A refundable deposit is a company liability, that can be recorded  and deposited any time, when it is used to pay an invoice or sales receipt is when it is booked as income

There is no cost of sale when accepting a deposit, nothing has been sold.

Resolution for 'company liability issue: 'How can I enter sales deposits and cost of sales into the accounts but relate to next year ie 2017.' available: Yes.

The company liability issue or error code is a known issue in Quickbooks Online (QBO) and/or Quickbooks. Support for this issue is available either by self-service or paid support options. Experts are available to resolve your Quickbooks issue to ensure minimal downtime and continue running your business. First try to resolve the company liability issue yourself by looking for a resolution described in the article. If it is a complex company liability issue or you are unable to solve the issue, you may contact us by clicking here or by using other company liability support options.

For more information about resolving issues related to company liability in Quickbooks/QBO or to get support for the issue 'How can I enter sales deposits and cost of sales into the accounts but relate to next year ie 2017.', click the link below: