Intuit QuickBooks Discount Error Goes Unfixed(blog.ndarkness.com)

7 pointsby ndarkness16 anni fa6 comments

blog.ndarkness.com

Intuit QuickBooks Discount Error Goes Unfixed

http://blog.ndarkness.com/blog/410/intuit-quickbooks-discount-error-goes-unfixed/

2 comments

sram16 anni fa

It may appear like a defect, but it is actually doing what I'd consider to be the right thing. (Note: I am an Intuit Employee)

The crux of the matter is: How should the discount be applied, when there are multiple line items - taxable and non-taxable? One way of applying it is to say that the discount will be split equally between the line items that precede the discount.

In your example, there is a discount of $1, and there are two line items, one taxable, the other not. The software splits the discounts between the two line items. So there is 50c of taxable discount applied to item 1 (taxable), 50c of non-taxable applied to item 2 (non-taxable)

Well, then the calculation becomes more apparent. The calculation becomes

( 50c taxable + (50c*8%tax)) + 50c non-taxable

for a total of $1.04.

This way of calculating has been validated over a decade by Quickbooks users and accountants, so I do not consider it a defect. If you want to accomplish it differently, you can always apply a discount to a subtotal. If you look up Quickbooks help, you will find an entry for

'How is sales tax calculated for a discounted sale? '

That explains the behavior in great detail.

Hope this helps. Please let me know if there are additional clarifications needed on this

Thanks for being a QuickBooks user :-)

ndarkness16 anni fa

Thanks for explanation! I do understand your logic and I agree with your math. However the real question is, what is the intention of the discount item? My intention of a taxable discount item is to reduce the taxable items and not the non taxable ones.

Now let’s clarify the events that lead to this blog post. My use of the word “error” came after contacting Intuits support team and being transferred through two levels of support team members. At the end of my conversations with both team members, I was left with what they also called a “workaround” solution, which I have provided here, and told to submit a feature request to address the “problem” in future releases. Now considering you and are an Intuit employee, I don’t have to tell you what a full service plan for QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions costs on a yearly basis. Without arguing over the other benefits of buying this plan, wouldn’t you expect to get a better answer/explanation from at least the second level support tech?

So here is what I propose: If a discount item is used, and there are taxable and non taxable items, allow the user to determine which items the discount should apply to. There may also be an option for default QuickBooks behavior that will use the proportional reduction for all items. This approach should cover any and all circumstances that may arrise and allow for greater control of the discount process without having to group the invoice in a particular order.

Let me thank you for taking the time to involve yourself with this blog post. It speaks volumes for Intuit’s staff and the pride you have in your products.

kgermino16 anni fa

This makes me wonder how many customers had overpaid without noticing the tax problem.

Actually it also makes me wonder how many times I have overpaid for something because I didn't check the register's math.

ndarkness16 anni fa

I actually had quite a few that had overpaid, not to mention overpaying the government.

kgermino16 anni fa

Oh that's fun.

Just curious and if you don't mind answering: Do you know how you will/did resolve that with your customers? Can you go back with the governments involved and get credits?

ndarkness16 anni fa

Luckily, this was the first one for the current year and I just moved the discount below the taxable items and then added the non taxable items. The past, issues we'll call them, have not been fixed and I doubt the government would be very forgiving about this.