Retainers

[David Langer]

Hi,

I'm trying to set up a liability account for client funds which will be
allocated to sales when they are paid (retainers).

This is the situation:

A client would pay a retainer, which would be deposited to a bank account
especially for this purpose. At the same time, I will have set up a
liability sub-account account for this client, as in fact, the deposit is a
liability.

In GnuCash I will credit the liability sub-account to the bank account.

But here's the part that confuses me (so far): what happens when a job
associated with that client is paid (in part, for example), by the retainer?
How do I move the money from the retainer bank account, to sales, and at the
same time, account for the change in the liability sub-account? Even more
confusing, how to invoice, and then account for the payment?




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