Removing old paid bills from Unpaid bills

tmwilli · ‎August 03, 2017

QBs Version: 2016 Desktop

Discovered old bookeeper entered memorized bills for many venders but paid them manual check. Is there a way to remove old (unpaid) bills "en masse"?

And, if not in within the prrgram itself, is there a 3rd party tool to do this?

qbteachmt · ‎August 03, 2017

"The user can delete or void a single bill as needed"

Can and Should are completely different concepts.

If you filed taxes on the year in question on Accrual Basis, everything is Double-entered and double-reported. If you filed on Cash Basis, but what is entered on Bills hits another balance sheet account, they Still Show, as well, so Checksfor what also is on a bill = Double-data entered. That's why you don't Void or delete a historic period.

Even offseting with Current dates might not the right way to do it. Example: If this is only the previous year or two, your CPA can help you determine if fixing the data for its original date is proper, because your entity will file Amended Returns.

And even if this in not a Tax issue, if that affected, as one example, Inventory, then it is likely someone made correcting or offsetting entries such as Adjusting inventory because, oh, look! We seem to show Twice as much stuff as we ever bought.

Any transaction can be Void or Deleted or Offset. Knowing which is the Right Task to do ineach case, isn't something anyone can answer without being able to see the info and be involved in what else it affects.

Auditors use a term: Material, as in, "Is it a large enough mistake to be Material to the financial reporting as that is, now?"

View solution in original post

qbteachmt · ‎August 05, 2017

"neither of you are aware of that option"

"Is there a way to remove multiple bills from a company file like QBO does? And, neither of you are aware of an option."

Well, we both noted you Open it and Delete or void is right there, and it is one at a time.

Or, if you have the Accountant tools, you have more tools.

Perhaps you didn't read our responses thoroughly.

Glad you figured it out. Open any transaction and use Edit menu, top left, to see the Options that apply to that transcation on your screen. Also, RIght Click Mouse contextual menu = the most frequently used tools.

And Lastly, I will attach a keyboard shortcut reference sheet, which shows you the steps.

View solution in original post

lynda · ‎August 03, 2017

I would make vendor credit memos dated in the current fiscal period and apply them to clear the old bills. Make the clearing entry in the current fiscal period too.

tmwilli · ‎August 03, 2017

Why would you not just delete the bills? The user can delete or void a single bill as needed. Just wanted to know if QBs desktop has a mass void or delete option like QBO does. Or, if this is not a native feature, is there a 3rd party add-on that will do it.

lynda · ‎August 03, 2017

Because they are from a prior period and you probably have produced a tax return on it.

tmwilli · ‎August 03, 2017

L.

Thanks so much for your suggestion, in this case, the bills are NOT in a closed tax period.

The bills are a result of an untrained employee setting up memorized bill pay transactions (many) which auto-entered and then the bills were paid using manually created checks.

But, my question of how to remove multiple unpaid bill in QBs Desktop remains unanswered. It is an option in QBO.....just wondered is it an option in QB Desktop or can a 3rd pary QB add-on do the trick?

lynda · ‎August 03, 2017

Removing those bills would be a one at a time thing. Open the bill, delete it.

I am not aware of a 3rd party app, but you can search for one at apps.com

qbteachmt · ‎August 03, 2017

"The user can delete or void a single bill as needed"

Can and Should are completely different concepts.

If you filed taxes on the year in question on Accrual Basis, everything is Double-entered and double-reported. If you filed on Cash Basis, but what is entered on Bills hits another balance sheet account, they Still Show, as well, so Checksfor what also is on a bill = Double-data entered. That's why you don't Void or delete a historic period.

Even offseting with Current dates might not the right way to do it. Example: If this is only the previous year or two, your CPA can help you determine if fixing the data for its original date is proper, because your entity will file Amended Returns.

And even if this in not a Tax issue, if that affected, as one example, Inventory, then it is likely someone made correcting or offsetting entries such as Adjusting inventory because, oh, look! We seem to show Twice as much stuff as we ever bought.

Any transaction can be Void or Deleted or Offset. Knowing which is the Right Task to do ineach case, isn't something anyone can answer without being able to see the info and be involved in what else it affects.

Auditors use a term: Material, as in, "Is it a large enough mistake to be Material to the financial reporting as that is, now?"

tmwilli · ‎August 04, 2017

Thank you both for your instructions on best practice for deleting QBS transactions. I also am quite familiar with the best practices when using QBs. Been a ProAdvisor for some time now.

But, my question was a simple one: Is there a way to remove multiple bills from a company file like QBO does? And, neither of you are aware of an option.

Question answered.

Thanks for your response on this is matter.

Anonymous · ‎August 04, 2017

Hi TmwIllI,

With respect to Lynda and QBTeach who provided great advice, if you are using QuickBooks Desktop Accountant, go to the Accountant menu then click Batch Delete/Void Transactions. I believe that tool started in the 2016 version of QuickBooks Desktop Accountant.

https://community.intuit.com/articles/1501536-use-the-batch-delete-void-transaction-bdt-utility

tmwilli · ‎August 04, 2017

John,

That was exactly what I was looking for!
I was certain there was a feature for this but could not remember where it was!
Thanks to all for their assistance!

qbteachmt · ‎August 05, 2017

"neither of you are aware of that option"

"Is there a way to remove multiple bills from a company file like QBO does? And, neither of you are aware of an option."

Well, we both noted you Open it and Delete or void is right there, and it is one at a time.

Or, if you have the Accountant tools, you have more tools.

Perhaps you didn't read our responses thoroughly.

Glad you figured it out. Open any transaction and use Edit menu, top left, to see the Options that apply to that transcation on your screen. Also, RIght Click Mouse contextual menu = the most frequently used tools.

And Lastly, I will attach a keyboard shortcut reference sheet, which shows you the steps.

tmwilli · ‎August 05, 2017

qbteachmt,

Thanks once again for your assistance!

But John gave me the answer to the question I asked initially.

Once again, thanks to all who helped!

Anonymous · ‎March 19, 2018

If Manual Check Entries were made in the current year, you can always go to the manual check entries and change the Account to Accounts Payable referencing the Vendor name in the proper field then go apply each payment to the outstanding invoices thereby "marying" the two transactions. Keep in mind that this should not be done if your taxes have been filed. Because you have overstated your purchases and will need to speak to your tax professional to get assistance.

trlane · ‎July 12, 2021

This is incredibly helpful! I am trying to clear out bills from many years ago so that the A/P is correctly stated by vendor. What would be the clearing entry?

SarahannC · ‎July 12, 2021

Hello there, @trlane. I appreciate you for joining this thread.

You'll need to set up a clearing account to clear out bills from the previous years. When doing this process, it's similar to setting up a bank account in the Chart of Accounts (COA), but without an opening balance. Here's how to do it:

From the Lists menu, select Chart of Accounts.
Click the Account drop-down arrow, and select New.
In the Add New Account window, select the Bank radio button.
Select Continue.
In the Account Name field, enter Clearing Account.
Make sure not to enter an opening balance.
Once done, click Save & Close.

Then, use the clearing account when creating a journal entry. Here's how to accomplish the process:

Go to the Company menu. Then, select Make General Journal Entries.
Add the AP from which you are moving money.
Then, add the Clearing account. Once done, save the Journal Entry.
You'll need to create a second Journal Entry.
Add the Clearing Account.
Add the AP account to which you moving money.
In either Pay Bills or Receive Payments, link the Journal Entries together.

For additional details, you can read through these articles. Each of them provides information about the process of handling entries and vendors transactions.

Visit again if you have other questions. The Community people are always here to assist and provide some details you need. Take care and have a good one!

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Removing old paid bills from Unpaid bills