Can't make certain items inactive

I appreciate you for reaching out to us, @exclusive55. Let me outline the steps to resolve the error message when inactivating certain items in QuickBooks Online (QBO). 

To inactivate the employees and vendors, we'll need to run the Unbilled Charges report to view all associated unbilled charges transactions. Then, delete the entry or uncheck the Bill/Billable option. Here's how:

1. Go to Reports and search Unbilled Charges.
2. Set the Report period.
3. In the Rows/columns section, select Vendors or Employees in the Group by dropdown. Then, click Run Report.
4. Select the transaction type to open the transaction.
5. Uncheck the Billable box or click Delete.
6. Select Save and Close.

Once done, proceed to make the vendor and employees inactive.

To make a customer with unbilled charges inactive, refer to this article: Delete customer with unbilled charges in QuickBooks Online.

Moreover, generating insights about your business is a breeze when you run reports in QBO. You may also customize them to filter the information and display only the necessary details.

If you have additional queries about making your customers, vendors, and employees inactive, please don't hesitate to reach out to us for further assistance. We're always open anytime to help. Keep safe.

Thanks, is there a way to to make multiple expenses as unbillable at once instead of going to each transaction and manually making it unbillable because there are thousands of transactions that I would need to make unbillable to make something inactive

Hello there, @exclusive55.

Currently, the feature to make multiple expenses as unbillable at once is unavailable. 

I understand the importance of making multiple expenses as unbillable at once in QuickBooks Online (QBO). For now, I recommend sending feedback about it. We always consider customer feedback when improving or adding features. This will give us an idea of how we may improve the functionality of QBO to meet users' needs and enhance the working experience.

Here's how:

1. At the upper right corner, click the Gear icon.
2. Under the Profile, select Feedback.
3. Enter your comments or product suggestions.
4. Then, select Next to submit a feedback.

You can also check this to track your request: Customer Feedback for QuickBooks Online.

I will also include a helpful article that guides you to run basic financial reports: Run reports.

Let me know if you have any questions about unbillable charges or QBO-related issues. I'm available to provide further assistance.

Do you know why the QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online transfer makes almost everything now active that should be kept inactive in QuickBooks Online?

Thanks for getting back in this thread for further clarification, @exclusive55. I'll share why the status changes when migrating from QuickBooks Desktop to the Online version.

The inactive status will only remain if there are no unbilled charges moved. It's why you get an error message when inactivating certain employees, customers, or vendors involved in the transactions.

In the meantime, you can follow JaeAnnC's instructions above to pull up the Unbilled Charges report for the associated transactions. Once done, delete the entry or uncheck the Bill/Billable option so you can proceed with inactivating them.

Here are some resources you can use to delete an employee, vendor, or customer: 

• Add a vendor in QuickBooks Online
• Delete customers with unbilled charges in QuickBooks Online
• Terminate or change your employee's status on payroll 

I'm adding this reference about the differences between the two products after the transition: Learn how features and data move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.

Feel free to post again if you have other questions about the conversion process. I’d be more than willing to lend you a hand. Have a nice day!