Property records and adviser handoffs · Field guide · October 9, 2026
Track vendor deposits and final balances
Deposits, progress payments and final settlements can be recorded on different documents. Track them against the relevant order or contract so the owner can see the remaining commitment. A payment alone does not establish delivery, acceptance or a particular accounting treatment.
Evidence to assemble
Gather the source records before completing the worksheet. A missing record should remain an open question. Keep the original alongside any summary so the next person can trace the decision.
| Input | Record with it |
|---|---|
| Executed order or contract | Record the source, document date, reviewer and unresolved question. |
| Deposit invoice | Record the source, document date, reviewer and unresolved question. |
| Progress payment records | Record the source, document date, reviewer and unresolved question. |
| Final invoice | Record the source, document date, reviewer and unresolved question. |
Work through the decision
- Connect each payment to a commitment.
- Record revised totals and credits.
- Reconcile the final balance.
- Keep delivery acceptance as a separate milestone.
For each action, name the person responsible for preparing the response and the person who approves it. Record what evidence would close the item. If new information changes cost, timing or scope, update the affected plan and identify who needs the revised version.
Common failure to avoid
Do not treat a deposit and the final invoice as two separate completed purchases. Preserve the relationship between the documents.
Worked example
A hypothetical $6,000 order has a $2,000 deposit and a $4,000 final payment. The tracker shows one $6,000 commitment, both payments and the separate evidence that the items arrived.
This is an illustrative workflow, not a client case study or a forecast. Replace the example’s facts with the records for your own project.
Complete your planning worksheet
Use the fields to connect evidence, action and approval. Your entries stay in this page and are included only when you choose to download them. They are not sent to a server and are not saved after a page reload.
Close the handoff
A finished worksheet should identify the result, its evidence and any remaining owner. If the result is uncertain, record the next action instead of marking the whole task complete. Keep the worksheet with the relevant source file and tell the receiving person which version applies.