Skip to content
DeferSheet › Deferred revenue journal entry

Deferred revenue journal entry

Get the month-end entry that moves earned revenue out of deferred revenue — split by revenue account, with unbilled revenue — and import it into QuickBooks Online or Xero.

🔒 Invoices never leave your browser🧾 Stripe · QuickBooks · Xero · CSV/Excel📊 Excel with live check formulas🆓 Free, no signup

How it works

  1. Export your invoices from Stripe, QuickBooks, Xero or your billing system — or fill in the CSV template. Try the sample company first if you like.
  2. Drop the file. DeferSheet finds the amount, invoice date and service period columns; check the mapping and pick the close month.
  3. Read the results: deferred revenue, current vs long-term, the rollforward and the waterfall — then download the journal entry and the Excel workbook.

Why DeferSheet

For founders, controllers and bookkeepers of subscription and services businesses who close the books monthly — and are tired of maintaining the deferred revenue spreadsheet by hand.

Starts from your invoices

Drop a Stripe invoice export, a QuickBooks Sales by Customer Detail report, a Xero invoice export or any CSV/Excel. Combine several files; DeferSheet maps the columns and skips voids, drafts and total rows.

Exact schedules

Daily proration or equal months, mid-month starts, multi-year prepaids, setup fees recognized at once, billing in arrears, and credit notes netted per contract. Every line adds up to the cent.

Waterfall & rollforward

Opening + billings − revenue = closing, month by month, with unbilled revenue separately. The revenue waterfall shows each month's billings turning into revenue.

Journal entries you can import

The month-end entry split by revenue account, as a QuickBooks Online journal CSV or a Xero manual journal CSV, using your account names and codes.

Current vs long-term

Deferred revenue at the close, split into the next 12 months and later — per contract and in total — ready for the balance sheet.

Private by design

Invoices are processed in your browser tab. No account, no upload, no connection to Stripe or your books. Only your settings are remembered.

FAQ

What is the journal entry for deferred revenue?

When you invoice in advance: debit accounts receivable, credit deferred revenue. Each month-end, as you deliver: debit deferred revenue, credit revenue for the amount earned that month. DeferSheet produces the month-end entry.

My invoices post straight to revenue — does that work?

Yes. Choose “Invoices are posted to revenue” in Settings. The entry then adjusts revenue to the schedule and trues up the deferred revenue and unbilled balances to their correct month-end amounts.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Your invoice files are read and calculated by JavaScript running in your browser tab and are not saved anywhere — not even in your browser. Only your settings (close month, method, account names) are remembered locally. There's no account and no server copy.

What is deferred revenue?

Money invoiced for service you haven't delivered yet — for example the unused months of an annual subscription paid upfront. It's a liability until it's earned, then it moves to revenue month by month.

Which exports work?

Stripe invoice exports and Sigma line-item queries, QuickBooks Online Sales by Customer Detail and invoice lists, Xero invoice exports, Chargebee or any billing system's invoice CSV, and Excel files. You need an amount and an invoice date per line, ideally with service start and end dates or a term.

Is this ASC 606 compliant?

DeferSheet applies ratable (or point-in-time) recognition over the service periods in your file, which is how ASC 606 and IFRS 15 treat most subscriptions and services. It doesn't decide performance obligations, allocate prices or handle contract modifications — review the policy with your accountant.

What's free?

Deferred revenue, current vs long-term, unbilled revenue, the rollforward, the future schedule and a waterfall preview for files of any size, plus journal entries and every download for files up to 50 invoice lines. Pro unlocks the full waterfall, entries and downloads for any number of lines.

More deferred revenue tools & guides