Void or delete a bill or bill payment check in QuickBooks Desktop

If you record a bill as paid but the vendor never receives the check, you may need to void or delete the transaction to correct your records. Voiding a transaction keeps a record of it with a zero balance, while deleting it removes the history entirely and returns the bill to an unpaid status.

Understand the difference between voiding and deleting

Before you change a transaction, consider how it affects your reporting and history.

• Void a Bill or Payment: The transaction amount changes to zero, but QuickBooks keeps a record of the entry for your audit trail.
• Delete a Bill or Payment: The transaction is removed entirely from QuickBooks. This causes the original bill to return to an unpaid status. Deleting can also cause the Transaction Journal Detail report to show payments without their corresponding bills and removes the bill from the check's transaction history.

Void or delete a single bill or payment

Follow these steps to update an individual transaction.

1. Open the specific bill or bill payment check.
2. Select the Edit menu.
3. Select Void Bill/Void Bill Pmt-Check or Delete Bill/Bill Pmt-Check.

Void or delete multiple bills or payments

Use the Accounts Payable register to manage several transactions at once.

1. Select the Lists menu, then select Chart of Accounts.
2. Double-click the appropriate Accounts Payable account to open its register.
3. In the register, select the bill or bill payment check you want to change.
4. Select the Edit menu, then select Void/Delete Bill/Bill Pmt-Check.
5. Select Record, then select Yes to save your changes.

Results

Your register will update to show the transaction as either voided (zero amount) or removed entirely.