Writing a check to someone that is not a vendor

Thank you for your reply John.  I think as I've moved along in this process what I was actually trying to do was create another "type" which I see QBO does not allow for.  As for the hard drive the problem all came about when I took my computer into a local business to see about having a problem fixed.  After telling me they could fix it they said they couldn't and I would need a new computer.  After purchasing a new computer they told me they could do a back up of everything and put it on my new computer.  This is where I made a MAJOR mistake, one that will never be done again.  I trusted them and when I picked up my computer a few days later while all of my programs had been loaded back on my new computer none of my data had been included.  At that point the old computer was gone and the back-up I had would not work.  Spent many hours with them and QB tech support trying to get it to work to no avail.  grrrrrr  But thank you for your thought.  I learned a really hard lesson. 

Thank you for all of your information.  Switching from desktop to online is a learning curve for sure but I'm hopeful that once I figure it all out I will be very happy.  

Congratulations for making the switch, @kmgrissen.

QuickBooks Online is designed to help business owners, like you achieve a better work/life balance, I’m thrilled to hear our software is helping you stay on track and organized.

Whether you need to track expenses, send invoices, estimates and sales receipts and process payroll and pay taxes, you can count on QuickBooks to get the job done. With the right tools, any business owner can take charge of their bookkeeping.

As your business grows, you can be sure QuickBooks will grow alongside it. Check out our blog fore more info on the new app features are in store: https://intuit.me/2L2zqTv.

Our free video tutorials have tips on how to find and use each of QuickBooks’ features: QuickBooks Tutorials.

Feel free to visit our Community page if there are any app features you’d like to get more familiar with. I’m always here to lend a hand.

The advice you offered is very vague and does not "answer" the question. The question is "HOW" to do it? All you provided is a statement. She did not ask how to recover her data. She asked how to write a single check to a single individual. 

Would you mind explaining how to write a single check to a single individual or entity without being required to save the person or entity as a vendor? 

Hello, @JPC21.

You can create a vendor or contractor’s check, bill payment check or a paycheck in QuickBooks. However, you’ll still have to save the payee’s name. Let me guide you how it works.

Here’s how to create a single check:

1. Go to the New (+) button.
2. Select Check.
3. Choose Payee's name.
4. Complete the Check details.
5. Click the Save and Close button.
   

The payee's name tells your bank who receives the money and where to send the check. Also, it streamlines the tracking and reconciliation process in QuickBooks. You can use this article for more detailed steps: How to write checks.

On the other hand, refer to these articles for more information about tracking check transactions in QuickBooks:

• What is the difference between bills, checks, and expenses?
• How to record & print checks
• Align how your checks print

Lastly, browse this page to learn more about the reconciliation process in QuickBooks: Reconcile Hub.

Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have other questions. Have a good one.

When we write a check in the Payee box, it gives you an option of adding a new name but QB online defaults to

3 options to choose from:

Vendor

Customer

Employees

I am writing a check to someone that is neither of those.

For example: I am writing a check to an investor for distribution.

The questions is:

How do I create another category (such as "Others") to chose from when I enter my new payee?

Great idea you have there, @EPM65. I'll share some information about writing checks in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

When writing checks in QBO, the option to create another category from the Payee section is unavailable. As a workaround, you can add your new payee's information as a vendor or as a customer in the system.

Follow these steps to add a vendor:

1. Go to the Expense menu.
2. Choose the Vendors tab, then click the New vendor button.
3. Fill in the fields in the Vendor Information window.
4. Click Save.

Here's how to add a customer:

1. Click the Sales menu, then select Customers.
2. Click New customer.
3. Enter your customer’s info.
4. Select Save.

You can add additional characters to the display name to easily recognize your new payee. See the sample screenshot below:

Once you're all set, you can proceed to create a check and make sure to choose the new payee.

While this option isn't available, I recommend sending a feature request directly to our Product Development team. This helps us improve your experience and the features of the program. Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear menu and then select Feedback.
2. Type in your feature request in the description box.
3. Once done, click on Next.

In addition, after creating checks, you can print them directly in QBO. To know more about printing checks, please read this article for more information: Print a check in QuickBooks Online.

Feel free to click the Reply button if you have other questions about creating checks in QBO. I’m always here to help. Have a great day!

QBO only allows those 3 options.  SO, for example, a check written to the company owner would be a check to a Vendor.  A Vendor is and can be anyone you pay that you do not primarily receive income from (as would be a Customer), and an Employee is just that, someone that is on payroll and for which you deduct taxes.

Switch to QB Desktop if you absolutely really need the "Other" category for names but pay attention, you cannot run normal reports to display how much and when was paid to Others