Corinne needs to record a customer’s payment. Which QuickBooks function would be most useful? Bank deposit Receive payment Create invoice 27
The correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is: Receive Payment
Explanation
When a customer makes a payment on an outstanding invoice in QuickBooks, the most appropriate function to use is “Receive Payment.” This feature is specifically designed to record payments received from customers for goods or services previously billed.
Here’s how it works:
Suppose Corinne had earlier created and sent an invoice to a customer through QuickBooks. Once the customer pays—whether partially or in full—Corinne needs to record this transaction properly to reflect updated balances in accounts receivable and ensure accurate financial reporting. The Receive Payment function links the payment to the original invoice. This not only reduces the customer’s outstanding balance but also ensures that revenue is properly recognized.
Why not the other options?
- Bank Deposit: This feature is used after receiving the payment, to record the actual deposit of funds into a bank account. If Corinne only uses the Bank Deposit function without first recording a customer payment, QuickBooks will treat the deposit as unrelated to any invoice, which can lead to accounting discrepancies and outstanding invoices appearing unpaid.
- Create Invoice: This function is used before receiving payment, to bill a customer for goods or services. It initiates the accounts receivable process. If Corinne has already invoiced the customer, she doesn’t need to create another invoice—she needs to record the payment against the existing one.
Therefore, Receive Payment is the correct and most useful function for Corinne in this context. It ensures accurate tracking of customer payments, maintains clean records, and properly updates accounts receivable. Once the payment is recorded, Corinne can then proceed to use the Bank Deposit function to show the money entering the business’s bank account, if the payment wasn’t deposited automatically via QuickBooks Payments.
