Job lost

You can use the Search bar at the top of any page, here in the community, to find answers to most questions.  In doing so, I was able to find multiple threads with the same questions. 

Here is one... If it isn't quite right, feel free to use that Search bar. 

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/reports-and-accounting/write-off-bad-debt/01/53252...

Hello there, @MTV.

You can take the suggestion shared by Just_me above.  If you can’t collect money, you'll need to write it off as bad debt in QuickBooks Desktop. 

First thing to do is create an expense account to track the bad debt. These are the steps that guide you through the process of setting up an account:

1. Go to the Lists menu.
2. select Chart of Accounts.
3. Select the Account menu and then New.
   
4. Select Expense, then Continue.
5. Enter an Account Name, for example, Bad Debt.
6. Select Save and Close.
   

Once done, close out the unpaid invoices by following the steps below:

1. Go to the Customers menu and choose Receive Payments.
2. Select the customer's name.
3. Leave the amount field at 0.00.
4. Highlight the line item that will not be paid.
5. Click the Discount & Credits button.
6. On the Discount tab, make sure to enter the bad debt amount in the Amount of Discount field.
7. In the Discount Account drop-down, choose the bad debt expense account. Then, click Done.
8. Hit Save & Close to record the payment.
   

Once done, you can pull up the Profit and Loss report to check the bad debt account. From the Reports menu, select Profit & Loss under Company & Financial. You can also refer to this article: Write off bad debt in QuickBooks Desktop.  This article provides you steps on how to handle the money you can't collect.

Visit here again if you additional questions. The Community is always here to help you more. Take care!

One More Question if my son had bought material and paid contractors on this job  and  Meals and hotel ,because job was out of town how do I write this loss off

Hello there, @MTV. 

I recognized having the option to change the PAID status stamp to WRITE OFF or BAD DEBT would be beneficial to you and to your business. However, the option to do so isn’t available in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT).

Rest assured our product team is always looking for ways to improve our product to meets the needs of our users. To stay current on our latest news and enhancement, check out our Product Updates page for reference.

For more details, please check the articles below:

• Record a credit memo or refund in QuickBooks Desktop 
• Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop 

Also, The phone support agents will be able to assist you in getting this resolved.

1. Go to https://help.quickbooks.intuit.com/en_US/contact
2. Select QuickBooks for Windows.
3. Click your QuickBooks for Windows version.
4. Choose a topic.
5. HIt on the Get Phone Number button.

Here's a great source where you can find articles that can help you in managing your books in QuickBooks, please visit our QBDT help articles page. This includes topics such as reconciliation, track income, and expenses, run reports, etc.

I'm just a post away if you should have any other questions about how to write off bad debt. I'll be happy to help you out. Wishing you well.

I am going to suggest that recording a loss on this or any job may be much simpler than suggested above. Writing off a bad debt is only appropriate when a debt exists.  A debt will only exist if the customer has been invoiced. If a customer is not invoiced then all expenses recorded as expenses or as work in progress and coverted to expense are just expenses without income. Tax returns do not require one to record profit or loss of each sale,  as it merely reflects the overall profit

Now, if you are on Cash basis, since income is only recorded when payment is made, there is no necessity to write off unpaid invoices, especially if you later want to file a mechanic's license against the homeowner.

However Accrual basis would require writing off any uncollectible debt since income was recorded when invoice was booked.

Easy enough to record a Customer Credit Memo equal to unpaid invoices, posting to your newly created Bad Debt Expense and use c.m. to pay invoices.