Why does it keep telling me that my billable expense account is not associated with an income account?? Everything looks as it should....

When you set a reimbursable expense account, in company settings there will be a choice to choose the associated income account, you must choose an income account.  I can not remember what section that is in though.

Welcome to the Community, @userfisetk01. I'm here to share some insights about the possible reason for the error message you're getting when entering a billable expense in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

It could be that the second option (In multiple accounts) when you turned on the Track Billable expenses and items as income in your company settings is chosen. 

If this is the case, you'll need to assign the desired billable expense account(s) to an income account. Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear icon at the top right.
2. Select the Chart of Accounts under Your Company column.
3. Locate the desired expense account and click Edit on the Run Report drop-down under the Action column.
4. Check the Use for billable expenses in the Account screen, then select the desired Income Account from the drop-down menu.
5. Click Save and close.

Once done, recreate the billable expense and save it. For more details, you can also check out these articles for further guidance:

• QuickBooks Online Sync Error: QuickBooks Online Business Validation Error: An account you chose for ....
• How to enter billable expenses.

I'm only a few clicks away if you have any additional questions about your billable expenses in QuickBooks. Have a good one. 

1. Hi, I am following your instruction but I don't see the following option"
2. "Check the Use for billable expenses in the Account screen, then select the desired Income Account from the drop-down menu."

Thanks,

Ezia

Don't worry, @accountingdsy. I've got you covered! I'll outline the detailed steps for selecting an income account for billable expenses, along with some screenshots.

If the setting for billable expenses is set for multiple income accounts, you won't be able to assign income accounts to expense accounts in Accountant view. We'll need to switch to Business view to associate your expense and the income accounts.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear icon on the upper right side.
2. Click Switch to Accountant/Business view. 
   
3. Refresh your browser.

Then, let's make sure the Billable expense feature is set for multiple accounts:

1. Go to the Gear icon and choose Accounts and Settings.
2. Select the Expenses tab.
3. From the Bills and expenses section, click Edit.
4. Under Track billable expenses and items as income, select In multiple accounts.
   
   
5. Select Save.

Once done, you can follow the steps provided by my colleague to link your expense and the income accounts.

Additionally, you may utilize the Projects feature in QuickBooks Online that allows you to organize all the transactions related to a specific job or project in one place. Using this feature, you can determine the profitability of each project.

Be sure to leave a reply if you need more help with entering billable expenses. I'm determined to help you succeed.

Hi,

I followed the steps but it still does not work.

How do I tell QB that a specific account (such as 5125) is a billable expense account?

I have multiple billable accounts but I don't see that option when I edit in the chart.

Thanks!

Good morning, @accountingdsy. 

Thanks for coming back on this thread! Let's work together to get this handled. 

To clarify, which product of QuickBooks Online do you currently have/use and which browser are you using? 

In the meantime, I recommend clearing your browser's history to help eliminate any errors or glitches that may be occurring. 

We're always here to help. I'll be waiting for your response! 

Hi,

I did solve this.

The issue was that I was in the accountant view rather than the business view and I could not see the setting I was looking for.

Thanks everyone

Switching to business view worked for a few days, but now neither view has the income association.  UGH!  

I figured it out:

You need to be in Business View

Each line item that you mark as "billable" needs to be an expense account

Then you can edit that account and mark it as described.