Booking Toast sales in QuickBooks Desktop
Why Toast's sales and payments don't match for a day
In short
Toast counts a sale on the business day of the order, and a payment on the business day it's made. When the two fall on different days, that day's sales and payments won't match. Book the gap to one balance sheet account (we call it On Account) so every day still balances. As late payments come in, that account comes back down toward zero.
Why one day's numbers don't match
- Orders not paid yet. A catering order or a house account charged today and paid next week: the sale is today, the payment later.
- Paid on another business day. A tab opened before your closeout hour and paid after it, or a deposit taken today for next week's party.
- Changes to old checks. Toast's report for a past day can change if someone edits or voids a closed check afterwards. Book from the report the morning after, and look into any change to a day you already booked.
How to book the gap
Use one current asset account for it, named something like On Account. On a day with more sales than payments, debit it for the difference. On a day when payments for earlier orders come in, credit it. Here's a catering order over two days, with sample numbers:
| Day | Sales, tax and tips | Payments | On Account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday: a $200.00 catering order isn't paid yet | $3,000.00 | $2,800.00 | Debit $200.00 |
| Tuesday: the catering order is paid | $2,500.00 | $2,700.00 | Credit $200.00 |
| Over the two days | $5,500.00 | $5,500.00 | Back to zero |
If your books track house accounts in Accounts Receivable, that works too. QuickBooks then needs a customer on every Accounts Receivable line.
A few cents that no order explains are rounding. Send those to Cash Over/Short.
Keep an eye on the balance
On Account should go up and down, not keep climbing. If it keeps growing, look at the Unpaid Orders Summary in Toast's Sales summary report for old checks that were never closed or paid.
How OK Book Sync handles it
OK Book Sync counts sales on the order's day and payments on the day they're made, the same way Toast does. The difference goes to the On Account account you pick, and each day's page breaks it down: orders not paid yet, orders paid on another day, and payments for other days' orders. An unusual day, like an unpaid check voided later, waits for you with the reason instead of going in.
New to booking Toast days? Start with how to record Toast daily sales in QuickBooks Desktop.