Solved

Negative balance for A/P

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
September 1, 2023
12 replies
99 views

I had 3 open bills on account payable belong to 2021. on June 2023 my boss asks me to make credit for these bills and I did but now I have negative balance for these vendors and negative balance on balance sheet.

How can I fix this?

QuickBooks Desktop

Best answer by QueenC

Thank you so much, @Parvaneh, for taking the time to reach out and provide the necessary details. I truly appreciate your proactive approach in seeking assistance. Allow me to extend my support further by explaining the possible reasons behind the negative balance on your vendors and Balance Sheet in QuickBooks Desktop, as well as providing you with a solution to rectify this issue.

Based on the information you've shared, it appears that you may have accidentally created both a Bill Payment transaction and a Credit simultaneously. This could have resulted in a negative balance, as the bills may have already been paid through the transaction that was created first.

To resolve this, I recommend deleting the credit. Here's a step-by-step guide to assist you:

Begin by navigating to the Vendors menu in QuickBooks Desktop, and then select Vendor Center.
Locate and select the name of the vendor associated with the negative balance.
Within the vendor's profile, search for the vendor credit and click on the Main tab located under the menu bar.
Next, click on the Delete dropdown arrow to access the option to delete the credit.
Once you've selected the delete option, ensure that you save your changes by clicking on the Save & Close button. If prompted, confirm the deletion by selecting Yes.

However, if you haven't performed the scenario mentioned above, it's important to ensure that your Balance Sheet report is accurately filtered to display the correct information. This will help you identify any discrepancies and address them accordingly.

Furthermore, similar to the task of reconciling your checkbook, it is essential to examine your accounts in QuickBooks to ensure they align with your actual bank and credit card statements. If you would like to gain a deeper understanding of this procedure, please feel free to peruse the article I have provided for you: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop.

Thank you once again for reaching out to us. If you encounter any further issues or have additional questions about managing vendor bills in QuickBooks Desktop, don't hesitate to ask. Our dedicated team is always ready to assist you. We appreciate your participation in the Community and look forward to helping you with your QuickBooks needs. Have a fantastic day!

JenoP

QuickBooks Team

Hi there, Parvaneh.

I tested this in my company file in QuickBooks and I was able to zero out the balance. Can you tell us how the credit was recorded and applied?

We just want to make sure that we are giving you the right information and steps to sort this out.

Please reply back to us to share more details. We look forward to it.

P

ParvanehAuthor

hi and thank you for your time.

bill was for 2021 and I did credit on 2023.

Q

QueenC

Answer

Moderator

Thank you so much, @Parvaneh, for taking the time to reach out and provide the necessary details. I truly appreciate your proactive approach in seeking assistance. Allow me to extend my support further by explaining the possible reasons behind the negative balance on your vendors and Balance Sheet in QuickBooks Desktop, as well as providing you with a solution to rectify this issue.

Based on the information you've shared, it appears that you may have accidentally created both a Bill Payment transaction and a Credit simultaneously. This could have resulted in a negative balance, as the bills may have already been paid through the transaction that was created first.

To resolve this, I recommend deleting the credit. Here's a step-by-step guide to assist you:

Begin by navigating to the Vendors menu in QuickBooks Desktop, and then select Vendor Center.
Locate and select the name of the vendor associated with the negative balance.
Within the vendor's profile, search for the vendor credit and click on the Main tab located under the menu bar.
Next, click on the Delete dropdown arrow to access the option to delete the credit.
Once you've selected the delete option, ensure that you save your changes by clicking on the Save & Close button. If prompted, confirm the deletion by selecting Yes.

However, if you haven't performed the scenario mentioned above, it's important to ensure that your Balance Sheet report is accurately filtered to display the correct information. This will help you identify any discrepancies and address them accordingly.

Furthermore, similar to the task of reconciling your checkbook, it is essential to examine your accounts in QuickBooks to ensure they align with your actual bank and credit card statements. If you would like to gain a deeper understanding of this procedure, please feel free to peruse the article I have provided for you: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop.

Thank you once again for reaching out to us. If you encounter any further issues or have additional questions about managing vendor bills in QuickBooks Desktop, don't hesitate to ask. Our dedicated team is always ready to assist you. We appreciate your participation in the Community and look forward to helping you with your QuickBooks needs. Have a fantastic day!

V

vbdoodle

New Member

HI, I have a similar problem where 30 checks were written from the operating account in 2023 and categorized as Accounts Payable, but they were never applied to a bill and a bill was never created for them. There are no open bills. This has created a large negative A/P total. How do I clear these now without affecting the prior year reports?

When I create one journal entry for each vendor, it removes the credit from the vendor account, but it does not remove the checks from the A/P Aging Report. Thanks for any advice.

J

Joemar_B

QuickBooks Team

You must create a bill for each vendor using a current-dated transaction and match these transactions to clear those checks off the A/P Aging Report without affecting the prior year's reports.

The A/P Aging Report is based on open, unmatched transactions. Those checks stay open in the aging until they are linked and applied to something that offsets them at the vendor level. A journal entry can only move the dollar balance, but it will not close those check transactions; that is why the aging report is not cleared.

Create a bill for each vendor (dated in the current period):

Go to Vendors, click Enter Bills, or click the Enter Bills icon on the home screen.
Choose the vendor.
Set the Bill Date to the current period. This ensures your 2023 prior-year financial statements remain completely untouched.
Enter a clear, descriptive reference in the Ref. No. field such as CLEARING-2023 or AP-ADJUSTMENT along with the exact amount of the original unapplied check.
On the Expenses or Items tab at the bottom, select the appropriate expense accounts or items and distribute the amounts accordingly.
Click Save & Close (or Save & New if you have more bills to enter).

Then apply the unapplied check to the new bill:

Go to Vendors, select Pay Bills.
Check the box next to the bill you want to pay.
Click the Set Credits button near the bottom. In the window that opens, make sure the checkmark is selected for the credit or unapplied payment you want to use, then click Done.
Click Selected Bills to apply the credit, verify that the amount remaining to pay is now $0.00, and click Pay Selected Bills.

Please be reminded to have your accountant review this, as the expense recognition shifts to the current period and requires an accounting judgment call.

For further guidance, check out this article: Pay bills in QuickBooks Desktop.

If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We're always here to assist you.

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