# Retainer Bank and Liability Tie-Out

Explain differences between a separate retainer bank balance and customer liability without treating them as interchangeable.

## Scope
Preparation and review only. No account action or professional decision.

## Inputs
Bank snapshot; customer liability detail; receipt/transfer IDs; reconciling items; dates/currency; trust/accountant policy.

## Workflow
1. Confirm both snapshots share date and currency; preserve each balance.
2. Match customer receipts and documented transfers to bank entries.
3. Show named reconciling items rather than forcing liability to equal cash.
4. Escalate unexplained differences and account-treatment questions; do not transfer or reclassify funds.

## Output contract
date | bank_balance | liability_total | documented_items | explained_difference | unexplained | review_owner

## Fictional acceptance test
Fictional bank 1000 and liabilities 900 differ 100. A documented 100 operating transfer explains the difference but does not authorize it or prove compliance. Unknown transfer ownership stays held.

## Review gates
Keep original values, source IDs and version dates. Unknown facts stay held. Use qualified review for hiring, legal and accounting conclusions. No send, share, sign-in, scheduling, ledger change or payment. Fictional contract review is not a live account compatibility test.

## Method source
https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/service-items/record-retainer-deposit/L6B5RsY6l_US_en_US

Checked October 8, 2026. Oct8 live GSC through Oct5: marketing copilot 37 impressions, Planable/Claude 33 and Planable/ChatGPT 23, campaign brief 12 and reports 11. Marketing/social topics follow these parent-query leads; other professions follow method-source workflow needs, not exact query measurements. Exact monthly volume is unmeasured.