Please fix this. I want to clean up my chart of accounts by DELETING accounts NOT just INACTIVATING them to sit forever in a cluttered mess. I understand the purpose of preserving accounts that have transaction records in them but that should NOT be the case for accounts with NO transactions. I imagine that would be a simple function to code. If account HAS transactions, therefore, unable to delete. If account HAS NO transactions, therefore, able to delete.

I have almost the same question. I had to split a company. Now I have 2 companies and in each company I now have accounts that are redundant for the other company. If I only make them inactive, they still show in the reports. But since the one company is starting fresh, I don't want the data of the "old" company in the reports. So I want to really delete those accounts. Please help!

Hello @sigitoma,

As of the moment, there isn't an integrated way of completely deleting your accounts even after inactivating them. This is to keep your records accurate in case you need a copy of your data for any reason in the future.

That said, let's customize your report to filter out the accounts you've already inactivated. Let me show you how.

1. Go to Reports.
2. Open the report you wish to review your company's financial accounts.
3. Select Customize.
4. Under Show non-zero or active only on the Rows/Columns section, select Active.
5. Click Run report.

In addition, here's an article you can read to learn more about how you can customize a report: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online.

Lastly, I've got you this helpful article for ideas about saving your report after customizing it: How to Save Customized Reports?

Keep me posted in the comments below if you have any other questions. I'll be here to lend a hand.

Not to be a butt, but this tiny part-time business can't afford to upgrade so that more accounts are available in the chart of accounts, and the lack of ability to actually delete unused accounts appears (and just is) a failure by Quickbooks to save small business owners from having to pay more. Funny enough, this exact problem was in the sales pitch for NetSuite, and why I see so many positive comments on their sales site from former Quickbooks users.

Hey - would appreciate your help here, I'm trying to delete/inactivate an account, but seems like the data continues to show up in profit and loss reports. How do I completely delete the data? It was added by mistake.

I'm not sure if this has changed, but I could only find the option to "make inactive". I used that and it pretty much worked.

Looks like another weakness in QBO. Why so much inflexibility? If an account is created by mistake, why can't you just delete it like you can in the Desktop version of the software? It should not be so hard and avoids a confusing chart of accounts. Any chance of making this minor improvement or are we stuck with an additional problem to add to the list?

100% Agree with this. If the account has no transactions in it, there's should be the option to totally delete it from QuickBooks.

Yeah, I hate this. It's crazy that if you make a mistake there's no way to truly undo it. If an account has no transactions associated with it, then it should be possible to permanently delete it. Additionally, merging an account should merely inactivate the old account, it should move all the transaction to another desired account and delete the one you no longer want!

You guys are disgusting.  This is lies.  Delete this thread it is all lies.  I click the gear icon and the only choice is to "make inactive".  There is no delete.  How do I delete?  I don't want your pitiful out of the box accounts made for 5 year olds who didn't finish 3rd grade.

HOW DO I DELETE?

I cannot make the fixed asset account "inactive".  QBO won't allow that.  I have a feeling it's because there's still a balance but don't know how to zero it out.  I tried making a journal entry to decrease the fixed asset by the same amount as was originally listed when vehicle was purchased but that didn't work either.  The situation is that the vehicle was a total loss, the insurance company paid the lien holder and we no longer own the vehicle.  I was able to make the long term liability account inactive.  I have searched the internet high and low for an answer and can't get a clear one.  I spent 45 minutes with "support" at QB and the "expert" had not clue either.  Hoping someone can answer this question

Good afternoon, @Wilson Electric Works. 

Thanks for chiming in on this thread. 

When making an account inactive, I recommend consulting with your accountant to ensure of how to make the balance $0 and be correct in your books. 

You can also review these guides below to help you out in the future: 

• Make an account inactive
• Manage default and special accounts

Keep us updated on what your accountant suggests. I'm just around the corner if you need me again. Take care! 

I just went back to QBO because the desktop version is a mess now too. I'll make the accounts I don't need "inactive", but I certainly will make sure every business person I know is aware of the foolishness. With the availability of more accounting software, Intuit will soon feel the pain by not addressing a simple issue like deleting an account. Pitiful Intuit, simply pitiful. 

I just wanted to say thank you to other users for providing a solution to getting rid of redundant accounts and freeing up the account usage limit! Official QBO is pretty useless - I called in and the support rep did not offer this solution, nor did my QBO account manager. They told me the only way to free up account space was to upgrade my subscription to the next level up which would be double the cost. Total money grab instead of providing a practical alternative like merging accounts. So thank you, fellow accountants! 

Hello, I actually entered the opening balance of my credit card account incorrectly (there are no transactions) and started another account with the correct opening balance (that has transactions, but no bank feed). Now I have 2 accounts that should be merged. 

Will the incorrect opening balance of the first credit card account cause problems for correct 2nd cc account if I merge them? 

Thanks in advance:)

Sarah. 

Glad to see you here in the Community, ST1818. I can help you combine two credit cards under one account.

No. You can merge them under one account without problem even if they don't have the same opening balance. Please know that once you merge your bank account, you can't undo them.

Merging an account will move all the data into the one you want to keep and remove the duplicate. If the account has reconciliation reports, make sure you've saved them. This way, transactions remain on the merged account and stay reconciled.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Accounting menu on the left navigation bar.
2. Select Chart of Accounts.
3. Locate the account you want to keep. Then, click the drop-down arrow next to View register and select Edit.
4. Take note of the account details and click Cancel.
5. Look for the account you want to merge. Then, click the drop-down arrow next to View register and select Edit.
6. Change the duplicate account's info to match the account you want to keep, and click Save.
7. When you're ready, select Save, and then Yes, merge accounts.

Please refer to this article for more detailed steps: Merge duplicate accounts, customers, and vendors in QuickBooks Online.

Additionally, you can check out this article about the importance of opening balances: Enter and manage opening balances in QuickBooks Online. It also includes some steps on how you can edit incorrect opening balances.

Furthermore, visit this article for the complete process of reconciling your account: Learn the reconciliation workflow in QuickBooks.

Post a reply if you have clarification about merging your bank accounts. I'll get back to you as soon as possible.