Journal Entries for a Deleted Bank Account & Accounts Receivable

Hi there, @R_Crane.

I'm dropping by to provide some clarification on your issue with Deleted Bank Accounts and Accounts Receivables. The behavior you're seeing is due to QuickBooks Online operating as a double-entry accounting system. As you've noticed, any account with a non-zero balance will be offset to Opening Balance Equity when deleted in order to make the Balance Sheet equal.

The only way to truly remove these balances is by deleting the individual transactions that comprise them. This can be accomplished with the steps below:

Empty the balance from a deleted account

1. From QuickBooks Online, navigate to the Accounting tab.
2. Click the tiny Gear icon (⚙) in the top-right of the ledger list, and check the box to Include inactive accounts.
3. Select Make Active to temporarily reactivate the account and click View Register.
4. Click each item in the register and select Delete at your discretion until the account balance is where you need it.

Check out our guide on restoring Balance Sheet accounts for additional information. This quick video will provide a visual reference of those steps:

Our guide on deleting invoices or other transactions is also a worthwhile resource if you decide to do this. While Journal Entries could be used to clear the balance from Opening Balance Equity, whichever offsetting account you choose will still display on the Balance Sheet in its appropriate category.

Most importantly, each and every business is unique, so to receive the absolute best suggestion for handling this situation, please consult an accounting professional. Intuit's Find-An-Accountant service can put you in touch with a certified expert in your local area if you're interested. I also encourage other members of the Community to chime in on resolving this matter.

Please touch base with me here if there's anything else I can do to be of assistance. Thanks for reaching out, wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead!

Hi again,

Thank you for the information.  It has been very informative and helpful.  After doing some manual deletions for a while I've come to the conclusion the it may be best for 2019 to start over.  I think the time and effort to fix old invoices will involve too much time.

I believe I can create a new company and begin again for 2019 with my same log in credentials.  Would you know if I'd be able to keep the same company name?  Since all I'd be doing is wanting to start fresh for 2019 with the same company.  I assume I could then cancel my current subscription and print out those invoices for archival purposes.

Thank you for your assistance.

Hello there, @R_Crane.

Thanks for sharing this information. I’m here to make sure your 2019 would be great and productive by starting fresh and doing it right with QuickBooks Online.

Since your QuickBooks Online file is already more than 60 days old from the time you sign up for the subscription, you won’t be able to purge the data. What you need to do is cancel the subscription and start fresh with no history or anything.

To cancel your current subscription, follow the steps below:
1.    Sign in as Administrator in QuickBooks Online.
2.    Click the Gear icon and choose Account and Settings.
3.    Select Billing and Subscription.
4.    In the QuickBooks section, select Cancel (paid subscription).
5.    Choose Continue to Cancel, and then Continue and Cancel again.
6.    Finally, answer the exit survey questions (to help us make QuickBooks better), then scroll down and select Confirm Cancel. (Attached screenshots)

Here’s an article for the detailed steps: How to cancel your subscription.

Now, you can subscribe to a whole new QBO with the same account name and credentials by going to this link: https://search2.quickbooksonline.com/qb-online/.

You may also refer to this link for more information on how to get started with QuickBooks Online: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/community/Getting-started-with-QuickBooks/tkb-p/GettingStartedwithQuic....

That’s it. Should you have questions or if you need further information, leave a comment below. I’ll be here to help. Have a good one!
 

Hi all,

Thank you so much for the information. 

I’d just like to confirm that I’d need to cancel my paid subscription first, before attempting to sign up again with the same credentials (user email / password) and company name?  Then I’d still have the 12 month read-only access to the company I’d be deleting?

I also subscribe to QuickBooks Payments.  Would I need to cancel that subscription as well, before deleting my old company and sign up with QuickBooks Payments again with the new company name?

Thank you for your assistance!

We appreciate you choosing QuickBooks Online in managing your business, @R_Crane.

I can give some more additional insights about the cancellation process and your data access after.

As mentioned by my colleague @KhimG, you are required to cancel your paid subscription since it's more than 60 days old from the time you sign up.

Next, you can sign up for a new company file with the same credentials (user email/password) and company name. Additionally, you can still view your old data since they're available in read-only access for 1 year from the cancellation date.

On the other hand, you don't need to cancel your QuickBooks Payments account. All you have to do is unlink it from the old account then link it to the newly created account. For the instruction, you can use this article as a reference: Unlink or link Merchant account. It also has their contact number in case you need further assistance.

That information should guide you on the right path.

And of course, you're welcome to comment back into this thread if there's anything else you need. Wishing you continued success!

Hi again,

I just thought of another question.  When I cancel my current subscription and sign up for my new one, how will I be able to access the previous 1 year of read-only access?  I'm just curious since I'd technically be cancelling that subscription and potentially using the same login credentials for my new subscription.

As always, thank you for your assistance.

Thank you for getting back to us here in the Community, @R_Crane.

Once you've cancelled your current subscription, your data will be available in read-only access for 1 year from the cancellation date.

Though you're using the same login credentials for your new subscription, you can still access the previous company under Canceled Companies. Let me show you how:

1. To access your account/company, log in to: qbo.intuit.com.
2. Enter your User ID and Password.
3. Click Sign in.
4. You can access/choose a company file you want to open under Please select the company you want to open.

That would let you access cancelled company files. Feel free to drop a comment below if you have any other concerns. Have a good day!

Hi again,

Thank you so much for the information.  There is one other thing I'd like to hopefully confirm if possible.  

If I have unpaid invoices at the time I cancel my current QuickBooks Online company, can I still receive QuickBooks Payments for those unpaid invoices after I create my new QuickBooks Online company? 

Thank you again!

It's nice to see you again, R_Crane.

I can provide a little more information concerning unpaid invoices in QuickBooks Online.

If you cancel your QuickBooks Online account after you created the invoices, then yes, you can still receive payments for the unpaid invoices as long as your merchant services is active. However, if your merchant services was canceled as well, online payments will not be processed.

Here's how to cancel your subscription:

1. Sign in to QuickBooks Online.
2. Select the Gear icon on the Toolbar.
3. Under Your Company, choose Account and Settings.
   Don't see Account and Settings? You may be using QuickBooks Online Accountant. Contact your accountant to cancel, or contact us for help.
4. Select Billing and Subscription.
5. In the QuickBooks section, select Cancel (paid subscription) or Cancel Trial (if you are using a trial).
6. Select Continue to Cancel, then Continue to Cancel again.
7. Finally, answer the exit survey questions (to help us make QuickBooks better), then scroll down and select Confirm Cancel.

Check out this article for detailed information: How to cancel your subscription.

If you need further assistance with your Merchant Services account, feel free to contact them. You can get their most-up-to-date contact details here: https://community.intuit.com/browse/payments-contact-us.

Feel free to get back in touch with me if you have other concerns about QuickBooks. I'd love to help.