Does making an account inactive reduce my usage limits?

Hi there, @bricknelson.

I have just the clarification you're looking for regarding QuickBooks Online (QBO) Usage Limits. These limits are decided based on the version of QBO you're using. For the Chart of Accounts, you can have:

• QuickBooks Online Advanced: No limit
• All other versions: 250 accounts

If you're using QBO Plus, Essentials, or Simple Start and you already have over 250 ledger accounts, making one inactive will reduce your usage limit by one. However, if you're under 250, your limit will remain the same until you've reached that point. We offer a detailed guide on usage limits in QBO that is sure to be of assistance.

Using this information, you can better control the usage limits allotted to your subscription type. Please know you can always find me here anytime you need a helping hand, I'm always up to talk QuickBooks. Thanks for dropping in, have a magnificent rest of your week.

when I signed up for QBO plus there were no limits. why now? Bate and Switch?

Could you answer this question?

@bricknelson @rockerjd

Happy Friday, everyone.

I'm here with a little more information regarding QuickBooks Online Usage Limits. If you're already in excess of any of the limits stated in our usage guide, you'll be able to operate as normal so long as no changes are made to these entities.

The Limits Dashboard is a great tool for keeping track of your Online company's usage. It can be accessed from the Gear icon (⚙) > Usage tab. From here, you can keep a close eye on your business's count of Classes and Locations, the Chart of Accounts, and Billable Users.

Lastly, please consider using this as an opportunity to clean up some of the unused entities in your QuickBooks. Any item made Inactive won't count towards your limit total, these links will help you accomplish that:

• Manage classes and locations
• Delete an account from the chart of accounts
• Manage users

Please touch base with me here for all of your QuickBooks needs, I want to ensure your success. Thanks for bringing us your questions, have a safe and relaxing weekend ahead.

I don't "consider this an opportunity" to do anything other than force me to upgrade.  My accounts are exactly how I set them up, exactly what my business requires and exactly what I need.

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@MichaelDL wrote:

@bricknelson @rockerjd

 

Happy Friday, everyone.

 

I'm here with a little more information regarding QuickBooks Online Usage Limits. If you're already in excess of any of the limits stated in our usage guide, you'll be able to operate as normal so long as no changes are made to these entities.

 

The Limits Dashboard is a great tool for keeping track of your Online company's usage. It can be accessed from the Gear icon (⚙) > Usage tab. From here, you can keep a close eye on your business's count of Classes and Locations, the Chart of Accounts, and Billable Users.

 

Lastly, please consider using this as an opportunity to clean up some of the unused entities in your QuickBooks. Any item made Inactive won't count towards your limit total, these links will help you accomplish that:

 

• Manage classes and locations
• Delete an account from the chart of accounts
• Manage users

 

Please touch base with me here for all of your QuickBooks needs, I want to ensure your success. Thanks for bringing us your questions, have a safe and relaxing weekend ahead.

---

"Any item made Inactive won't count towards your limit total"

That's good to know

I need help please. I am making accounts inactive so as to get below the new limit. When I get to the expense accounts I get the following message. 

Hi there, lestroo2.

Thanks for reaching out here in the Community. I can help you get rid of the error you're receiving.

The account needs to be removed from the 1099 form box. There are just a few steps to get this done. Here's how:

1. Choose the Expenses tab from the left navigation bar.

2. Select the Vendors tab at the top of the page.

3. Click Prepare 1099s in the top right corner.

4. Choose Continue your 1099s.

5. Continue to the Accounts page.

6. Here you can locate the account here and update it to a different account or uncheck the box.

7. Click Save and Finish Later to close.

Now you'll be able to make the account inactive. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Sometimes payroll accounts still count towards usage limits - even when they are inactive.

Is there a way to correct this?

You're correct, okshakes.

When you make an account inactive, it will not reduce the usage limits. It is designed this way since the system is still keeping its transactions and information.

As of now, if you'd like to increase the maximum limits, you may want to upgrade your subscription.

You can also take a look at this article when managing the usage limits: What are usage limits in QuickBooks Online?

Feel free to get back to this thread if there's anything that I can help. Keep safe!

What happens if that account was created by mistake and has nothing in it... no transactions whatsoever?

We can cancel the account, okshakes. 

For the mistakenly subscribed accounts in QuickBooks, you can cancel them to avoid additional charges. I'll show you how:

1. Log in to qbo.intuit.com.
2. Then, select the account that was mistakenly created.
3. At the upper-right corner, click Accounts and Settings.
4. From the Billing & Subscription menu, click Cancel subscription under the QuickBooks section.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions. 

Then, we can sign out and sign back in to ensure that it was successfully canceled. You can check out these articles for more details on how to manage your accounts: 

• How to manage your billing & subscriptions
• Cancel your QuickBooks Online subscription or trial

The Community is always available to help you with your questions. Just leave a reply below and we'll surely help you through it. Take care always!

Hello,

Thank you for the reply... however, my question is specifically regarding accounts within the chart of accounts, not the QBO master account.

My question is: In the chart of accounts, why would a specific account be counted against your total usage if there is nothing in it? I have seen this nowhere else but in mistakenly created payroll accounts.

Thank you.

Hello there, @okshakes.

Let me share some information about QuickBooks Online usage limits.

 In early 2019, usage limits were added to QuickBooks Online plans especially in the U.S. These affect how many users, class and location, and chart of account elements you can have. If you’re using QuickBooks Online Plus, you are only allowed to have 250 accounts in Chart of accounts. 

You can check out this article to know more about your usage limit. Usage limits in QuickBooks Online.

Please know that any items such as accounts or classes that are made inactive will not count towards the limit. 

You can use these articles on how you can manage classes and account from the chart of the accounts:

• Delete an Account from the Chart of Accounts.
• Manage Classes and Locations.

If you have any further questions, please let me know. I am here to help. Take care!

Looks like this issue hasn't been discussed in some time so I'm resurecting it because on Sept 7, 2022 the new usage limits are going into effect.

I have 312 accounts and the limit is 250.  The vast majority of these accounts have no data in them which I checked by looking at the transaction journals and running reports.  When I went to make one inactive, the drop down menu states "Make Inactive (won't reduce usage)" - see attached screenshot.  Why won't it reduce my usage?  I made it inactive anyway to see what would happen and sure enough, it doesn't reduce my usage.  Is this some type of scam by QB?  Am I really going to have to pay more each month just because i can't make accounts that I've never used inactive?

Please tell me this isn't so.

FYI, I've already read all the help files on this subject, so unless you have one that specifically provides additional steps I should take prior to inactivating an account (and by account I don't mean a user account or a bank account, I mean an account from the COA), then please don't waste my time.

I appreciate the screenshot you've provided, chris-mahalovet. I'd be pleased to provide some information regarding the chart of accounts usage limit in QuickBooks Online.

Certain accounts can't reduce the usage limit for the chart of accounts even if we make them inactive. This is because they are default accounts in QuickBooks Online.

To ensure we can reduce its usage limit, I'd suggest inactivating accounts with small amounts or zero value. See the sample screenshots below:

For more details about the usage limit, we can bookmark the following links. On the same write-ups, we can find more tips about toning down the chart of accounts:

Learn about usage limits in QuickBooks Online.

Taming the chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online.

Feel free to drop by anytime if you have any other usage limit concerns, chris-mahalovet. I'll stand by to keep helping. Have a good one.