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Hi there! Have a situation where a "bill.com money out clearing" bank account in the chart of accounts has a negative balance of 300k and it looks like it's all A/P (bills) since there are invoice numbers in the memo column. I've only done very basic bookkeeping till now so this is very new to me but I understand that it needs to be zeroed out somehow.
When I click on the "App transactions" (next to Banking) no apps seem to be synced to QB online so I don't know where these transactions are coming from. Anyway, I have all these payments sitting in the "for review" section and I don't know how to categorize them as I fear doing so may duplicate transactions. To add to the
confusion bill.com takes money out in chunks to cover multiple bills at once so it's not like I can match money going out to transactions in the clearing account.
1. Does it make sense that the A/P clearing account has a negative balance? Shouldn't it be positive?
2. How can I offset this clearing account without having access to the bill.com account which it's supposedly linked to?
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hello there, @M4MU. I appreciate the complete details about the negative balance in your bank. Allow me to help share information so you can record the transactions and it will be posted to the right accounts.
Since we're unable to override the transactions from Bill.com, you'll want to create a journal entry to offset the clearing account so your books will balance in specific ways. Before doing so, I'd still suggest consulting your accountant. They'll be able to share the correct accounts to ensure your books will be accurate. Also, Intuit offers a Find-a-ProAdvisor service for business owners to connect with QuickBooks-certified accountants and bookkeepers.
To create a journal entry, here's how:
Additionally, the negative and positive balance in your A/P clearing account will depend on the transactions you've entered. A negative accounts payable balance occurs when a company owes more money to its creditors than it has in cash like vendor credit or bill-payment checks. While accounts payable account shows a positive balance until you receive payment or pay the bill.
In case you need to reverse a journal entry to swap the debits and credit and categorize your downloaded banking transactions, you can visit our article to be guided in doing it:
You're always welcome to get back to me if you need other help in managing your account. I'm more than happy to assist further. Have a great day!
The Bill.com clearing account is increased by the lump sum of payments made through Bill.com during a sync. This is the amount Bill.com pulls from your bank account to cover the bills you paid. The increase in the clearing account has a corresponding reduction in your bank account (debit clearing account, credit bank account). The clearing account is then reduced by the individual checks/payments made to vendors (debit A/P, credit clearing account). So, it should zero out each month when it is reconciled. The fact that the account is -$300K, indicates the corresponding reduction in your bank account was never entered or, somehow, the payments have been recorded twice. Has the clearing account ever been reconciled? Is your A/P balance accurate? How about your bank balance?
Thank you Rainflurry! The clearing acct has never been reconciled. Not sure about the A/P as I don't have access to the bills. Bank balance is correct. So the first step would be; what do I do with the bill.com charges in my "for review" box? I'm more concerned with taking the right step on my end as I have no control over the clearing acct transactions coming in. Basically, the appropriate bookkeeping approach would be what do I do with the bill.com charges on my end. Thank you.
OK. If the Bill.com Clearing Account has a -$300K balance and the bank account isn't overstated by $300K, then the $300K offsetting amount must be in A/P. In other words, A/P must be $300K understated.
The process when paying bills in Bill.com goes like this:
When you request Bill.com to pay a batch of bills:
Bill.com creates a journal entry: debit (increase) Bill.com Clearing Account, credit (reduce) Bank Account for the lump sum total of all bills paid. Bill.com also marks bills as paid using the Bill.com Clearing Account.
When Bill.com pays vendors:
Bill.com creates bill payments for each vendor bill paid: debit (reduce) A/P, credit (reduce Bill.com Clearing Account).
Does it look like the A/P balance is $300K understated in your register? Another thought: Start by reconciling the Bill.com Clearing Account and see where things got off. Put today's date as the ending date and $0 as the ending balance. Clear transactions a month at a time and payments and deposits should be equal at the end of each month ($0.00 difference). At the end of a month, if the difference is not $0.00, then something's off.
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