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gloriadeb204
April 9, 2021
Solved

bad debt write off

  • April 9, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 30 views

I wrote off a bad debt in ihe GJ as shown.

When I run an aging report, it shows up as a positive and a negative. How do I get it to not show up at all on an aging report? 

 

Best answer by AlexV

Hello gloriadeb204!

 

The reason why it shows positive and negative lines is because of the method you used, the journal entry. Let me show you how to properly write it off as bad debt.

 

Based on the screenshot, I'll assume you already have an expense account to track the bad debt. If so, proceed to these steps:

  1. From the Customers menu, select Receive Payments.
  2. Select customer in the Received from drop-down, and enter $0.00 in the Payment amount.
  3. Click the Discounts and credits button. 
  4. On the pop-up, enter the amount you'd like to write off in the Amount of Discount field.
  5. For the Discount Account, select the bad debt expense account.
  6. Tap Done, then Save & Close.

 

Once done, pull up the A/R Aging report again to verify.

 

Need more references on how to manage your business in QuickBooks Desktop? Check this link: QBDT All Articles.

 

Leave a reply below if you more of my help. I'll be here!

2 replies

AlexV
AlexVAnswer
Level 10
April 9, 2021

Hello gloriadeb204!

 

The reason why it shows positive and negative lines is because of the method you used, the journal entry. Let me show you how to properly write it off as bad debt.

 

Based on the screenshot, I'll assume you already have an expense account to track the bad debt. If so, proceed to these steps:

  1. From the Customers menu, select Receive Payments.
  2. Select customer in the Received from drop-down, and enter $0.00 in the Payment amount.
  3. Click the Discounts and credits button. 
  4. On the pop-up, enter the amount you'd like to write off in the Amount of Discount field.
  5. For the Discount Account, select the bad debt expense account.
  6. Tap Done, then Save & Close.

 

Once done, pull up the A/R Aging report again to verify.

 

Need more references on how to manage your business in QuickBooks Desktop? Check this link: QBDT All Articles.

 

Leave a reply below if you more of my help. I'll be here!

    M
    MarcelleW
    December 9, 2021

    I followed steps 1-2 but in Step 3, I do not see "Discounts and Credits" button anywhere on the screen

    R
    RCVQuickBooks Team
    QuickBooks Team
    February 21, 2023

    Unfortunately I've done this and am now seeing the Invoices on the P&L in the Income, and as the Bad Debt Expenses (therefore Income doesn't balance/ is inaccurate, and the outcome of credit & debt = net $0 / defeats the purpose).  PLEASE advise how to correct this.


    Thanks for checking in with us, AmyOfficePro.

     

    The uncollectible receivable amount on your Profit and Loss report under the Bad Debts expense account is affected by how you record the bad debt. If you are using QuickBooks Online (QBO) and your business uses accrual method accounting, we write off bad debt as a deduction. Here's an article you can refer to for more insights about bad debt from the IRS. 

     

    We can run an Account QuickReport to check all the receivables you marked as bad debt to review the bad debt transactions. To accomplish this:

     

    1. Go to the Gear icon on the top menu. 
    2. Select Chart of accounts.
    3. In the Action column of the bad debts accounts, tap Run report.

     

    Then, by adding a note to their name, you can distinguish a bad-debt entity from your other customers. Here's how it's done:

     

    1. Go to Get paid & pay and select Customers.
    2. Choose the customer’s name.
    3. At the upper right, tap Edit.
    4. In the Display Name as field, enter “Bad Debt” or “No Credit” after the customer name.
    5. Press Save.

     

    You can check out this article for more details about writing off bad debt: Write off bad debt in QuickBooks Online. If the same thing happens, we can run some basic troubleshooting tests to figure out what's going on. Launch a private browser and rerun the Profit and Loss report. The private mode prevents the cache from being retained while the website is up and running, which may cause issues. Here's a list of shortcut keys that you can use to get to one:

     

    • Ctrl+ Shift + N for Google Chrome
    • Ctrl + Shift + P for Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge
    • Command + Shift + N for Safari

     

     

    If it works fine, go back to your original browser and clear its cache to start fresh. Moreover, you can use another supported and up-to-date browser to narrow down the result.

     

    Feel free to visit this article to see various details on how the Sales page shows you a great at-a-glance view of all the status of sales transactions like open and paid invoices: View sales transactions.

     

    If you have any further questions or want to refer to something else, please click the Reply button below. Please know that I am always available to assist you with any QuickBooks issues you may be experiencing. Take care always.

    BigRedConsulting
    BigRedConsulting
    Level 15
    April 9, 2021

    This happens when the journal isn't linked to the invoice it's writing down. Same thing will happen if you record a Payment received transaction and don't apply it to invoices.

    To complete the transaction, open the Receive Payments window, select the customer, and then apply the outstanding credit to the open invoice(s).

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