Merge duplicate accounts, customers, and vendors in QuickBooks Online

Learn how to keep your accounts, customers, and vendors organized.

If you have duplicate accounts, customers, or vendors, you can merge them. This moves all the data into the one you want to keep and makes the duplicate inactive. Keeping your lists clean speeds up your bookkeeping and makes bookkeeping easier.

Important: Be careful merging. Only merge duplicates that were created in error. This is good bookkeeping practice. If you're an accountant, follow these steps to consolidate multiple client lists at your firm.

Merge duplicate accounts

Keep in mind that merging accounts is permanent. You can't undo this later on. QuickBooks uses some accounts as the default for certain features. These, like accounts connected to online banking, can't be merged or deleted.

Before you continue, make sure you’re in Accountant view.

1. If you're merging accounts that have reconciliation reports, save those reports first. The account being merged may not keep the reconciliation history. The transactions remain on the merged account and stay reconciled.
   Note: If both account registers have an opening balance equity transaction, you'll need to delete the transaction with the most recent date prior to merging. The older transaction becomes the opening balance of the newly merged account.
2. Go to Settings and then select Chart of accounts (Take me there).
3. Find the account you want to keep. Then, select the dropdown ▼ in the Action column and then Edit.
4. Note the Save account under (Account Type), Tax form section (Detail Type), and Account name (Name) of the account. These must be the same between the accounts you want to merge.
   
5. Check if the account is a subaccount or parent account. The names of subaccounts are indented in the Name column of the Chart of accounts list. If it is, note the parent account it's tied to.

You have all the info you need for the account you want to keep. Now let's handle the duplicate:

1. Go back to Chart of accounts (Take me there).
2. Find the duplicate account (the one you won't keep). Then, select the dropdown ▼ in the Action column and then Edit.
3. Change the Account name (Name), and Tax form section (Detail Type) so the duplicate account's info exactly matches the account you want to keep. If you need to make this a subaccount, keep in mind:
   • If you're merging two parent accounts, make sure they don’t have any sub-accounts.
   • If you're merging two subaccounts, make sure they both have the same parent account.
   • If only one is a subaccount, change the Save account under (Account Type) to exactly match the other parent account so it becomes a parent account.
4. When you're ready, select Save and then Yes, merge accounts.

This merges the two accounts so you end up with one. QuickBooks moves past transactions from the duplicate to the account you want to keep.

Merge duplicate customers

Merging customer profiles requires you to delete one manually. This ensures you can move data to the customer profile you want to keep. Learn more about how to merge your duplicate customers.

Merge duplicate vendors

Keep in mind that merging vendor profiles is permanent. You can't undo this later on.

This merges the two vendor profiles so you end up with one. QuickBooks moves past transactions from the duplicate to the vendor you want to keep.