Add, edit, or delete accounts in QuickBooks Desktop
by Intuit•3• Updated 2 weeks ago
Learn how to add, edit, or delete accounts from your chart of accounts in QuickBooks Desktop for Windows and Mac.
When you set up a company file, QuickBooks automatically adds accounts to your chart of accounts that fit your business. You can make changes to the existing accounts or add new ones so you can better track how much money your company has and owes, and how much money comes in and out. Here’s how.
In this article, you'll learn how to:
- Set up account numbers
- Add an account
- Add a subaccount
- Edit an account
- Delete an account
- Make an account inactive
Set up account numbers
You can set up account numbers for your accounts so you can easily identify their account type: if they’re an asset, liability, or equity account.
Note: QuickBooks doesn’t assign account numbers to accounts you add. Instead, you assign account numbers when you create or edit your own accounts.
Add an account
You can add more accounts if you need to track other types of transactions. Here are different account types you can add to your QuickBooks chart of accounts.
Add a subaccount
You can also add subaccounts so you can keep track of specific accounts under a parent or main account. For example, your utility account (parent) has subaccounts for different utility expenses such as gas, telephone, and water.
Note: The parent and subaccount must be the same account type.
Duplicate an account
Edit an account
If you need to, you can also update an account’s type, account number, description, and tax-line mapping.
Delete an account
You might want to delete accounts you don't use to keep your chart of accounts organized. You can only delete an account if:
- You don't use it in any transactions.
- It's not assigned to any line items.
- It doesn't have subaccounts. If it has subaccounts, you need to delete or move the subaccounts to another parent account.
Make an account inactive
You can make an account inactive if you can’t delete it. This hides the account from your chart of accounts and transaction forms.
Note: Inactive accounts still appear in your reports to make sure they’re accurate.
What’s next
With your chart of accounts all set up, you can now enter transactions.
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