Couldn't agree more. Voiding a check in a current period is accounting 101 and best practice.   If QB wants to be an accounting system, basic things like this should be fixed ASAP

Extremely ridiculous and couldn't agree more. Voiding a check in the current period is basic accounting 101 and best practice.  If QB wants to be an accounting system, things like this should be fixed ASAP.  

How do you explain that deposit to the auditor in the new year?  I have seen many posts from QB gurus that recommend void and doing all these journal entries that are very confusing to me.  

Hello there, @katy2022.

I can see that you posted a similar concern to other threads here in the Community. If you’re not yet notified of my colleague’s answer, you can click on this link to get routed there: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/payments/re-void-checks-in-closed-period/01/110698...

If you need further assistance with your journals or any transactions, you can always drop by and post them here. Stay safe! 

Does QB realize that these answers, while they work are not the proper way to void a check in the GL.  We should have the option of voiding a check on the day we need to void it, which puts the money back into cash and the payable back into AP on the day we void the check!  It's really very simple; just post the void on the date you actually do the void!!! Honestly, are there any CPAs on staff at QB who review these stupid methods?

In Quickbooks desktop. A payroll check for a prior quarter. 

I know I cannot void it.  I paid payroll taxes. Filed the 941 and ui wage report.

Is an error.  Check was not given to Employee. Should have been voided. It was not and I did not know.

I paid the payroll taxes. I filed quarterly reports.

Those taxes paid. Those wages paid. Should not go into the W2 at the end of this year.

how do I correct it in Quickbooks desktop.

Hi there, @Mgmt1. Thanks for getting back to us. 

You can actually void the check for a prior quarter but you'll need to adjust payroll liabilities. This corrects employees' quarter-to-date (QTD) payroll info in QuickBooks Desktop.

Here's how:
 

1. Go to the Employees menu, then Payroll Taxes and Liabilities
2. Choose Adjust Payroll Liabilities.
3. Select which adjustment is for.
4. Find the employee.
5. Complete the Taxes and Liabilities fields.
6. Click Accounts Affected and then OK.

For more in-depth details about the process, check out this article: Adjust payroll liabilities in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll. 

Once done, you can now void your transactions.
 

You can also visit this article which covers all the steps on how to deal with overpayment in payroll liabilities: Handle a payroll tax refund from an agency in QuickBooks Desktop Payroll.

Let me know if you have any other questions about voiding a check in QuickBooks Desktop. I'm always here to help. Keep safe and have a nice day!

So after reading this entire "help" forum, I'm now more confused than I was before I looked at this forum!

1. FIrst, an answer another Bookkeeper gave to me to avoid all this hassle is to do this: Issue another check outside of QB, then simply change the check number of the old original check instead of voiding it and list in the memo "check reissued on MM/DD/YYYY as replacement" and leave the original check date for the closed period in tact so it doesn't mess up reports.

I know this isn't the correct way, but its the only way to get around the mess that QB wants us to make. And to be clear, this is for straight check payments (including W2 payroll), but does not include any payments made against Account Payables.

But I'm very confused either way as I've been trying to find a better way. Can someone please answer:

What is the way to reissue payment for something that is already included in prior tax years as an expense? My understanding is that all entries from the bank ledger will show on Cash Basis PnL reports (provided to accountant for tax return) regardless of them marked cleared.

I have checks that were issued in 2021 and 2022 that never cashed. My Balance Sheet as of 12/31/22 does not match to my bank accounts because of these outstanding checks. I'm very concerned and confused on how to fix the 2021 outstanding checks especially now that were in 2023???

Hi there, 2rsDigital1.

Thanks for joining this conversation. Allow me to chime in and share information about voiding and reissuing checks in QuickBooks.

Are you using QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) as well? If so, you can use the steps shared by our Community backers in this thread to reissue a check without impacting your prior year's financial.

Here's how to do it:

1. In QBDT, go to the Banking menu and select Make Deposits.
2. Hit OK on the Payments to Deposit window.
3. Choose the account where you want the money deposited.
4. Enter Date.
5. On the Received From column, select the vendor.
6. Click Other Current Liability under the From Account column.
7. Fill in the Chk No and Amount fields.
8. Hit Save & Close.

Once done, here's how to reissue the check:

1. Go back to the Banking menu and select Write Checks.
2. Enter other necessary information.
3. Under the Expenses tab, select Other Current Liability on the Account column, then the Amount.
4. Hit Save, then Print.

To know more about managing deposits and checks, consider checking out these articles:

• Record and make bank deposits in QuickBooks Desktop.
• Create, modify, and print checks.

I also recommend visiting our website for more tips and other resources you can use in the future: Self-help articles.

Please post again or leave a comment in this thread if you have additional questions about this or anything else QuickBooks. I'll be more than willing to help. Stay safe.

I whole heartedly agree! So frustrating the moderators do not understand the questions or how to respond. And a shame QBO is not programmed like the desktop version. There are so many issues with the online version it is hardly worth the cost. By now Intuit should have this figured out!

I understand the deposit method and the journal entry method to voiding a check in a prior period.

How do you reissue the check without affecting the total paid to the vendor so the 1099 total is correct at the end of the year?

It's a pleasure to welcome you to the Community, @sprattwwhss. I'd be delighted to assist you in managing your checks in QuickBooks Desktop.

If you want to reissue your check, you'll need to void then recreate it in QBDT. The total amount of the vendor for 1099 will not change if you create it with the same amount as before.

To void the check:

1. Go to the Vendor Center page.
2. Locate and open the transaction.
3. Select the Delete drop-down arrow and pick Void.

Browse these articles below on how to fix checks if you encounter unexpected results/issues and personalize reports: 

• Create, modify, and print checks
• Understand reports in QuickBooks

 If you ever require more help voiding checks, click the Reply button below. I would be more than pleased to assist you. Be careful. 

My apologies.  I am using QuickBooks Online.  The void in question is a check from a closed period.  How do I re-issue the check without overstating the amount paid to the vendor?

I appreciate the additional details and clarification, sprattwwhss.

If you voided the check, the amount of the transaction will become zero. This means that you can recreate the transaction with out doubling the amount or overstating the vendor's payment in your records. 

Just in case you only want reissue the check without voiding it, you can reprint it with the new checking number. This way, your records will not be affected. I'd be glad to share the steps with you. 

Here's how:

1. Open the check in question.
2. Go to the Check number field and type in the transaction number that you want to use.
3. Click Print check the bottom of the screen.
4. Make sure the check number is correct in the Starting check number field.
5. Select Preview and print. 

Allow me to share these articles as well for additional guidance and references: 

• Print Checks on Blank Check Stock
• Configure Your Print Settings for Printing Checks in QuickBooks Online

The Community is always here if you need anything else. 

You guys and your canned responses are ridiculous!  WE ARE THE ACCOUNTANTS!!  Obviously QBO does not seem to know about accounting enough to know a deleted transaction may affect prior period, but a void takes place in the CURRENT period. You don't take a mulligan for YESTERDAY's score - you take it for TODAY'S!

QBO  HAS TO FIGURE OUT AND CORRECT IT'S SYSTEM TO REFLECT ANY VOID AS OCCURING THE DAY IT IS ENTERED!  NOT WHEN THE TRANSACTION BEING VOIDED WAS CREATED!!!  IF THAT WAS TO BE DONE, THE TRANSACTION WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN CREATED!?  Common sense!  I've seen threads on this going on and on - here and various outlets.  QBO needs to get real and fix what they are doing wrong after all these years!    Worst assistance advice ever!  Just state that it's broken - QBO doesn't know what they are doing and let us be, instead of trying to lie like you have a clue.

The Enterprise/Desktop versions don't void checks correctly either!

Reading this makes me so mad. The amount of research required to do this simple accounting thing.

The amount of responses that include 'talk to your accountant' is also simply mind-boggling. 

There are so many situations: sometimes you are simply reissuing, sometimes you aren't reissuing. sometimes you also need to get rid of the underlying invalid bill. sometimes you are reissuing but from a different account.  

But is there anywhere else you can look for a clear explanation of how to do this VERY BASIC accounting task-- void a check from a prior period without changing that period? 

Is there anywhere where QUICKBOOKS staff has given the best solution?

No, you have to read through page after page after page of people asking the exact same things, looking for the exact situation. You have to read over and over while the responders miss the entire point. 

Then you have to decide which complicated solution to follow. Try it. Check if it works. (Maybe it doesn't, then you have to come back here and read through the solutions again.)

I am thoroughly disgusted with this. Now I know why I've heard 'Quickbooks isn't a REAL accounting system' so often. Because this is UNREAL.

I'm replying to an older post, so Michele-Long-CPA may by now have moved on. I hope not. Anyway, how does this work with an eCheck, which pulls the money from our account when the bank sends out the check, please? The vendor didn't cash the eCheck, so after 90 days the bank stopped payment. I'm trying to reconcile the account, but the eCheck is already checked because it was paid out by the bank 3 months ago. The bank credited our account with the full check amount on this current statement.

If I do a JE to add the money back to the bank to reconcile and then re-issue the check, my question is how does that reduce the amount paid to that vendor?  At the end of the year it is showing that they received 2 checks instead of just the one.  

@Angela29213 

This is a solved thread from over 4 years ago.  Please create a new post.

not if the period is closed.  QBO asks which check you are voiding and it pulls up the the date the check was written on.  if the period has been closed, QBO will tell you you can't do it.  So you have to use a Journal Entry, which is nonsense to me.  I should be able to VOID a check on a specific day in the current period, but QBO doesn't allow for it.

I recognize that voiding your check on its specific day is important for the seamless operation of your business, AROSSI88. I'm here to help you through the process so that you can successfully resolve this issue.

Since QuickBooks Online automatically adds the net income from the previous fiscal year to your Balance Sheet as Retained Earnings when you close your books, the transactions from the previous accounting period are off-limits and cannot be edited without a warning. This is done to prevent any unexpected changes without proper notice that can affect your books.

Therefore, it would be best to create a Journal Entry (JE) to make the necessary adjustments allowing you to track the changes accurately using the Exceptions to Closing Date report.

Here's how to do this:

1. Run the Journal report for reference and filter to the previously closed accounting period.

2. Create a reversing Journal entry to void the transaction.

3. Manually clear the transaction on the register. Refer to Step 2 of this article for the detailed steps: Modify transactions from reconciliations in QuickBooks Online.

Furthermore, as you go through the steps, I'd recommend collaborating with your accountant to guide you accurately.

Additionally, you can check out this reference to learn how to record and track your voided checks in QuickBooks: Record voided checks in QuickBooks Online.

Keep me posted by leaving a reply to this thread if you have more questions or concerns about managing your checks in QuickBooks. I'll get back to you as soon as possible