How do I process an American Express credit card payment? (business)

Merchant Account Services lets customers pay you by credit card. Your bank deposits this payment amount into your checking (Chequing in Canada) account several days after the customer pays you, so you'll want to add a cash account to keep track of the fact that your customer has paid you and your bank still owes you money.

1. If you have not already done so, add a cash account.
   • Why is this step important?

     Several days will pass between when your customer pays you by credit card and your bank deposits the payment amount into your checking account. The cash account will help you keep track of the fact that your customer has paid you and your bank still owes you money.

     You need to add only one cash account for each credit card that customers can pay you with.

2. Create an invoice for the customer.
3. In the account with the invoice, manually record the customer payment.
   • How should I fill in the fields?
     • In the Customer list, select the customer you created the invoice for.
     • In the Deposit To list, select the name of the cash account you added to hold your customer payments.
     • In the Outstanding Invoices area, in the Pay column, select the invoice this payment applies to.
4. In your checking account, record the deposit from your financial institution.
   • How do I record a deposit?
     1. Update the transactions in the register for your checking account.
     2. Review your downloaded transactions and accept them into your register. In the Category field, be sure to select the cash account that you added to hold your customer payments. This transfers the record of the payment from your checking account to the cash account.
5. In your cash account, manually enter a transaction for the processing fee, using the Biz Misc category.
   • Why is this step important?
     To balance your cash account, you need to include the cost of the processing fee.
   • How much is the processing fee?
     The processing fee is the difference between the amount your customer paid you and the amount your bank deposited.
   • What if I don't have a Biz Misc category?
     You can create a new category. Make it an expense category and select Schedule C: Other business expenses in the Tax line item list.

1. If you have not already done so, add a cash account.
   • Why is this step important?

     Several days will pass between when your customer pays you by credit card and your bank deposits the payment amount into your checking account. The cash account will help you keep track of the fact that your customer has paid you and your bank still owes you money.

     You need to add only one cash account for each credit card that customers can pay you with.

2. In the cash account, manually enter a transaction in Quicken for the amount the customer paid you.
3. In your checking account, record the deposit from your financial institution.
   • How do I record a deposit?
     1. Update the transactions in the register for your checking account.
     2. Review your downloaded transactions and accept them into your register. In the Category field, be sure to select the cash account that you added to hold your customer payments. This transfers the record of the payment from your checking account to the cash account.
4. In your cash account, manually enter a transaction for the processing fee, using the Biz Misc category.
   • Why is this step important?
     To balance your cash account, you need to include the cost of the processing fee.
   • How much is the processing fee?
     The processing fee is the difference between the amount your customer paid you and the amount your bank deposited.
   • What if I don't have a Biz Misc category?
     You can create a new category. Make it an expense category and select Schedule C: Other business expenses in the Tax line item list.