Closing out unneeded bank and credit card accounts

I have a tip on what you can do about this, Elena.

You'll have to ensure the accuracy and validity of your financial information and that the actual amount spent matches the amount shown leaving an account for the specific period. You can either reconcile your account and then make it inactive or leave it as is. To reconcile, follow the steps outlined below:

1. Start with the first transaction on your statement. Locate the same transaction in the Reconciliation window in QuickBooks.
2. Compare the two transactions. If they match, put a checkmark next to the amount in QuickBooks. This marks it as reconciled. To speed things up, transactions that you added or matched from online banking are already selected for you.
3. If a transaction doesn't appear on your statement but you see it in QuickBooks, leave it unchecked.
4. Compare each transaction on your statement with what's in QuickBooks. If you're sure you've found a match but something small isn't quite right, like the payee, don't worry. Select the transaction in QuickBooks to expand the view. Then select Edit. Make the changes so the details match your statement.
5. When you reach the end, the difference between your statement and QuickBooks should be $0.00. If it is, select Finish now.

Once done with the reconciliation, make the account inactive. Here's how: 

1. Go to the Gear icon and select Chart of accounts.
2. Find the account you want to delete.
3. Select the Action dropdown and select Make inactive.

Additionally, we always recommend not to mix business and personal funds. But if this happens, learn how you can correct this using reimbursement  Consider checking this article: Pay For Business Expense With Personal Funds.

You can always tag me if you have any other concerns about your bank accounts or anything with QuickBooks. I'm always one post away if you need help. Have a nice day!

Hi Maria. Thanks for the explanation. It's not possible for me to reconcile those accounts, so I followed your advice and left them as is and made the two credit card accounts inactive. Now the whole account balance is in the Opening Balance Equity. This is an expense account. Is this the correct way of doing it? Thanks!

Thanks for getting back to us, Elena. I'll explain the details about what will happen when you make an account inactive in QuickBooks Online.

Yes, it's the correct way. Since the accounts you've inactivated have a balance, QuickBooks will automatically create an adjustment entry that will reflect in the Opening Balance Equity account. It's to zero out the remaining balance of the inactive accounts and move them to another account. Please know that your existing transactions don't disappear and stay on your financial reports for recording purposes. However, if ever you decide to use these accounts again, QuickBooks won't move the balance back or change the journal entry.

Moreover, if you want to view all your inactive accounts in your Chart of Accounts, you can visit this link for guidance: See inactive accounts.  

When running a report, you can still see the transactions related to your inactive accounts. Thus, you can customize these reports to hide these transactions on your reporting preferences.

If you have other questions about inactivating accounts or anything else in QuickBooks, let me know in the comments. I'll be glad to share and provide further assistance. Take care and have a wonderful day! 

Hi Julia. Thanks for the clarification. I've tried customizing the Balance Sheet to remove the Opening Balance Equity Account, but I wasn't able to do it. I'm using QBO Simple Start, so maybe this is the reason why?

Great! Thank you so much QBO Team. This is a wealth of information that will help a lot with managing this client's account.

We appreciate your feedback, @ElenaP1.

We're delighted to hear that my colleagues were able to assist you in resolving your concern with QuickBooks. Your satisfaction is our top priority, and we always strive to provide the best possible service to our valued customers like you.

Should you have other concerns in the future, please post them here in the Community. Wishing you all the best!