It's great to see you here in the Community space, @helenraine1. I can see how important it is to delete the payee so that you can't select it anymore. I'm here to help you.
Follow these steps to proceed:
- Go to the Expenses menu, then select the Vendors tab.
- Select the checkbox next to the vendor's name.
- Click on Batch actions.
- Select Make inactive, then select Yes.
Furthermore, here's an article that explains more about this process in QuickBooks Online: How to edit, delete, and restore list elements
Additionally, you may want to learn how to run a report with vendor totals. This report will include all payments made to your vendors: Run a report with vendor totals.
I’ll be around ready to help you out if you have additional or follow-up questions in managing your vendor transactions. I'm here to back you up. Take care, helenraine1!