Tracking "job:" numbers (without using Customer:Job

I've always used, and have turned many others onto this method, an abbreviated job prefix on the bill number line.

An example would be a house being built for XYZ at 12 Something Street. A bill from a vendor with an invoice number of 11769 would look like this:

XYZ12-11769

The above tells me the job first and the bill/invoice number second. No vendor has ever complained of this method since their invoice number is still clearly identifiable thanks to the hyphen.

Well, you could add a custom field to the invoice?

BE CAREFUL!

I believe you posted you were using contractor edition. One of the advantages to contractor edition is the ability to use estimates and progress invoicing. You will not be able to do that if you do not use jobs.

As for the advance payments.. just be sure that when payments arrive they are posted (using the recieve payments window) to the correct job.

Simple.

If you do not wish to keep track that way, you can, alternately, post ALL payments to the parent customer record. All open invoices will show under the parent, and all payments on the parent level can be applied to any open invoice. The main disadvantage to this is reporting. Payments will show at the parent level, and not at the job level, although the balance at the job level will be correct.

The sticky part is with credits. If, however, you create a progress invoice at the time you request a deposit (you can keep it internal if you wish) you can apply the job deposit to the progress invoice, avoiding credits altogether.

Hi Lisa,

Not using the Contractor's Edition and the job function for this company is not nearly so complex as would be a contractor's. In fact, the more I think about it, the job function in this particular case was a poor choice given QB's inability to handle open credits. This is kind of a high-flow business. Some of the regular, long-time customer do two "jobs" per week, and there is usually just a single invoice, or a very few at most for each "job." This has resulted in a really bloated "Customer:Job" list (although they could just make the jobs inactive when they are done...). But the main bugaboo is this *insane* (to me :-)) inability of QB to apply advance payments, or overpayments to any job/invoice you please. They have many customers who just keep money "on account" to cover their ongoing mailings,

*and* with slight variations in actual postage popping up fairly regularly, it's also quite common for them to overpay an invoice. Using the job function in this situation has resulted in lots of extra time apply credits "via" an extra invoice/credit memo and a suspense account.

I sure am learning a lot though....:-).

Thanks for your input.

Stephen Porter LA, CA

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So long as the payments are posted at the top level, the payments can be applied to ANY open customer invoice. There is no need to use extra invoices, credit memos or suspense accounts.

Even if the original payment was left as a credit, it is possible to edit that payment, and apply it to new open invoices.

The trick is leaving the payments at the parent level.

But, if you are not using estimates, then I agree wholeheartedly that setting up jobs for all your invoices will quickly bloat the customer:job list.

Sounds like you are learning quickly.