Hi Coop3,
Having outstanding invoices at year end is rather concerning and must be recorded accurately to keep your accounts aligned and your books balanced. In QuickBooks Desktop you can write it off as bad debt when invoices become uncollectible. I'd be happy to show you how!
It sounds like you've taken the step to create an account to track the bad debt, but let's follow these steps, just to be sure:
1. Open the Lists menu and open the Chart of Accounts
2. Select the Account menu and then hit New
3. Choose Expense and then Continue
4. Enter an Account Name
5. When finished, hit Save and Close
Now you're ready to 'close out' the unpaid invoices. Here's how?
1. Select the Customers menu and then Receive Payments
2. Type in the name of the customer in the Received from field
3. Enter $0.00 for the Payment amount
4. Select Discounts and credits
5. For the Amount of Discount, enter the amount you need to 'write off'
6. Select the account you added for the bad debt in step one for the Discount Account
7. Choose Done
8. Hit Save and Close
This will ensure your accounts receivable and net income stay up-to date. You can also review your customers' open balances with the Accounts Receivable Aging Detail report.
Feel free to connect with us again if you have any other questions or concerns. We're here for you!
