Deferred Revenue Journal Entry

Deferred Revenue Journal Entry Definition

The following Deferred Revenue Journal Entry provides an outline of the most common journal entries in Accounting. In simple terms, Deferred Revenue means the Revenue that has not yet been earned by the Products/Services are been delivered to the Customer and is receivable from the same.

• It is not Revenue for the Company since it has not been earned.
• It is an advance payment received from Customers for the Product/Services delivered and is a Liability of the Company.
• It is reflected as “Advance from Customers” in the Liability side of the Balance sheet and considered as Revenue as & when its earned. For Example, If a Company receives $100,000 from a Customer for a Product to be made and delivered. In this case, $100,000 would be recorded as Liability in the Balance Sheet and the same shall be considered as Income by writing off the Liability only when the product is actually been delivered to the Customer.

Examples of Deferred Revenue Journal Entry

The following are examples of the deferred revenue journal entry.

Deferred Revenue Journal Entry – Example #1

Suppose a Company A has sold Software to another Company B and received the Subscription Fees for the same of $100,000 per year for the next 5 Yrs.

• In this case, Company A will show$100,000 as yearly revenue and $400,000 would be shown in the Liability side of the Balance sheet as “ Advance from Customers” which subsequently be recorded as Revenue every year for the next 4 Years.
• Journal Entries:

Deferred Revenue Journal Entry – Example #2

Suppose Company A has supplied goods to Company B and received the advance payment of 250000 for the same on the agreement that goods will be supplied next year.

• In this case, Entire Money would be reflected on the Liability Side of the Balance Sheet and nothing will be recorded as Sales since no goods are been supplied to the Customer in Year 1.
• Journal Entries:

Deferred Revenue Journal Entry – Example #3

Suppose Mr.A pays Rent to MrB. For the living in the former house. Rentals are 10,000 per month. Mr. A starts living in the house from December 2018 and pays 120000 as Rentals to Mr. B.

• In this case, If Mr. B prepares his Annual Financials as on 31st March 2019, he will record 30,000 as Rental Income from Mr.A and balance Rs 90,000 will be deferred to next year since the same is not been earned in the current Financial Year.
• Journal Entries in B’s Books:

Deferred Revenue Journal Entry – Example #4

Suppose a Pest Control Company receives a Contract from a Multinational Company for the full year to offer Pest Control Services at the Corporate Office @ 1200000 annually.

• In this case, the Pest Control Company will recognize the Revenue evenly as 1 lac per month since the services are to be rendered every month to the MNC.
• Journal Entries :

While preparing the monthly Financials of the Company, the 12 lakh money received will be apportioned as 1 lakh per month and 11 lac would be recorded as advance from Customer in the Monthly Balance Sheet prepared by the Company.

Deferred Revenue Journal Entry – Example #5

Suppose Company A is allotted a Contract to complete a project for the next 5 yrs and 10,00,000 is the advance given for the same by CompanyB.

• In this case, Company A will recognize the Revenue as per the Completion of the Project. If 50% of the Project is completed at the end of Year 1, 5,00,000 will be recorded as Revenue and Balance 5,00,000 will be shown as Deferred Revenue and will be recognized when the Balance 50% of the project gets Complete.
•  Journal Entries:

Deferred Revenue Journal Entry – Example #6

Suppose Company A sells magazines online to customers @ 1000 per magazine per month. Once the Customer Subscribes for the same online and pays 12,000 annually for the magazine, Company will start recognizing Revenue on a monthly basis for 1000 and 11000 would be recorded as Unearned Revenue and the same would be transferred to Income A/c as and when the magazines are actually been delivered to the Customer.

• Journal Entries for Monthly Accounting:

• Next Month :

• Every Month:

Deferred Revenue Journal Entry – Example #7

Suppose Company A sells Tickets for IPL Series. The Customer buys 10 Tickets Online for different matches. Ticket Cost = 1,000

• In this case, Company A will recognize the Revenue as soon as one match end and the balance amount will be deferred.
• Journal Entries:

• The Balance in the Sale of Tickets Account will be reflected in the Liability side of the Balance Sheet and will be utilized as and when the IPL Match ends. If at all 9 matches are concluded and one match gets canceled, the balance in the Account i.e. 1,000 would continue to be a part of the Liability Side of the Balance Sheet unless the same is been repaid to the Customer as Refund.

Conclusion

Hence Deferred Revenue refers to the advance Revenue the Company receives for Sale of Products/Services for a particular period and only a small portion of it is recognized as Earned Revenue and the balance is shown in the Liability side of the Balance Sheet as Deferred.

Recommendation Article

This has been a guide to Deferred Revenue Journal Entry. Here we discuss step by step Top 7 examples of deferred revenue journal entry along with detailed explanations. You may learn more about accounting from the following articles –

• What is Accounts Receivable Financing?
• Is Unearned Revenue a Liability?
• Interest Receivable Journal Entry
• What is Revenue Recognition Principle?
• What is Deferred Expenses?
• Journal Entries of Contingent Liability
• Accounts Receivable Journal Entry Examples