Deferred Revenue

What Does Deferred Revenue Mean?
A liability account used to collect deposits and other cash receipts prior to the completion of the sale.

Investopedia explains Deferred Revenue
Deferred revenue is important because it's the money a company collects before it actually delivers a product. For example, a software company sells and receives payment for a computer program before it gets delivered or installed. This doesn't get recorded as straight revenue because, if something goes wrong with the job, the money is at risk.