> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getenso.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Deferred revenue

> Amounts invoiced but not yet recognized.

**Deferred revenue** is value that has been invoiced but not yet recognized as
of a given date. It is not a separate row you always create — it is the gap
between an invoice line item's total and the revenue recognized against it up to
the as-of date.

***

## How amounts become deferred

* **By rule** — a line item whose recognition rule spreads revenue into future
  periods (e.g. `proportionate` across a year) is deferred for the not-yet-earned
  portion. See [Revenue rules](/docs/revenue-recognition/revenue-rules).
* **Explicitly** — create a revenue row of type `deferred_without_date` (no
  start/end date) to hold an amount as deferred with no recognition period yet.
  See [Creating manual revenue](/docs/revenue-recognition/manual-revenue).

***

## The Deferred report

The **Deferred** report is rooted on invoice line items (so lines with no
recognized revenue still appear) and shows, for a chosen as-of date:

```
deferred = invoice line total − revenue recognized on or before the as-of date
```

A line qualifies when that value is strictly positive. This lets you see the
deferred balance as of any period end. See
[Revenue reports](/docs/revenue-recognition/reports).

<Note>
  Recognizing deferred revenue later is done by creating the appropriate `billed`
  revenue rows (manually, or by the line item's rule as time/milestones progress).
</Note>