When I pay a business credit card with my business account, it shows up as two transactions - + to my card and - from my bank account - do I keep both?

@victoria46  This is one transaction resulting in two events. This is normal in double-entry bookkeeping.

When you pay a credit card bill using your bank account, your bank account balance lowers and your credit card balance lowers. This is necessary in order to preserve your balance sheet; an asset (bank account balance) lowering to match a liability (credit card balance) lowering.

Attempting to delete either event is going to delete both.

@FishingForAnswer is correct, Victoria. This is normal and an essential part of double-entry bookkeeping, where each financial transaction impacts at least two accounts.

This double-entry system maintains the accuracy of the balance sheet. The decrease in an asset (bank account) offsets the reduction in a liability (credit card), ensuring the total balance remains accurate.

• Deleting either entry would disrupt the balance:
  • If you delete the bank account entry: The liability decrease in the credit card account wouldn't have a corresponding asset decrease, leading to inaccurate available funds.
  • If you delete the credit card account entry: The decrease in the bank account wouldn’t be matched with a reduction of liability, leading to an overstated liability.
• Both entries must be kept to reflect the transaction correctly and maintain balanced books.

Attempting to delete either will not automatically delete both, but it will leave your financial records incomplete and incorrect. Thus, keeping both entries is critical for accurate bookkeeping and financial health verification.

The proper method is to match and categorize both entries correctly. For further information and detailed guidance on how to do that, please refer to this article: Categorize money transfers in QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Once done, you might want to check out this article to learn how to review and download transactions: Export transactions and get reports in QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Feel free to drop by again if you have more questions about managing transactions in Self-Employed, Victoria. If you need help with your categories, estimated taxes, or reports, add the details to your reply. I'm here to help. 

@RogelioL 

"Attempting to delete either will not automatically delete both, but it will leave your financial records incomplete and incorrect."

Yikes, have you ever used QB?  You can't delete just one side of a transaction.  There's no need to pile on an additional and confusing answer when @FishingForAnswers 's reply was sufficient.