Change the "paid status" of a transaction

It's great that you're getting familiar with QuickBooks Desktop Premier 2020. Let us help you with updating your list of open invoices to unpaid ones in QuickBooks, AlRei263.

We'll need to manage the old unpaid invoices by going to the Customers menu. Then, choose Customer Center and find the customer associated with the invoice, and review their transaction history. Once done, ensure there were no errors in earlier entries or missing payments. Then, record the payment to make the invoices as paid. Here's how:

1. From the QuickBooks Home page or the Customers menu, select Receive Payment.
2. In the Received From dropdown, choose the customer's name.
3. Enter the Amount received.
4. Make sure the date is correct and select the Payment method.
5. Choose the invoice or invoices you'd like to pay.
6. To add a discount or credit, select Discounts and Credits.
7. Press Save & Close.

We can repeat the same steps to all unpaid invoices to mark them as paid. By default, payments are deposited to an account named Undeposited Funds.

For the invoices that are unlikely to be paid, you may need to write them off as bad debt. This ensures your accounts receivable and net income stay up-to-date. We need to add an expense account to track the bad debt. Here's how:

1. Go to the Lists menu and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Choose the Account menu and tap New.
3. Select Expense, then Continue.
4. Enter an Account Name, for example, Bad Debt.
5. Press Save and Close.

Once done, close out the unpaid invoices. Let me guide you on how:

1. Go to the Customers menu and select Receive Payments.
2. Enter the name of the customer in the Received from field.
3. For Payment amount, enter $0.00.
4. Choose Discounts and credits.
5. In the Amount of Discount field, enter the amount you'd like to write off.
6. For Discount Account, select the account you added in step 1, and select Done.
7. Press Save and Close.

You can check out this article to resolve A/R and A/P balances on a cash basis balance sheet report in QuickBooks Desktop: Resolve accounts receivable and accounts payable balances on a cash basis balance sheet. A balance sheet report on a cash basis shouldn’t show A/R or A/P balances since these accounts track open (unpaid) invoices and unpaid bills.

Moreover, you can refer to these articles in managing your financial reports in QuickBooks:

• Understand reports
• Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop

If you require additional assistance with managing your invoices or any QuickBooks-related concerns, feel free to comment below or visit the Community space. We're here to provide the best guidance and support to help you find the right solution for your every concern, AlRei263.

Dear Team,

Thank you very much for the quick and very detailed help. I was very pleasantly surprised by the quick response.
But please allow me one more question: 
In most cases, the cleanup of the "old cases" in the "Open Invoices" list involves transactions that have already been closed. For example, invoices that are no longer recoverable have already been written off. However, the derecognition probably did not take place in the intended way, but through a posting in the journal. This obviously did not set the "paid" status and although the customer has a balance of 0.00, the original posting and the derecognition appear in the list of "open invoices".

So I'm looking for a way to change the attribute "unpaid" to "paid" on the original booking. How can I do this? Or is there a workaround? Otherwise, these invoices would appear "forever" in the report.

Thank you in advance and best regards, Albert

I'm glad to see you here again, @AlRei263. There are changes you'll need to perform to mark that certain invoice as paid. I'll gladly share this with you.

Clearing or posting an invoice via Journal Entry (JE) would cause an issue with the Account Receivable (AR) or Account Payable (AP) Aging Summary report since it doesn't recognize JE.

To easily track and mark this invoice as paid, you'll need to delete the JE and pay it the way QuickBooks designed it. 

Here's how to delete the JE:

1. Go to the Company menu and select Make General Journal Entries.
2. Locate and select the journal entry you need to delete:
   • In QuickBooks for Windows: Select Find and enter the Name, Date, Entry No., or Amount then select Find.
   • In QuickBooks for Mac: Find and select the journal entry you want to reverse from the list on the left side of the Make General Journal Entries window.
3. To delete the journal entry:
   • In QuickBooks for Windows: Double-click the journal entry, then select Delete or Void, then OK.
   • In QuickBooks for Mac: From the Edit menu, select Delete General Journal.
4. Click Save & Close.

Check out this article for more information: Create a journal entry in QuickBooks Desktop for Windows.

After that, proceed to receive invoice payments to mark it as paid. I'll also suggest finding guidance from an accountant to avoid discrepancies in your book.

I'll also add this article if you want to email your customers their invoice summaries, payments, credits, and balances: Create and send customer statements in QuickBooks Desktop.

For additional questions about managing your invoice transactions, don't hesitate to return here. We'll ensure to assist you as soon as possible. Keep safe, and have a good one.

Dear Quickbooks Community,
sorry that I haven't contacted you for a few days now. But thanks for your advice, I was actually able to clean up some bookings with it.
However, one specific case is still open: There are transactions that were booked both at the time of booking in and at the time of derecognition using Journal Entry (JE). I suspect that this is why the bookings appear in the "Open Invoice List" because a "Trade Receivable account" has been activated. There is no invoice here. What to do in this case? The offsetting entry was also often not made as a "write off", but rather, for example, it was a matter of booking the consideration for a sold asset, which was then also done via journal entry (JE).
In these cases, what should be done to get the postings from the "open invoices list"?
Thanks again in advance for any help
Albert

You're definitely on the right track in understanding how entries affecting a receivable account can lead to transactions showing up in the Open Invoice list, @AlRei263. I’m here to provide some valuable insights to help you navigate this situation smoothly.

When journal entries are utilized to record transactions at various stages, like recognition and derecognition, it’s crucial to ensure these entries are accurately categorized. This practice helps prevent discrepancies in your financial reports down the line.

To tidy up your books and avoid similar issues in the future, I recommend reviewing all existing journal entries. Make sure they are aligned with actual invoices or correctly offsetting accounts.

If you have entries that relate to recognizing revenue from a sold asset but have been incorrectly categorized under trade receivables, you can rectify this by linking them to the appropriate account. It’s also a good idea to collaborate with a professional accountant, who can offer expert advice tailored to your specific situation and help ensure everything is in order.

Additionally, for insights on how to handle Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable balances that appear on your Cash Basis Balance Sheet (CBBS), you can refer to this article: Resolve AR or AP on the cash basis Balance Sheet with journal entries.

Please know that I’m dedicated to supporting you on your journey to achieving more accurate financial reporting. If you have any questions or need further clarification, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below. The Community is here to help.

Dear community,
Thank you very much for your help. She helped me a lot and in the meantime I have been able to clean up about 95% of all incorrect bookings. A big step for me and our institution.
However, a few postings cannot be adjusted because they date back a long time and concern a fiscal year that has already ended. Here the entry of a password is required. Unfortunately, there is no one available here in the company who still knows this password.
Is there a way to get ahead here anyway? Otherwise, the wrong entries would appear "forever" in the documents.
Thank you very much for your help and best regards
Albert

We've got some troubleshooting steps for editing the password to make changes to the previous fiscal entries in QuickBooks Online (QBO), AlRei263.

If you forgot the password you used to lock your books, don't worry, we can edit it in QBO. Let's ensure we sign in to QuickBooks as a primary admin or company admin since only admins can make these changes. Once done, follow the steps below to edit and create a new password:

1. Go to Settings and select Account and settings.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Select Edit ✎ in the Accounting section.
4. To change your password, just enter a new password and confirm it.
5. Press Save, then Done.

You can check out this article to learn more about changing your closing date and password in QBO: Edit your closed books in QuickBooks Online.

If the same thing happens, we can turn off the Close the books feature to complete the tasks you need to, such as running the payroll, and then reclose the books. To toggle the close books feature off, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Choose Account and settings.
3. Tap Advanced from the left menu.
4. Click the Accounting section.
5. Toggle the option for Close the books so that it's grey/off.
6. Press Save.

When you're ready to reclose the books, you can return to these settings to turn the toggle back on. You can refer to this article for the steps and details: Close your books in QuickBooks Online.

Moreover, you can check out this article to review and edit your opening balance if you recently added older transactions to your account: Reconcile transactions that are older than your opening balance in QuickBooks Online.

The Community always has your back if you have any other questions about managing your fiscal entries or any QuickBooks-related concerns. This thread is also open for handling your bank and financial entries, AlRei263.