
Intuit QuickBooks Discount Error Goes Unfixed - ndarkness
http://blog.ndarkness.com/blog/410/intuit-quickbooks-discount-error-goes-unfixed/
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sram
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 :-)

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ndarkness
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.

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kgermino
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.

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

~~~
kgermino
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?

~~~
ndarkness
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.

