How to correctly delete a payment and the invoice associated with said payment

Let me help you delete the duplicate invoice and its payment, MarkHendo.

You can delete those transactions through the customer's account. Here's how:

1. Go to Customers, then Customer Center.
2. Proceed to the Transactions tab.
3. Locate and open the payment first, then delete it.
4. After that, locate and open the invoice, then delete it.

Once done, you can go back and reconcile your bank account. Here's a link as a guide: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop.

Let me know if there's anything else you need by commenting below. I'm always around to help delete invoices and their payments.

Sorry this took me so long to respond, just really frustrated with Quickbooks right now.

This solution did not fix the issue.  Quickbooks pop up window states: "you need to delete this payment from the deposit before you can delete the transaction itself"  okay, so now I ask: What is the proper way to delete the deposit? (Thanks in advance for your patience with a non accountant type of person.)

Sorry this took so long to respond, really frustrated with Quick Books right now.....anywho......

when I tried your solution I got another popup window from quickbooks stating that I needed to delete the payment from the deposit first, before I could delete the transaction itself.  Okay, how do I properly delete the payment from the deposit first?

Thanks in advance for your patience....... and knowledge!

We don't want you to be inconvenienced in any way. Please be assured that assisting you is our first priority, @MarkHendo.

I'm here to share some information that can help you delete a duplicate invoice along with the payment.

To delete a customer payment, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Customers menu and click on Receive Payments.
2. In the Receive Payments window that appears, select the Previous button until you find the payment.
3. Select the Edit menu and click on Delete Payment.
4. Click OK to the warning: Are you sure you want to delete this transaction?, then select Save & Close.

You can also delete the payment right on the invoice's page. You can delete the related transactions associated with it before deleting the invoice itself.

Here's how:

1. Open the invoice.
2. There are two tabs on the right panel of the Create Invoices window.
3. Go to the Transaction tab.
4. Under the Related Transactions, it will show the deposit you use as the payment.
5. Open each transaction and click on Delete. 

You can now delete the invoice once you're done. Refer to this article for more information about invoices and receiving customer payments:

• Send online invoices in QuickBooks Desktop
• Receive and process payments in QuickBooks Desktop

In case you need to fix payments that have been deposited or reconciled already without affecting your reconciliation, check out this article: Correct customer payments that have been deposited or reconciled.

Let me know if you need help with your invoices or anything else. I'm always glad to help in any way I can. Have a great rest of the day!

I have the same problem and did what was recommended. After doing so, it shows up as a receivable. I zeroed out the payment, but the customer payment screen still shows the payment amount. The payment also shows up on my bank register. When I try to delete the payment, I'm going in circles with it not letting me. It tells me to delete the payment from the deposit. Go to the original payment transaction to edit it and redeposit the payment

To delete a customer payment, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Customers menu and click on Receive Payments.
2. In the Receive Payments window that appears, select the Previous button until you find the payment.
3. Select the Edit menu and click on Delete Payment.
4. Click OK to the warning: Are you sure you want to delete this transaction?, then select Save & Close.

You can also delete the payment right on the invoice's page. You can delete the related transactions associated with it before deleting the invoice itself.

Here's how:

1. Open the invoice.
2. There are two tabs on the right panel of the Create Invoices window.
3. Go to the Transaction tab.
4. Under the Related Transactions, it will show the deposit you use as the payment.
5. Open each transaction and click on Delete. 

You can now delete the invoice once you're done. 

Had the same issue.  It actually worked for me!!!

I entered a bill and then realize it was a duplicate because my Cash in bank was higher than  it should be but after I removed it, it  it threw my individuals balances off in the trial balance report even though the vendor detail individual and overall balances are fine.

I finally realized what the problem was but I am having a hard time accessing it to fix it because I get an error message indicating that it was reconciled and deleting it would throw my overall balances off. Please advise.

Hey there, @grapeter.

I'm glad you've figured out the problem with the individual balances. I'm here to assist you with making corrections to ensure your book is accurate in QuickBooks Online.

There are tools you can use to find discrepancies and other reconciliation issues. Before making any changes, I recommend securing a backup copy of your company file.

This way, you can revert anytime you want to undo the process and perform another method to balance it. It's a save point for your accounting data.

Here's how:

1. Click the File tab at the top menu and select Switch to Single-user Mode.
2. Go to the File menu again and hover over Back up Company. Then select Create Local Backup.
3. In the window, select Local Backup and then Next.
4. In the Local Backup Only section, select Browse and select where you want to save your backup company file.
5. Set the number of backups you want to keep. This is optional.
6. This runs a test to make sure your backup file is in good shape before you save.
7. When you're ready, select OK.
8. Hit Save it now and Next.

Once done, you can proceed with fixing the problem on your end. Please note you shouldn't make a reconciliation adjustment without your accountant's guidance.

 
I know you've already figured out the affected transaction, but it would be best to run a report. It'll help you verify the data and determine if it's the only one affecting the balance.

The Reconciliation Discrepancy report shows any transactions changed since your last reconciliation. They show by statement dates.

To run the report, please follow these steps:

1. Go to the Reports menu. Hover over Banking and select Reconciliation Discrepancy.
2. Select the account you're reconciling and then select OK.
3. Review the report. Look for any discrepancies.
4. Talk with the person who made the change. There may be a reason they made the change. Once you know, edit the transaction as needed.

You can use this link to ensure your balance is accurate and matches your financial statements: Fix issues when you're reconciling in QuickBooks Desktop.

If you need to undo recent changes, use your backup. I've attached an article you can use as a guide in the Desktop version: Restore a backup of your company file.

Drop me a comment if you have additional questions about editing reconciled transactions or fixing balances. I'm always here to help. Take care always.