In webinars, sales calls, support calls and maybe a quick email . . . inquiring minds might want to know about basic capabilities or the depth of robustness.
We apply retainers manually to the final invoices. Is it possible to do this automatically?
Yes, there are two ways to do so.
First, you can turn on Auto Apply Retainer in the Options dropdown button list on the Billing Review screen. After selecting it, click Refresh. BillQuick applies available project retainers (and any client retainers) to the Net Bill Amount for each project bill. This continues until either the retainer available runs out or the bill amount is zero.
Second, if you want retainers to always apply to bill amounts, go to the Global Settings screen, select More, and check Auto Apply Retainer.
The retainer applied prints on the final invoice. A retainer is always applied after taxes.
What’s the best way to apply a retainer for jobs with multiple phases so that the retainer can be applied to any phase?
Record the retainer payment as a Client Retainer. That will allow you to apply the retainer to any job phase.
Should we use the retainer invoice rather than applying a retainer in the Payment screen?
You are a little confused. Retainer invoices are sent to clients to request that a retainer be paid. When a payment is received, you record it on the Payment screen. Once recorded, the monies on account can be applied to a new bill on the Billing Review screen or as a form of payment to an existing invoice on the Payment screen.
Did you change how you handle retainers in QuickBooks integration? In 2009, a retainer payment was synced as a discount. We need it to appear as a payment to accommodate separate bank accounts for income and retainers.
In 2010, we updated our QuickBooks integration. You can now pick the account where retainer income will be posted.
In the QuickBooks integration settings for invoices, what is the difference between Retainer Amount Applied and Retainer Paid items?
Retainer Amount Applied is the amount applied to invoices. Retainer Paid is what you received and recorded as retainer payments.
How do we print a retainer report showing only clients with a retainer balance?
You can view retainer balances (available) on several screens, including Client-Account, Project-Account, Retainer History and Billing Review.
For reports, there are two to check out. Which is best depends on how much detail you want. The reports are Retainer Remaining (less detail) and Retainer Reconciliation Summary (more detail for client and project retainers). Both reports can be found in the Retainer Management category on the All Reports screen.
