Cannot match transaction

Thanks for all the help!  This is an awesome culture Intuit has going here.

Hi there @MichaelOD, I can see why this situation is confusing. Dealing with an old transaction that's reappeared and tied to a feature not in your subscription is certainly a puzzle. Let's work together to get this sorted out.

The issue you're running into is a classic "mismatch" scenario. The original bill from 2012 is still showing as unpaid because the check used to pay it was incorrectly applied as a purchase of inventory. Since QuickBooks Online Simple Start doesn't have the full inventory management features, you can't edit those old transactions to correct them. The reappearance of the bill is likely due to a recent update that has re-indexed and highlighted old, unresolved transactions in your Accounts Payable. Don't worry, we can fix this without deleting anything. The best way forward is to create a Journal Entry to manually clear the open bill. This will correctly zero out the bill in your accounts payable without touching the original transactions.

Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Find the details. Locate the original bill and the incorrectly entered check. Make a note of the bill amount and the vendor name. This information is crucial for the next step.
2. Create a new Journal entry.

• Click + Create.
• Select Journal entry.

3. Enter the transaction details.

• On the first line, Debit an expense account. Since the original transaction was a mistake, a good practice is to use an account like 'Ask My Accountant' or another 'Other Expense' account. Enter the amount of the bill in the Debit column. This balances the entry.
• On the second line, Credit the Accounts Payable (A/P) account for the exact same amount. This is the most important step: In the Name column for the Accounts Payable line, be sure to select the vendor associated with the bill. This is what tells QuickBooks that this journal entry is meant to "pay" that specific bill.

4. Save and close. Once the debit and credit amounts match and you've selected the correct vendor, click Save and close.

After you've saved the entry, go back and check the vendor's transaction history. The bill should now show as paid, and it will no longer be listed in your accounts payable. The original check and bill will remain on your books, but the balance will be corrected.

I hope this helps you get back on track! Please let me know if you have any other questions.