# Retainer Liability Application Bridge

Trace a customer retainer from opening liability through receipts and documented invoice applications.

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

## Inputs
Customer/retainer IDs; opening liability; deposit receipts; signed application amounts; reversals/refunds; currency; accountant policy.

## Workflow
1. Match retainer/customer and currency before summing.
2. Build opening plus deposits minus documented applications minus refunds, with reversal signs explicit.
3. Tie applications to invoices without counting the same cash again.
4. Reconcile to supplied closing liability; ask accountant about policy or treatment gaps; no ledger posting.

## Output contract
retainer | currency | opening | receipts | applied | refunded | reversal | expected_close | ledger_difference

## Fictional acceptance test
Fictional opening 500, deposit 200, application 150, refund 50 gives closing 500 in one currency. Missing application invoice leaves 150 held. Deposits are not automatically earned revenue.

## 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.