How do I clear out an AP item so it doesn't show up as a payable without impacting the books? We cleared out the accounts & rolled them forward.

Hello there, @croyce.

Let me help you clear out the Accounts Payable (A/P) item without affecting your books.

Firstly, you'll have to create a clearing account to move balances from one account to another. Here's how:

1. Click the Gear icon, then select Chart of Accounts.
2. Select New and choose Bank as an Account Type.
3. Enter Clearing account in the Name field.
4. Click Save and Close.

Once done, create a journal entry and apply the clearing account. This will help write off the balances of your A/P accounts. To do so, you can follow the steps below:

1. Click the + New button, then select Journal Entry.
2. In the first line, choose the A/P account. Then, enter the amount in the Credit field.
3. Select the Clearing account in the second line and enter the amount in the Debit field.
4. Fill out the necessary information.
5. Click Save and close.

Lastly, you can apply the journal entry to the existing balance. Let me guide you how.

1. Go to the Vendors menu and find the bill.
2. Click the Make Payment button in the top-right corner. 
3. Select the Bill and choose the Journal Entry under the Credits section.
4. Click Save & Close.

I'm adding this article for more guidance: Write off customer and vendor balances. Though this article is for QuickBooks Desktop, the steps can be used in QuickBooks Online.

Most importantly, I still recommend seeking help from your accountant. This way, they can help what's best for you and your business.

Come back to this post if you have other concerns or follow-up questions about clearing out A/P balances. I'll be right here to help.

We don't want to write it off. This needs to be our beginning balance for the next day. We zeroed out the accounts as of 4/22/22, then we took that ending balance on 4/22 and made it our starting balance as of 4/23. If you pull the balance sheet as of 4/22 you will see the accounts are zero. If you pull it as of 4/23 you will see that the amount from 4/22 end of business is all there. The issue is that it created a payable for the total amount. Now when I select pay bills, it shows as a bill that needs to be paid but it's not a bill. Its the ending balance of all of the accounts combined. We just need to clear it from being a payable without changing the books since 2022 is closed out now. 

I appreciate you for coming back to the thread to add extra details about your concern, croyce. Please know that we aim to deliver customer satisfaction at all times and fix an issue as soon as possible. With this, may I ask for additional information on what specific transaction should appear on your end since it's not supposed to be a bill? Also, screenshots of your Vendor Balance Detail report to see your exact vendor data so I can present an accurate solution to clear out your Account Payable balance.

For now, I'm adding this article to see steps on how you can run a specific report that will reflect all payments made to vendors: Run a report with vendor totals.

Don't hesitate to click the Reply button below and add extra details about your concern, I'm always around to help, croyce. Have a good one!

Hello, our company went through an acquisition on 4/22 and we created several journal entries that zeroed out each account for everything on 4/22 and prior. We then reversed that entry on 4/23 since that would be the first day the company would be under new ownership. We basically closed the accounts for the old company and started new on 4/23 with the new company and ownership. We created a JE for the AP account on 4/22 with a closing balance to zero it out. We then reversed that entry as of 4/23 to show the opening balance under the new ownership. The old owners retired and someone bought the company along with any vendor bills still owed since the new owner is not changing anything about the company. We just wanted to zero out everything from the old company so we can start fresh with the new owner. Because we reversed the AP JE, it created a payable. We need to know how we can clear that payable without it effecting the books. 

Good evening, @croyce. 

It's great to see you back on this thread again. 

Based on the information you gave, I recommend consulting with your accountant to be sure how you can clear this payable without if effecting your books. 

They'll be able to give you the best advice based on how you run your business. 

Keep us updated on how the conversation goes. We're always here to lend a helping hand. Bye for now!