{"id":2199,"date":"2015-10-01T09:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-10-01T16:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/evergreensmallbusiness.com\/?p=2199"},"modified":"2019-07-01T15:25:39","modified_gmt":"2019-07-01T22:25:39","slug":"how-to-record-revenue-in-quickbooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evergreensmallbusiness.com\/how-to-record-revenue-in-quickbooks\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Record Revenue in QuickBooks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"picture<\/a>This short blog post explains how to record your business\u2019 revenue in QuickBooks. I\u2019ll explain when to use the Create Invoices feature versus the Enter Sales Receipts feature, how those features are different, and why they exist. But first, we need to start with some background information on cash basis versus accrual basis accounting so this all makes sense.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> I did a post a couple of weeks ago about how to record expenses in QuickBooks<\/a>. If you read that, some of this material will look a little familiar. Sorry\u2026<\/p>\n

Cash Basis vs. Accrual Basis Accounting<\/h2>\n

QuickBooks, and general accounting conventions, provide two different approaches to measuring revenue. You want to understand both approaches, which means you need to \u201cget\u201d what\u2019s different about cash basis accounting as compared to accrual basis accounting.<\/p>\n

I summarize the key differences in the little table below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nCash Basis<\/strong><\/td>\nAccrual Basis<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Revenue is recorded<\/strong><\/td>\nWhen payment is received<\/td>\nWhen revenue is earned<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Expenses are recorded<\/strong><\/td>\nWhen payment is made<\/td>\nWhen expense is incurred<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

One other thing to know. Two types of accounts exist in accrual basis accounting which don\u2019t exist in cash basis accounting:<\/p>\n