How can an inactive sub-account have a different account type than the Parent account in QBO's COA?

Hello there, kkurwig.

I know how important for your business to be able to activate the sub-account smoothly. This can help save more time for the business. I’ll help point you in the right direction to resolve the issue.

When you add or modify an account, the process is manually done in QBO. You can run the Audit Log report to see the history of changes made to the company.

Also, the parent accounts and their sub-accounts must have the same account type in QBO. Doing so will help you get clear insights into your business’ health and run detailed reports seamlessly.

Since there are inactive sub-accounts, activate them first and change the account type to the right one. Here’s how to restore them:

1. Go to the Accounting menu to choose Chart of Accounts.
2. On the Chart of Accounts page, click the Gear icon under the New menu.
3. Then, tick the box for Include inactive.
4. From the list, select the accounts you want to reactivate.
5. Tap the Make active link.

Once done, you can go ahead and change the parent account. Here’s an article that will guide you through the process: How to change the type of an existing parent account or sub-account.

For additional resources, tap here to learn more about detail and account types in QBO.

Stay in touch if you need further assistance when working in QBO. I’ll get back to make sure you’re taken care of. Have a good one.

Thank you for your reply but as I already explained - I cannot edit the incorrect subaccounts. 
When I use the edit command it immediately prompts the error message that the account can’t be edited because it’s type doesn’t match the parent account type -  the very reason why I want to edit the account 

And I can’t edit the parent account for the same reason - it brings up the same error 

Hello kkurwig!

QuickBooks Online wouldn't allow you to create a subaccount that has a different account type from the parent account. This is strange that you have existing inactive mismatched accounts. I'm joining this thread so I can help you in fixing it.

One possible reason why there are mismatched accounts is due to a browser issue. Please use an incognito window, then review and edit the accounts from there. Here are some of the shortcut keys:

• Google Chrome: Ctrl + Shift + N
• Safari 11 or newer: ⌘ + Shift + N
• Mozilla Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Microsoft Edge: Ctrl + Shift + P 

Also, please clear the cache. This is a junk file that causes issues in QuickBooks Online. Lastly, make sure your browser is up-to-date. Old versions may result in unusual behaviors too.

Please follow these steps on how to edit it.

1. From the Chart of Accounts, locate the sub-account to change and select Edit from the Action drop-down, 
2. Make sure to clear first the Is subaccount checkbox.
3. Select the new Account Type from the drop-down menu as well as the appropriate Detail Type.
4. Tap Save and Close.

When prompted that changing the Account Type may affect your accounting and reporting, simply select Yes. These steps should unlink the subaccount from the parent one.

If this issue persists, it's best to reach to our Support Team so they can further investigate it.

1. Click the (?) Help icon and enter Talk to a human (then type it again when prompted).
2. When asked by the bot, enter "Mismatch Accounts".
3. Select I still need a human, then proceed with Contact us or Get help from a human.
4. Choose either Chat or Callback.

For more info on how to handle your accounts, please check this link: Learn about the chart of accounts in QuickBooks.

Need more help? Comment again here and we'll reply as soon as we can. Take care!

Thank you for your reply AlexV.

I already tried the incognito window and clearing the cache/cookies as these are the usual first steps when you run into any errors.

It didn't fix it.

I already talked to the QBO Developer team - they can't solve it and don't know how it could have happened that subaccounts and a parent account have different account types.

I'll try the support team again - I believe someone on the QBO developer side needs to fix this. It looks like a software 'glitch'