FF&EZ handles two types of deposits and there is a specific workflow for each. For more details, see Purchase Order Workflow: An Overview after reading this introduction. 

Client deposits to your firm (billing type 1)

This feature is only used when you require a deposit from a client in a resale type of project. That is, it is the deposit against your sell price that you require prior to your ordering any set of project items. Although you may organize this according to vendor purchase orders, you can issue a deposit invoice against any combination of items, as long as the orders for them exist. The system allows only one client deposit per order, although you can edit the resulting numbers to reflect additional deposit payments. 

Note: An alternative to invoicing client deposits from the Purchasing side of FF&EZ is to use the "Total deposit required" report option that is part of all of the "Quote/Contract" formats on the FF&E Worksheet. This may work better with a lump sum deposit for a project and allows you to use your accounting system to track deposits and apply them against subsequent invoices to your clients. 

We generally recommend that you "officially" invoice your clients from your own accounting system, including deposits, to minimize the effort required for accounting. The client deposit invoice function is provided to supplement that, especially if a loan institution requires a detailed invoice prior to releasing client funds to pay a vendor. For this reason, be sure to note the "Invoice Detail" label option when printing this type of invoice. This allows you to combine a simpler accounting system invoice, using backing detail generated by this FF&EZ process.

Client deposits are handled with entries you make in the "Client Deposit Requirements" section on the Orders List screen and with functions on the Processing Tools screen:

The Print Client Deposit Invoices function let's you create a document listing all items on an order, the total and the deposit required. It can span multiple orders if you wish. 

If a deposit payment applies to single order, you can record it directly on the Orders List screen. If it applies to multiple orders (or deposit invoices), you can use the Processing Tools> Enter Client Deposit Payments function to split the payment across more than one. 

Deposits to vendors (all billing types)

Vendors almost always require a deposit (up to 100%) before they will process an order and typically issue some form of invoice to indicate what is owed. In resale projects (billing type 1), the deposits are what your firm pays to the vendor, while in purchasing management projects (billing types 2 and 3), the deposits are what your client pays to the vendor, either directly or through you as an agent. 

Deposits to vendors are handled in two complementary ways, depending on how much documentation you need:

1. You can record all vendor deposit invoices, the amounts required, and then paid directly on the Orders List screen. This is done in the "Vendor Deposit Requirements" section at the bottom right.
2. You can record vendor deposit invoices and the amounts required directly on the Orders List screen, but use the Processing Tools to issue deposit check requests, which document the order items and deposit amount owed.

In most cases, the resulting deposit payments will cover a specific order, so these payments can be recorded directly on the Orders List screen under "Vendor Deposit Requirements." However, if you are dealing with payments that cover multiple orders from a vendor, you can use the Enter Deposits to Vendors function under the Processing Tools to split the payment across orders.