Jim Merritt - September 28, 2026

In a previous article, we discussed the importance of properly mapping GolfNow activity into QuickBooks® Online.

This companion article goes a little (ok, a LOT) deeper.

If you are responsible for the accounting for a golf course, pro shop, country club, or golf operation using GolfNow, it is important to understand not only which G/L account GolfNow is mapped to, but also:

• What type of QuickBooks® Online account should be used

• Whether the GolfNow export should debit or credit that account

• How payment-clearing accounts should work

• How the daily GolfNow journal entry should balance

• How actual bank deposits should eventually clear the payment activity

The examples below are intended to demonstrate the accounting logic behind a properly designed GolfNow-to-QuickBooks® Online integration.

They are sample mappings only.

Your actual GolfNow setup may require different account numbers, account names, or account structures.

Start With the Accounting Equation

Before looking at the GolfNow mapping screen, it helps to remember the basic accounting rules.

For the accounts we commonly encounter in a golf operation:

This becomes extremely important when reviewing a GolfNow export.

If GolfNow records $5,000 of green fee revenue, for example, we normally expect the Green Fee Income account to be credited.

If GolfNow records money due from a payment processor, we may expect a clearing asset account to be debited.

That debit and credit relationship is what allows the daily journal entry to balance.

Sample QuickBooks® Online G/L Structure

Below is one possible Chart of Accounts structure for a golf operation.

Again, these account numbers are examples.

A Word About the Sales Exchange Account

An exchange or suspense account should generally not become a permanent dumping ground.

It may be necessary for certain GolfNow workflows, but its balance should be understood.

If GolfNow exports a large amount into Sales Exchange every day and nobody can explain what the balance represents, that is a warning sign.

The goal should be to map transactions directly to meaningful G/L accounts whenever the GolfNow configuration permits.

Sample GolfNow G/L Mapping Chart

A practical mapping worksheet might look something like this:

The important thing is not the account number.

The important thing is the accounting purpose.

Sample Daily GolfNow Activity

Let's assume the golf course has the following activity for one day:

• Green Fees: $18,000.00

• Cart Fees: $5,000.00

• Driving Range: $1,200.00

• Pro Shop Sales: $3,500.00

• Food & Beverage: $2,800.00

• Credit Card Surcharges: $120.00

• Sales Tax Collected: $1,560.00

That gives us total customer charges of:

$32,180.00

Now assume the payments break down this way:

• GolfNow/ACH and credit card payments: $29,180.00

• Cash received: $3,000.00

Total payments:

$32,180.00

Everything balances.

Sample GolfNow Daily Journal Entry

The accounting entry might look similar to this:

This journal entry accomplishes two things at the same time.

First, it records the revenue.

Second, it records where the money is located.

The money is either:

• Sitting in cash, or

• Due from GolfNow or the payment processor

That is why the clearing account is so important.

Why GolfNow ACH Clearing Is an Asset

Assume GolfNow has processed $29,180.00 of credit card and ACH-related activity.

The golf course has earned the revenue.

But the money has not yet reached the operating checking account.

That means the golf course effectively has an amount receivable from the processor.

That is why an account such as:

1498 - GolfNow ACH Clearing

may appropriately be set up as an Other Current Asset.

When GolfNow posts the daily sales activity:

Debit GolfNow ACH Clearing $29,180.00

The account now shows money that is expected to arrive.

When the deposit later reaches the bank, the accounting should remove that amount from the clearing account.

Example: GolfNow ACH Deposit Reaches the Bank

Suppose GolfNow deposits the full $29,180.00 two days later.

The entry would effectively be:

Now look at what happened.

The clearing account originally had:

Debit $29,180.00

The deposit creates:

Credit $29,180.00

The clearing balance becomes:

$0.00

That is exactly what we want if the settlement is complete.

What If the Processor Deducts a Fee?

Now let us make the example a little more realistic.

Assume GolfNow or the merchant processor owes the course:

$29,180.00

But the processor deducts:

$580.00

in merchant fees.

The actual bank deposit is therefore:

$28,600.00

The correct accounting needs to explain the difference.

The deposit entry might look like this:

Now the clearing account still clears to zero.

And the $580.00 difference has not disappeared.

It has been recorded where it belongs:

Credit Card Processing Fees expense.

Why You Should Not Post the $28,600 Deposit to Income

This is one of the most common mistakes we see.

The original GolfNow journal entry already recorded the income:

• Green Fees

• Cart Fees

• Driving Range

• Pro Shop

• Food & Beverage

• Credit Card Surcharges

The $28,600 deposit is simply the collection of money related to those sales.

It is not new revenue.

If someone sees the bank feed deposit and categorizes it to Green Fee Income or Sales Income, the business could record the same revenue twice.

For example:

Original GolfNow revenue:

$30,620.00

Then somebody categorizes the deposit as additional revenue:

$28,600.00

QuickBooks® Online may now show:

$59,220.00 of revenue

even though actual revenue was only $30,620.00 before sales tax.

That is a major overstatement.

Bank Transactions Should Match the Accounting

When the $28,600.00 deposit downloads into QuickBooks® Online Bank Transactions, the goal is normally to connect that bank activity to the accounting that has already been recorded.

The bank download is not the accounting transaction by itself.

It is evidence that money moved through the bank.

The workflow should generally be:

GolfNow records the sale

↓

GolfNow export records the accounting

↓

GolfNow ACH Clearing holds the processor receivable

↓

The processor makes the bank deposit

↓

QuickBooks® Online Bank Transactions reflects the deposit

↓

The deposit clears GolfNow ACH Clearing

↓

Bank account is reconciled

QuickBooks® Online's Bank Transactions workflow is designed to bring downloaded transactions into the books for review and matching, rather than making every downloaded item automatically become a new accounting transaction.

Handling a Credit Card Surcharge

Credit card surcharges create another area where mappings should be deliberate.

Suppose a customer pays:

• Green Fee: $100.00

• Credit Card Surcharge: $3.00

Total charge:

$103.00

The accounting might be:

The surcharge is not the same thing as the merchant processing fee.

Later the merchant processor might charge the golf course $2.75.

That is a separate expense.

The two should not normally be netted together without understanding the accounting.

Handling Sales Tax

Assume the golf course sells taxable merchandise for:

$100.00

and collects:

$7.00 sales tax

The customer pays:

$107.00

The accounting should normally separate the revenue from the liability:

Notice that QuickBooks® Online does not show $107.00 of income.

The $7.00 belongs to the taxing authority.

It remains on the Balance Sheet until it is remitted.

Handling Gift Cards

Gift cards require similar care.

Suppose a customer purchases a $100 gift card.

The business receives $100, but usually has not yet earned $100 of revenue.

The accounting might be:

Later, when the customer redeems the gift card for a $100 round of golf:

This distinction is important when designing the GolfNow mapping.

If gift-card sales are mapped directly to income, revenue may be recognized too early.

Handling Refunds

Now assume GolfNow originally recorded a $150 green fee.

Later, the customer receives a $150 refund.

A simplified refund entry could look like:

This reduces revenue and reduces the amount expected from the processor.

Depending on timing, the actual GolfNow export may handle refunds differently.

The important question is:

Does the refund reverse the original accounting correctly?

What Happens When Sales Exchange Is Used Incorrectly?

Suppose GolfNow produces this export:

Technically, the journal entry may balance.

But that does not tell us whether the accounting is correct.

A large debit to Sales Exchange raises questions:

• What does the $33,170.58 represent?

• Is it credit card settlement activity?

• Should it have gone to GolfNow ACH Clearing?

• Is part of it cash?

• Is part of it accounts receivable?

• Is GolfNow using Sales Exchange as an internal offset?

• Is another mapping incomplete?

This is why I recommend looking at the GolfNow Preview Export before sending the transaction to QuickBooks® Online.

A balanced journal entry can still contain bad accounting.

A Better Mapping Example

Suppose the GolfNow preview originally shows:

Debit Sales Exchange — $33,170.58

After reviewing the underlying activity, you determine:

• $28,500.00 relates to GolfNow ACH settlement

• $4,000.00 relates to cash

• $670.58 relates to another payment-clearing source

Instead of sending the entire $33,170.58 to Sales Exchange, a more meaningful structure might be:

Now the Balance Sheet tells you something useful.

Instead of seeing one unexplained Sales Exchange number, you can see exactly where the money should be.

How to Review a GolfNow Export Before Posting

When looking at a GolfNow accounting export, I recommend reviewing it in this order.

1. Look at Revenue Credits

Ask whether each revenue category is going to the correct income account.

For example:

Green Fees → Green Fee Income

not:

Green Fees → Sales Exchange

unless GolfNow's workflow specifically requires an intermediate entry that is subsequently cleared.

2. Review Sales Tax

Sales tax should generally go to a liability account rather than income.

3. Review Payment Debits

Ask:

Where is the money?

If the money is sitting with a processor, the debit may belong in a clearing asset account.

4. Review Exchange Accounts

Any large amount going into Sales Exchange should be understood.

5. Confirm Debits Equal Credits

The journal entry must balance.

But remember:

Balancing is the minimum requirement—not proof that the accounting is right.

6. Trace the Entry to the Bank

You should eventually be able to trace processor activity from:

GolfNow → Clearing Account → Bank Deposit

If you cannot, the clearing account will begin accumulating unexplained balances.

What Should the GolfNow ACH Clearing Balance Look Like?

A clearing account does not necessarily have to equal zero every night.

Timing differences are normal.

For example:

• Friday's transactions may not settle until Monday.

• Refunds may settle on a different date.

• Weekend activity may accumulate.

• Merchant fees may be withdrawn separately.

• Multiple batches may settle together.

Therefore, you may see a temporary balance.

What matters is whether you can explain it.

A useful reconciliation might look like:

If QuickBooks® Online shows:

GolfNow ACH Clearing = $46,000.00

you may be in good shape.

If it shows:

$127,438.52

you need to determine what makes up the difference.

Red Flags to Watch For

When reviewing GolfNow-to-QuickBooks® Online accounting, I become concerned when I see:

• Large unexplained Sales Exchange balances

• GolfNow ACH Clearing balances that never clear

• Bank deposits posted directly to income

• Sales tax included in revenue

• Merchant fees netted against income

• Credit card surcharges mixed into unrelated income accounts

• Gift-card sales recorded as immediate revenue

• Duplicate GolfNow journal entries

• Deleted GolfNow-created journal entries

• Bank feed transactions added instead of matched

• Users manually changing GolfNow-created transactions without understanding the integration

Any one of these can make the Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet unreliable.

Create a GolfNow Mapping Control Sheet

One of the best things a golf operation can do is create a permanent GolfNow G/L mapping worksheet.

For example:

Then add a column showing:

Date Last Verified

and another showing:

Verified By

That creates accountability and helps prevent somebody from changing mappings months later without understanding why the accounts were originally selected.

Test Before Going Live

Whenever you change GolfNow mappings, do not immediately export weeks or months of activity.

Start with one day's transactions.

Then compare:

• GolfNow Daily Report

• GolfNow Preview Export

• QuickBooks® Online journal entry

• GolfNow ACH Clearing

• Bank deposit

• Sales tax

• Profit & Loss

• Balance Sheet

If the entire chain works correctly for one day, test another day.

Only after you understand the results should you depend on the mapping for ongoing accounting.

GolfNow markets its business platform as an integrated golf-management system covering areas such as tee-sheet management, POS, food and beverage, and other operational functions, which is exactly why the accounting mappings behind that operational data deserve careful review.

The Goal Is Not Just a Balanced Journal Entry

The goal of a GolfNow-to-QuickBooks® Online integration is not simply:

Debits = Credits

The goal is:

Accurate Revenue

Accurate Liabilities

Accurate Clearing Accounts

Accurate Bank Deposits

Accurate Financial Statements

A beautifully balanced journal entry posted to the wrong accounts is still wrong.

The accounting should tell the story of what actually happened.

QuickTrainer Can Help Review Your GolfNow Mappings

At QuickTrainer, we can help golf courses and golf shops review the entire workflow—not just the GolfNow mapping screen.

That includes:

• GolfNow G/L mapping review

• QuickBooks® Online Chart of Accounts design

• GolfNow ACH Clearing setup

• Sales Exchange analysis

• Credit card surcharge mapping

• Merchant fee accounting

• Sales-tax mapping

• GolfNow journal-entry review

• Bank Transactions workflow

• Matching GolfNow deposits

• Clearing-account reconciliation

• Historical cleanup

• Staff training

• Written accounting procedures

If your GolfNow export balances but the numbers in QuickBooks® Online still do not make sense, the solution is often to trace the accounting from the original GolfNow transaction all the way through to the bank.

That is where the real answer usually appears.

QuickTrainer, Inc. — Training and Support for QuickBooks® Users

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QuickTrainer, Inc. is an independent accounting and consulting company and is not affiliated with or employed by Intuit Inc. or GolfNow. Intuit and QuickBooks are trademarks and service marks of Intuit Inc. GolfNow and other product names referenced herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.