Retainers are advance payments requested from clients, which can then be applied to work for a client in general or a specific project for that client. If you want your retainers to be saved as client retainers, you should only select the client and not the project in the Add Payment dialog of the Payments screen when recording the retainer payment.
In case of project retainers, you can transfer them to other projects of the same client as well as to their clients. You can easily transfer a project retainer from one project phase to another by using the Transfer Retainer option in BQE CORE. These transactions involving transfer of money from one retainer account to another, affecting the liability accounts at the project level. Check CORE Help Center for details on transferring retainers.
In case of client retainers, you can transfer them to their projects. However, to transfer client retainer to another client, it needs to be refunded first and then created again. You then need to make a bill payment to create the check to reflect the refund. This procedure is necessary because of the money trail that is created. When completed, you are left with a new retainer and an offsetting bill payment that needs to be reconciled at the end of the month. Check CORE Help Center for details.
Note: You cannot delete a retainer payment if you have already deposited it or used it for payment of invoices. You have to delete the associated deposits and invoice payments first.