How to apply web connect downloads to an outstanding bill? (Avoid double entry)

EBLandmark

I would like to know how to apply an entry from express web connect to an outstanding bill? For ex. I have a tennant who pays their rental fees over several payments. How do I apply this to their outstanding bill? I am currently downlaoding, updating the name and category and applying the tag that I created for that property. But it is still showing as outstanding and when I press "Enter" in the Rent Center it creates a second entry in the same account.

NotACPA

Try using an Intermediate Asset type account.

When the 1st of these multiple  payments comes in, show it as a transfer FROM the intermediate account.  Do the same for succeeding payments until the total due has been paid.  THEN post it to the Rental property account with the funds going TO that intermediate account, thus zeroing it out.

EBLandmark

> @NotACPA said:
> Try using an Intermediate Asset type account.When the 1st of these multiple  payments comes in, show it as a transfer FROM the intermediate account.  Do the same for succeeding payments until the total due has been paid.  THEN post it to the Rental property account with the funds going TO that intermediate account, thus zeroing it out.

Thanks for your suggestion @NotACPA, but I have no idea what you mean by an "Intermediate asset type account". I'm guessing it's kind of a ghost account.

As for the order of things I am somewhat confused as well.
1) Register multiple payments into the rental property account from the "intermediate" account?
2) When all payments are made, press "Enter" in the bill from the Rent Center from the rental account to the intermediate account? Won't the final balance stay in the intermediate account?

Tom Young

The same question was asked here:

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20170676#Comment_20170676

Generally the point is that when you deposit the actual money in your checking account you don't recognize it all as income immediately, only "this month's" rent is recorded as income.  So in order to make a balanced accounting entry you have to temporarily "park" the future income somewhere on your balance sheet.  (Typically that parking spot would be a liability Account but Quicken's programming might insist that the "cash" for the future rental payments come from some sort of "Banking" Account.)

EBLandmark

@"Tom Young" Thanks Tom. Seems like so much of a hassle for something that should be a feature. It would be great if these bills were treated just like an AR where you could apply payments to.

NotACPA

@EBLandmark  I call my Intermediate account "Undeposited Checks", because it's usually used when I've received multiple checks ... but haven't deposited them yet.

When I make a single deposit of those multiple checks, I show the deposit as coming from  "Undeposited Checks", and NOT from my invoices. 

When my clients make payments on their invoices, I direct those payments from the invoices to "Undeposited Checks", until I get around to depositing them.

What I'm suggesting for you a a variation of that process where the single, partial, rent payments FIRST come from your Intermediate account until that account is cleared by you posting everything to the rental account.

EBLandmark

@NotACPA Yes. I think I have the concept now. Since the transactions are downloaded automatically from my bank account using we connect I would just need to move those partial payments to the intermediate account first.

Tom Young

"Seems like so much of a hassle for something that should be a feature. It would be great if these bills were treated just like an AR where you could apply payments to. "

When you establish an Accounts Receivable amount you recognize the income then sit around and wait for the cash to roll in.  If someone pays their bill in dribs and drabs you're going to make however many manual entries it takes for those dribs a drabs to finally add up to the AR amount.  Here the situation's reversed - the money rolled in first and now you're going to let enough time pass and make enough entries to work that amount down to $0.  Not knowing how the business product works, you might even be able to set up an Income Reminder to make the entries for you.

Even easier, if you're a cash basis taxpayer than you're required to recognize all the cash received, when received, even if the payments cover "next year."  So you could simply make one entry for the entire amount, all credited to income.