How do I make an inactive account active again

Did you ever find out what the "LEFT PANEL" is? I can not locate a solution following the solved instructions! I have no transactions listing in any "LEFT PANEL" that I can locate! 

Hello there, @kflagg.

Thanks for reaching out to us here in the Community. I'm here to help make sure this is taken care of, but I have some questions about your concern first.

May I know what version of QuickBooks you're currently using right now? Is it QuickBooks Online (QBO) or QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT)? The steps that my colleague provided are for QBO. Please see screenshot below.

If you're unable to locate these options mentioned on the steps, then it's possible you're using QBDT. The steps on inactivating an account in QBDT are different from QBO. Allow me to show how:

1. Log into your QuickBooks company file.
2. Once logged in, click Accountant or Lists at the top menu bar.
3. On the drop-down, select Chart of Accounts (or press Ctrl + A on your keyboard for the shortcut).
4. Right-click on the account that you want to inactivate.
5. Select Make Account Inactive.

I also attached some screenshots for your reference.

You can also visit this article for more information about QuickBooks Chart of Accounts: https://community.intuit.com/articles/1764816.

That's it! Please let me how this goes or if you're referring to something else by leaving a comment. I'm always here if you need further assistance. Have a good one.

I did locate the left panel, however there is no section marked transactions. Since the upgrade the issues with quickbooks has caused so much time and money to be wasted. I used to be able to type the name and pull up the account and make it active again, now I am wasting time (and money) chasing down a solution to the problem! I am not happy at all with ANY of the "new and improved"  aspects of QBO! 

Also, nothing located under chart of accounts (include inactive), what the heck, this is getting really, really, old! Time to start searching for new accounting software! 

Hello @kflagg,

I'm glad  to hear that you've located the left navigation panel. The reason that you may not be seeing Transactions is that some options vary based on how the account was set up. 

Just to clarify, do you see an option on the left marked as Accounting?  In some accounts, this replaces the option for Transactions. If so, you would select Accounting, then Chart of Accounts, and follow the steps provided by my colleagues to make the account active.

It's my priority that you're able to make the account active again and I am including a visual guide for re-activating an account named Equipment Rental:

The following article contains additional information about this process: Delete or Make an Account Inactive.

Since you reference that you're not seeing the account in the Chart of Accounts, is it possible that the name may have been changed or account merged? The Audit Log is a tool that can be used to look for changes and activity within an account and I'm including an article with additional insight on it: View Audit Logs in QuickBooks Online.

Lastly, this isn't the impression that I'd like for you to be left with. The updates and changes to QuickBooks Online are largely the results of feedback provided by users. I'm going to submit feedback on my side for you based on this interaction. The software is constantly evolving based on feedback and I can assure you that your voice matters.

Please don't hesitate to let me know if I can be of additional assistance. Wishing you and your business continued success. 

What "left panel"?  

Hello @Andragogue,

Thanks for taking the time to reached out to us. And I’d be glad to share a few details about the left panel.

The left panel is a navigation panel where you can see the menu of your QuickBooks Online account. You can check the screenshot below to see exactly what I mean.

If you have any other questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

I have one company file that has made all the bank accounts inactive and I can't change them back to active.   Any users experience success fixing?

thank you

What happens when the Make Active button is greyed out and will not allow you to Make active? It happened to all my bank accounts 2015 enterprise version

Thanks for joining the conversation, @jlhuber.

Since you're using an outdated version of QuickBooks Desktop, it's possible that the file got corrupted, preventing you from making the accounts active again.

Let’s try running the Verify and Rebuild Data Utility Tool to resolve any data integrity issues on the company file. Always create a backup to avoid any accidental data loss before performing the following steps.

1. Go to the File menu.
2. Select Utilities, then Rebuild Data.
3. Click OK on the QuickBooks Information window. 
4. Follow the prompt to save a backup.
5. Hit OK when you see Rebuild has completed.

Once done, follow the steps above except select verify instead of rebuild. Check out this article for reference: Resolve data damage. In the same link, you’ll find other data damage troubleshooting steps for Windows.

If you continue to get the same result, I recommend upgrading to the latest version of QBDT. Click this link to know more about our updated pricing and features: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/desktop/.

If you decide to upgrade, you can visit the website given above and click the green Buy Now button. 

That should do it. Let me know how this goes, I’m more than happy to help. Have a good one!
 

I have Quickbooks Desktop Pro 2018. About a month ago I made a few accounts inactive and now need to make them active again, however the 'make account active' selection is greyed out. 

Good day, Stephanie Lynn.

I'm here to lend a hand in activating the accounts in QuickBooks Desktop.

Making the inactive accounts active again in QuickBooks Desktop is pretty easy. If the option to Make Account Active is grayed out, you can follow the steps below to activate them again.

1. Click Lists at the top menu bar and choose Chart of Accounts.
2. At the bottom, click the drop-down arrow and select Show Inactive Accounts.
3. Click the X mark beside the inactive accounts. This will make the account active again.

You may find this article interesting: Understand the QuickBooks Chart of Accounts.

That's it! You'll be back to business in no time. Please know I'm only a post away if you have any other questions about activating an account in QuickBooks.

Accounts are still showing inactive .... I have right clicked the account to EDIT ACCOUNT, and make active is grayed out.  I have clicked on the chart of accounts at the X at the top showing inactive accounts; unable to click on the X to make it active again.  I have opened the chart of accounts, gone down to the Accounts tab at the bottom, clicked on the arrow, shown the inactive accounts, and still will not let me unclick to make active.  I have rebuilt the data, verified the data.  No errors.  I have that latest version of QB Desktop 2018 R12_52, Release R12P.  We use QB Enterprise Pro Services 18.0 ...  Auto update is on.  I ran the update.  THIS SHOWS UP IN SEVERAL OF OUR COMPANY FILES AND I REALLY NEED TO ADDRESS THIS ASAP.  Please advise.    Susan at [email address removed]

Hi, @Susan R.

I appreciate you for taking the time performing the troubleshooting steps provided by my colleagues above and sharing additional information.

Allow me to add some troubleshooting steps to help you sort this out. Since the issue affects more than one company file, let's try to clean install your QuickBooks Desktop.

Doing this replaces the QuickBooks system files on your computer. Before doing so, I suggest to back up your company file first to protect against accidental data loss. However, if you're still unable to activate your inactive account after going through the steps.

Then I recommend reaching out to our support team. They have the right tool to look into your account and further investigate this matter.

Also, you can check this article to learn more about your chart of accounts: Understand QuickBooks Chart of Accounts.

Don't hesitate to reach out to us if you need further assistance. I'm always here to help.

Are the accounts that you're trying to make active sub-accounts of another account that is marked inactive?  If so, then you have to activate the main account first, and then you can activate the sub-account, as I just discovered in QB Desktop Pro 2019.

Hi All! Do I need to take a specific action to put a reactivated customer on the item list? I am trying to add a vendor to the reactivated customer, but the reactivated customer does not show up on the active nor inactive item lists. Any thoughts? 

Hi there, KrisSchlu,

It's possible this customer's profile was deleted. That's why you're unable to see the information on the active or inactive list.

In QuickBooks, you can delete customers if there aren't transactions recorded in their profile. This option might have been selected instead of making them inactive.

What you need to do is add the customer to have a new profile. Here's how:

1. Go to the Customers menu, then select Customer Center.
2. Click New Customer & Job, then select New Customer.
3. Enter the customer name and other important information.
4. Click OK.

Once done, you can then navigate the Add/Edit Multiple List Entries window to add and edit the necessary information.

Keep me posted if you have follow-up questions and I'll get back to you.

I have QB Desktop Pro 2020 and I followed your directions to Stephanie Lynn exactly but the greyed out show inactive accounts will not let me choose it.  Please tell me what else I can do to reactive all chart of accounts.

Thank you for joining the thread, @D King.

The Show Inactive Accounts button is grayed out if you don't have any inactive accounts from your Chart of Accounts. It means that you don't need to reactivate any accounts since your accounts are all active.

I've added these screenshots for your visual reference.

For additional reference about managing accounts from the chart of accounts, read this article.

Add a comment below if you have any other questions. I'm a few clicks away to help. Have a good day!

I tried this method. Cannot reactivate by clicking the X. What now?

Hi there, @LaurieJL.

I appreciate you following the steps shared by my colleague above to reactivate accounts. Let's run the Verify and Rebuild Utility Tool to check the integrity of your data on your company file. This way, way we can fix your issue with reactivating accounts.

Here's how:

1. Go to the File menu, then select Utilities.
2. Choose Rebuild Data and click OK.
3. Wait until the tool repairs your file. Select OK once finished.
4. Go to the File menu, then select Utilities and choose Verify Data.
5. Let the tool check your file for data issues.

Once done, try to reactivate an account again to double-check.

If you get the same result, let's repair your company file using QuickBooks File Doctor. For more guidance, feel free to check out this article: Fix company file and network issues with QuickBooks File Doctor.

If the issue persists, please read this article for more troubleshooting steps: Fix data damage on your QuickBooks Desktop company file.

You might also want to check out this article to learn how to manage accounts: Create, edit, or delete an account in QuickBooks Desktop.

Please let me know if you need clarification about this, or there's anything else I can do for you. I'll be standing by for your response. Have a great day.