account to something other than cash if it will work without messing up my comprehensive tracking of rents and expenses for tax purposes. Thanks for trying to help.

mshiggins

From C. D. Bales:

"I only use the Rental Property tab functions."

That's is a user choice: it is not a Quicken requirement.

ALL the transactions you enter via the Rent Center are placed into regular Quicken account registers.

You could enter all the transactions you have been entering from the Rent Center, directly into the appropriate account register, if you wished.

But for the purpose of offsetting the purchases you previously entered via the Rent Center, just go to the Quicken account register where those transactions were entered.

Gary Hicks

OK, I will certainly try the "Receive" column to enter a return. I have not tried that before. It makes sense. Thanks.