Quickbooks Support Is Terrible (2 Open Questions on Chart of Accounts/CFs)

This isn't the kind of impression that we'd like you to have, aginsberg.

I'd like to share information about managing the Chart of Accounts.

The error "This account cannot be inactivated because there are transactions in it that have a non-zero balance"  occurs when:

• An account has multiple transactions in it.
• It's a default account in QuickBooks.

There are several ways on how to get rid of this issue. First, you can delete the transactions before inactivating the account. If you don't want to delete entries, you can merge the account. You can refer to this guide here: Merge accounts in QuickBooks Online. Before doing so, you can consult your accountant. This way, you can guarantee that your books are accurate and prevent messing up your records.

On the other hand, mapping the Chart of Account or Statement of Cash Flows is currently unavailable. The Chart of Accounts allocates every transaction to a specific category so you can see a complete list of sales and expenses. While the Statement of Cash Flows provides you a clear view of the financial health of your business. Base on your example, liability defaults to the financing section since it's a fund that is not yours to keep or this will be used against the Gross Sale. You can check this guide here to learn more about Statement of Cash Flows and how the activities reflect on the statement: A Guide to Cash Flow Statements with Template.

Adding these resources to help you manage the Chart of Accounts in QBO. You can read them to learn more:

• Learn about the chart of accounts in QuickBooks
• Manage default and special accounts in your chart of accounts

Keep me posted if you have any other questions about the Chart of Accounts or Cash flows. I'm more than happy to help.

Chart of Accounts: There are transactions in an account netting to $0. When I update the reporting rules to hide $0 balances, one of these accounts still shows. How do I suppress the account so a $0 doesn't appear on the financials? Alternatively, is there a way to merge transactions from a system required parent account to a customized subaccount to get rid of this issue?

Statement of Cash Flows: This isn't helpful at all. The mapping on the chart of accounts should not drive the mapping on the SoCFs. There can be long-term liabilities, which are NOT financing in nature. Based on ASC 842, for example, a lease liability is a long term liability for leases greater than 1 year. The guidance further states that lease liabilities created as a result of implementing ASC 842 should be classified as Operating cash flows. How can we align the setup in Quickbooks Online with U.S. GAAP?

Hello there, aginsberg.

To keep your Chart of Accounts organized, you can make an account inactive . This essentially deletes it. QuickBooks hides the account from lists and menus but keeps records of past transactions on your reports. Merging transaction is not possible. However, If you have an account with a $0 balance, you can delete the other transaction and edit the remaining transaction. 

To delete an account, here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Click on the gear icon at the top.
2. Under Your Company section, select Chart of Accounts (COA).
3. Look for the account that you want to delete.
4. In the Action column, choose the drop-down then click Delete.
5. Click Yes when asked if you want to delete.

For future help with editing or deleting accounts, you can refer to the link. It'll give you the overview and the steps. Moreover, you can check this article to learn more about types and common tasks about accounts: Understand QuickBooks Chart of Accounts.

In regards to your concern, I recommend consulting an accountant first to align the business set up with GAAP. This is to ensure that everything is accurate, and the reporting of your book is moving well.

You can also use this link for reference:

• What Complex Businesses Should Know About GAAP Accounting.
• Accounting principles for small business owners.

Let me also share this article that you can use for your future reference: How to group Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable.

If you have other ideas you'd like to share, feel free to drop a comment below. I'll be sure to get back to you. 

This really has not been helpful. Even posting to the help community creates error messages.

Chart of Accounts: Why would I want to delete account data? I was previously provided this solution. I don't want to delete transactions, which then would be omitted from the P&L, SoCFs, and yearly activity. I want to inactivate accounts with a $0 so they are not shown. Currently on the reporting, these accounts appear with a $0 balance even after suppressing $0 accounts.

Statement of Cash Flows: I am an accountant and Quickbooks has not provided a solution. How can I update the below so that the mapping from the Chart of Accounts is separate from the Statement of Cash Flows?

A. How can I setup certain long-term assets (i.e. "Other assets") to map to the Operating section of the CFs? (QBO defaults the mapping for this asset class to Investing).

B. How can I setup certain long-term liabilities to map to the Operating section of the CFs? (QBO defaults the mapping for this asset class to Financing).

C. How can I setup certain equity accounts to map to the Operating section of the CFs? (QBO defaults the mapping for this asset class to Financing).

Is there any solution to these open items?

Is there any solution to these open items?

Hello, aginsberg. 

QuickBooks Online creates a default chart of accounts list based on the industry you selected when you set up your QuickBooks company. I recommend reviewing this default chart of accounts to determine what accounts need to be added, edited, or deleted. First, however, we need to discuss how QuickBooks Online organizes and classified accounts. 

QuickBooks Online requires detailed information for each account, including both an Account Type and Detail Type. It’s very important that you properly classify accounts so that QuickBooks Online can operate effectively. For instance, you must list your Accounts Receivable account with the Account Type “Accounts Receivable.” Otherwise, QuickBooks Online will not know to increase this account whenever you issue a new customer invoice. Similarly, your inventory account must have Detail Type “Inventory” so that QuickBooks Online knows which account to increase when you purchase products. 

You need to review the default chart of accounts created by QuickBooks. While the default chart is a good place to start, most companies will want to make adjustments to fit their exact needs. 

To learn more about mapping in chart of account. Please refer to this article: Learn about the chart of accounts in QuickBooks. 

Please know we're always here to offer you help. I'll keep my notifications open. Take care!