Vendor Refund still shows on P & L as an unapplied cash bill payment expense

Hello there, @SHI1. 

I appreciate you following the steps in our shared articles here in the Community. 

As an insight, running the Profit and Loss report in QuickBooks using the cash method will show you the Unapplied Cash Bill Payment Expense. This account shows up when: 

• bill payment for a vendor is recorded before entering the bills
• if you entered bill payments without matching them to bills

When you see it on your Profit and Loss report, click the total amount. Take note of the vendor and amount for each bill payment in the list. Then, follow these steps below to remove them from your report: 

1. Go to the + New menu. 
2. Select Pay bills.
3. Select the checkboxes next to them if you see bills matching the bill payments in the list, then Save.

 Otherwise, follow these steps below to create it:

1. Go to the + New menu, then select Bill.
2. Fill out the form with the same vendor, amount, and date as the bill payment, then click Save.
3. Repeat the steps for any bill payments left on the list.

Once done, rerun your Profit and Loss report. You can also check out this article for more insights: What to do if you see unapplied cash bill payment expense on your profit and loss.

For future reference, read through this article: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online. It'll help you learn about personalizing your report to show specific details that are only relevant to you and your business. 

I'm always around here if you have additional questions about handling Unapplied Cash Bill Payment Expense. Have a great day ahead!

Thank you for your answer. I have tried this solution and it does not solve the problem. I have even gone a step further and completely removed the transaction and re-entered it, which also did not solve the problem. Any further suggestions?

Thanks for getting back to us here, @SHI1.

I have some information about the unapplied cash bill payment expense in the report. Since this account is a special account auto-created by the program, this can't be deleted or changed. This is used to report the Cash Basis expense from vendor/vendor payment checks that you've sent but not yet applied to a vendor/vendor bill. This can also occur in the case that a bill is created for a credit card account balance.

Here's an article to for more information: What's Unapplied Cash Payment?

I'm also attaching this link if you need help with other tasks in QBO. Just browse for topics that suit your concern.

Let me know if you have other questions or concerns. I'll be around for you. Take care and have a good one.

Hi there,

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, it doesn't help with the problem. These vendor credits were applied to bills when they were created. We have a couple of dozen of these in our system, yet these three show up as Unapplied, even though they were entered the same way as all the others. I'm just trying to understand why they did not apply properly, even though the correct process was followed, so that they can be repaired before we close out 2020.

Thank you

Hello @SHI1,

Since you're still unable to fix the incorrect posting of your vendor refund on your Profit and Loss report even after following the suggestions above, I'd recommend contacting your accountant.

He/she can help you get rid of it and also share the things you can do before closing out your books for financial accuracy. If you haven't yet, here's a link you can use to find anyone near you: Find an accountant or bookkeeper.

Additionally, I've also included this reference for a compilation of articles you can use while working with us: Know where you stand financially.

If you have any other questions, please let me know by leaving any comments below. I'll be here to lend a hand.