How to reactivate a deactivated (deleted) Vendor?

We're glad to have you here, kdf1245.

I'm glad you turned to the QuickBooks Community for help about activating a vendor in QuickBooks Online. Let's get this started.

You can activate an inactive vendor in a few easy steps. To do so, please follow these steps:

1. Go to Expenses and choose Vendors.
2. On the Vendors page, click the Gear icon.
3. Check the Include inactive box.
4. Look for the vendor you want to activate again.
5. Under the Action column, click on the Make active link.

I've added some screenshots to help you with the process of activating a vendor.

That's it. You should be able to reactivate a vendor again in QBO.

Please let me know if you have any other concerns and I'll be here to keep helping. Have a nice day.

I have done this, assuming that it would simply deactivate the vendor but it ended up deleting all of the payments to that vendor from the beginning.  Obviously, this is not how this should work.  How do I get all of those deleted payments back?

I appreciate you joining this conversation, @JP_Damico.

Allow me to jump in and share some information about making a vendor inactive in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Yes, that's right. Making them inactive won't delete their information. You'll still see/view their previous transactions and activity in reports, but it will show as Name (deleted).

If you're unable to do so, let's check the Audit Log to see if the payments/transactions have been deleted or changed. Here's how:

1. Go to Gear icon at the top and pick Audit Log under Tools column.

2. Click the Filter drop-down and choose the appropriate User, Date, or Events filter to narrow the results, then apply.

If they're deleted, you need to manually reenter them again. For additional information, check out these articles for further guidance:

• The Audit Log: What it is, how to use it.
• How to make a vendor inactive.

That should point you in the right direction. Please reach out in the comments to let me know how it goes or if you have any follow-up questions. I'm always here to help. Have a wonderful day.

Is there a way to reactivate many vendors in one entry.  I know you can "batch" to deactivate.  Thanks.

I can see the convenience of reactivating many vendors in one entry on QuickBooks Online (QBO), @RFT1. That's why I'm here to share details about this.

Currently, reactivating vendors by batch isn't an option. This is the system's way of making sure you'll be reactivating the right one. With this, you'll have to manually locate the vendor's name from the Vendors page and select the Make active option. You're able to easily identify the inactive ones since the term deleted is indicated beside their name. For the detailed steps, here's how:

1. Go to the Expenses menu.
2. Select the Vendors tab.
3. Make sure to select the Include inactive option from the Settings icon above the Vendors List table.
4. Locate the name of the vendor(s) you want to activate.
5. Click the Make active option under the Action column.

I've attached a screenshot below for your reference.

After that, I'd recommend pulling up the Contractor Contact List report. This is to verify that all your reactivated vendors are already included on the complete list of active ones. Just go to the Expenses and vendors section from the Reports menu's Standard tab.

Please know that you're always welcome to comment below if you have other concerns or follow-up inquiries about managing vendor accounts and transactions in QBO. I'm just around to help. Take care.