Invoicing Retentions from Fergus
When creating an invoice in Fergus where retention is being withheld, you must record the retention as a negative line item allocated to your Retention Debtors account. This is an important step — it reduces the invoiced amount by the retention withheld, ensuring you don't pay GST on money you haven't yet received.
To do this, add a "Retention Withheld" line item to your invoice and select the custom price book entry you created during setup.
Once added, enter the retention amount as a negative value (e.g. -$190.00), then save and issue the invoice as normal.
Fergus will push the invoice to Xero, where it will appear with the retention correctly separated from your trade receivables. From there, you can add the invoice to the relevant contract in Retention Track.
Why this matters: Correctly recording retention at the invoicing stage is the foundation of good retention accounting. It keeps your Retention Debtors account reconciled, prevents GST overpayment, and ensures Retention Track has accurate data to track your balances and trigger payment claims at the right time.