Negative balance in receivable

The customer balance will only change if a transaction written using their name uses the AR account.

On the customer center, be sure to filter for All Transactions and All Dates. You won't see ALL transactions for the customer, even with the filters set to all, but you should see all transactions that impact the AR account.  Once you have a nearly unfiltered list of transactions, see if there are any on the date the balance changes in reports.

You could also run a Customer Balance Detail report, found at Reports | Customers & Receivables, which will show all the customer's AR transactions / all the transactions that contribute to the customer balance.

I have no idea what you are talking aboput.

I clicked on every invoice and it is associated, i.e. paid, with a listed payment.  I am going in circles.  The A/R aging summary lists a balance for 8/7/22, but I don't have one in my Customer center for that date.  Where is this payment hiding itself?  My A/R balance will never be right till I get it out of there. Thanks to all who help!

I clicked on the balance in the A/R aging and it took me to the customer payment form.  I tried to delete that, but I got the following message:  "You need to delete the payment from the deposit before you can delete the transaction itself or edit its name or amount"  

I found the 8/7 amount in Undeposited Funds account, but when I try to delete it from there I get the same error message as above.  My checking account does not have the 8/7 deposit.  Where is this transaction hiding, and how do I delete it?

Thank you for providing more information about your concern, particularly the result, crescere.

I'm here to guide you in the right direction on how correct your customer's negative balance. Let's remove the payment in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) to fix the issue. 

When a deposit contains multiple payments, open the transaction and select the Delete Line option. Before we begin, I recommend consulting with an accountant to keep throwing off your records. Aside from that, they can advise you on how to handle the situation properly. If you'll have to remove the payment, follow the steps outlined below:  

1. In your company file, go to the Lists at the top menu bar and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Choose Undeposited Funds.
3. Look for the deposit in the list and double-click on it to see more information.
4. From the list, select the deposit you wish to delete and go to the Edit tab at the top menu bar.
5. Choose Delete Line or Delete Deposit if you want to remove the entire deposit.

Also, the Delete Line option will appear only if a deposit transaction contains multiple payments. However, if the payment from your deposit is linked to any transactions, delete the transaction before removing the payment.

You can read the Get started with customer transaction workflows in QuickBooks Desktop guide to learn about the various ways to track customer transactions. For future reference, use the Sales and Customers resources to help you manage payments, process sales transactions, customize sales forms, and other customer-related processes.

Stay in touch with me if you need additional assistance clearing your negative balance or other QuickBooks tasks. I'll be right here ready to help you. Have a good one.

As i wrote  in my original question I get the response ""You need to delete the payment from the deposit before you can delete the transaction itself or edit its name or amount"  

Did you even read my original question?  I need to find this mysterious deposit and delete it!!!! Where is it??? It keeps saying I have a customer credit when clearly I do NOT.  Where is it??? How do I delete it???

BTW, quit giving me badges.  I don't care. Just tell me how to eliminate this ghost A/R credit. 

Please please isn't there some QB users who are not attached to the usual Indian QB technical support who will help me without their scripted paper they in front of them?  I have to move on my business and have A/R  that work.  Please I beg your help.  The QB people will just keep reciting the same BS.  I need results to move my company forward!!!!

HELLO anyone

Let's get this sorted out, crescere.

You've mentioned that the negative amount comes from your customer's balance. That said, it's an overpayment. You can resolve this by giving your customer a refund or applying it as their next invoice payment.

Before doing so, I'd suggest reaching out to your accountant so they can guide you on the correct way to record the amount.

I've added this article as your guide in giving a refund or credit memo: Give your customer a credit or refund in QuickBooks Desktop for Windows.

I'll be around whenever you have questions about processing payments.

I have thought of giving the refund, but wont that credit my cash account?  If I apply the payment to the next invoice how will I make the deposit to cash?  As I said there should not BE any overpayment.  Every invoice has an associated payment with it.  This does not make sense.

Hi there, crescere.

I appreciate you for coming back to the thread and adding further clarification about your concern. I'll be sharing the possible causes of why there's a negative balance on the receivable. Then, ensure you can delete or remove the said balance so your income transactions stays accurate.

When you see a negative balance from customers' transactions, entering a balance when creating a customer's profile is one of the possible reasons for this. To fix this, I suggest creating a journal entry to write off or to get the negative amount out on the Customer's tab.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Company menu and choose Make General Journal Entries.
2. From the Make General Journal Entries window, change the date and fill in the entry number if necessary.
3. Select the Account field and select Accounts Receivable from the dropdown list. This is for customers with an overpayment.
4. Enter the amount under the Debit column, tab to the Name column and select a Customer Name from the dropdown list.
5. In the next line, choose the offset account and enter the amount under the Credit column. The offset account is usually an Expense account.

If you creating a JE for customers with an underpayment, you can follow the steps below after performing step two stated above.

1. Choose the Account field and select Accounts Receivable.
2. Enter the amount under the Credit column, tab to the Name column and select a Customer Name from the dropdown list.
3. From the next line, select the offset account and enter the amount under the Debit column.
4. Click Save & Close.

On the other hand, if you give a refund to your customer, it will credit to an account where the amount is coming from. Then, when you apply a payment to the next invoice, make sure to post it under Undeposited funds. This way, you can make a bank deposit and choose a cash account.

Lastly, you may refer to this article to see different ways how you can record customer entries so you can track income smoothly: Get started with customer transaction workflows in QuickBooks Desktop.

Please click the Reply button below if you have any other questions with any negative balance concerns. I'll be right here to help, crescere. Stay safe!

Okay, I did that, but now I have a positive number in the A/R. 

The problem is that I cant delete this amount because I keep getting the message "You need to delete this payment from the deposit before you can delete the transaction itself or edit its name or amount"  How do I find where this amount is initially deposited?  

Hello there, @crescere. I'm here to help you find the deposit and delete it in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT).

Thanks for getting back here and sharing additional info of your concern. To see that deposit, you can run the Deposit Detail report and filter the date. Here's how:

1. In your QBDT account, select the Reports menu.
2. Next, scroll-don to the Banking section and choose Deposit Detail. 
3. From there, set the date range to find that deposit and double-click the transaction.
4. When opened, press the Ctrl+D keys on your keyboard and select OK to delete the transaction.
5. Once done, you can now delete the payment.

For reference in handling customer transactions, feel free to visit this article: Get started with customer transaction workflows in QuickBooks Desktop.

I've also attached an awesome resource that you can access at any time to look for additional guides and references in performing your QuickBooks tasks: QBDT Help page.

Keep me posted on how the recommendation goes. If you have any other questions about managing your transactions in QBDT, please don't hesitate to post a reply. I'm always here ready to lend a hand. Have a good day and take care.

For the 50th time I get the same error message that I have to delete the payment in the deposit section.  

"You need to delete this payment from the deposit before you can delete the transaction itself or edit its name or amount"

@crescere  RE: How do I find where this amount is initially deposited? 

While on the Payment, press Ctrl-H or click the Reports tab and then the Transaction History button. Then click on the Deposit in the table of linked transactions and then click the Go To button.

@DivinaMercy_N   RE: To see that deposit, you can run the Deposit Detail report and filter the date. Here's how:

That's like looking for a needle in a haystack.  The customer doesn't know which deposit the Payment is in, so they'll need to wade through the report and then perhaps they can identify the payment in one of the deposits.

Assuming they can find it...

RE: When opened, press the Ctrl+D keys on your keyboard and select OK to delete the transaction.

There is no need to delete the deposit, which might just create a mess if it is reconciled or it contains many other payments. Instead, all that is needed is to delete the line item for the payment and then save the deposit.  Then, after fixing the payment, add it back to the deposit.

I appreciate that all of you tried, but it was all for nothing.  I had to pay $500 to upgrade to  QB 2023.  That tech support person solved the problem immediately and set up my new version of QB.  If QB would provide a good product I would not have had to do that, but I guess that is how they force us to pay more money. If ANY other company provides a comparable product at a fair price I will switch immediately!!! FU QB!!!!

Glad it's fixed. What was the solution?

The "solution" was to pay out the  $500.00..  FU QB