Customer Deposits

A complete guide to collecting, applying, editing, refunding, and accounting for customer deposits.

Overview

A customer deposit is an advance payment collected when a customer drops off a device for repair. It sits as a liability until you apply it to an invoice. ExpeDite tracks deposits separately so your books stay accurate under MFRS 15 (Revenue from Contracts with Customers).

Key principle: A deposit is not revenue when you collect it. It is a liability (money you owe the customer in goods/services). Revenue is recognised when you issue the invoice — not when the deposit is collected, and not when you apply it.

Collecting a deposit

During jobsheet creation

Create a new jobsheet (intake form).
Fill in customer and device details as usual.
In the Deposit field, enter the deposit amount. This is typically a portion of the estimated repair cost.
Select the payment method (cash, card, bank transfer, e-wallet).
Save the jobsheet. The deposit is recorded immediately and a receipt can be printed or shared.

After jobsheet creation

Open the jobsheet and go to the Financial tab.
Click Collect Deposit.
Enter the amount and payment method.
Save. The deposit appears in the device's financial summary.

Multiple deposits: You can collect more than one deposit on the same device. Each deposit is recorded separately. They stay unapplied until you apply them from the Apply Deposit panel — they are not applied automatically.

Applying deposits to an invoice

Deposits are not applied automatically when you create an invoice from a jobsheet. Applying a deposit is always explicit: open the invoice, use the Apply Deposit panel, and confirm. That is the live path — not a fallback.

For example:

Repair cost: RM 200 (revenue is recognised when this invoice is issued)
Deposit collected: RM 50
After you apply the deposit: amount paid RM 50, remaining RM 150

Apply Deposit

Open the invoice.
Open the Apply Deposit panel.
Select from the customer's available (unapplied) deposits.
Confirm. The deposit is recorded as a payment on the invoice. Customer Deposits liability goes down and the invoice amount paid goes up. Revenue is not credited again.

Viewing deposits

You can see a customer's deposit history in several places:

Jobsheet queue — the Deposit column shows the amount with a short method tag before RM (e.g. CASH RM 50).
Jobsheet → Financial tab — deposits linked to that specific device. Amount rows use the same short tag.
Customer profile → Held Deposits — all unapplied deposits for that customer across all devices.
Customer's agreement link — the agreement the customer opens to review and sign shows Deposit Paid directly under their contact details, so they can confirm what they have paid in before signing. The line appears only when a deposit has been collected.
Cash Drawer — deposit transactions appear as incoming entries.

The tag is only a screen shortcut — the method is still stored under the full name you picked. Hover the amount to see that name. Common tags are listed under Record payments.

Editing a deposit

If the deposit you already took is wrong — amount, method, or date — you can correct a held (unapplied) deposit on a customer-owned jobsheet. This is not a new collection.

Open the jobsheet and go to the Financial tab.
Find the held deposit. Change the amount, payment method, deposit date, or notes.
Save. The jobsheet deposit is updated.

You can change:

Amount — e.g. RM 50 to RM 80
Payment method — cash, card, bank transfer, e-wallet
Deposit date
Notes

Till and ledger keep the history. The original cash drawer and journal lines stay on the page. A reversal is posted against those old lines, then a new entry is posted for the corrected amount, method, or date. History is not erased or overwritten — you will see the old lines, the reversal, then the corrected entry.

A notes-only change does not touch the cash drawer or the ledger.

Setting the amount to RM 0 voids the deposit. The old lines are reversed and no new amount is posted.

Applied or refunded deposits cannot be edited. Once a deposit has been applied to an invoice or already refunded, it cannot be rewritten here. Use the refund path below, or a credit note if the deposit is already on a paid invoice.

Refunding a deposit

If the customer cancels the repair or wants their deposit back:

Open the jobsheet and go to the Financial tab.
Find the deposit entry and click Refund.
Select the refund method (cash, bank transfer, etc.).
Confirm. A refund transaction is created and the deposit is marked as refunded.

Already-applied deposits cannot be refunded directly. If the deposit has already been applied to a paid invoice, you need to issue a credit note first, then process the refund.

Deleting a deposit

You can delete a deposit only if it has not been applied to any invoice. This is typically used for a duplicate entry or a deposit taken in error. To change the amount, method, or date of a held deposit and keep it, see Editing a deposit.

Open the jobsheet → Financial tab.
Click the delete icon on the deposit entry.
Confirm deletion. The cash drawer posts a reversal cash-out. The original cash-in is not removed — the cash drawer is append-only.

Applied deposits cannot be deleted. Once a deposit has been applied to an invoice, it becomes part of the payment record. Use a refund instead.

Accounting treatment

ExpeDite follows MFRS 15 for deposit accounting. Here's how deposits flow through the books:

When a deposit is collected

Account	Debit (DR)	Credit (CR)
Cash / Bank	RM 50
Customer Deposits (Liability)		RM 50

The cash increases, but revenue is not recognised. The deposit sits as a liability — you owe the customer RM 50 worth of service.

When the invoice is issued

Account	Debit (DR)	Credit (CR)
Accounts Receivable / Invoice	RM 200
Revenue		RM 200

This is when revenue is recognised under MFRS 15 — when you bill the completed work, not when the customer paid a deposit.

When the deposit is applied to an invoice

Account	Debit (DR)	Credit (CR)
Customer Deposits (Liability)	RM 50
Invoice (Amount Paid)		RM 50

The liability is reduced and the invoice shows more paid. Do not credit Revenue here — that already happened when the invoice was issued.

When a deposit is refunded

Account	Debit (DR)	Credit (CR)
Customer Deposits (Liability)	RM 50
Cash / Bank		RM 50

Both the liability and cash are reduced. No revenue was ever recognised, so no reversal is needed.

When a deposit is edited

The old cash and liability legs are reversed, then a fresh collect is posted for the new amount, method, or date. Example: changing RM 50 to RM 80.

Reversal of the old deposit:

Account	Debit (DR)	Credit (CR)
Customer Deposits (Liability)	RM 50
Cash / Bank		RM 50

Then the new collect posts Dr Cash / Bank RM 80, Cr Customer Deposits RM 80 — same accounts as when a deposit is collected. Notes-only changes skip both. Setting the amount to RM 0 posts the reversal only.

Last updated: 18 September 2026