I have a client who has used "Bank Account" as the account type for the Trust Account for years. It has been impossible to manage (as you would know). What catastrophe will it create to simply change the account type to "Other Current Liabilities" at this point? Or would it be better to create a new "current liabilities" account and transfer the current balance into the new account? Thank you for your help.

This string appears to be regarding attorney's Trust accounts within a set of books. That is not the same as accounting for estates and trusts.  It is a different topic entirely.  

Here is a great article and video to address how to set up a trust account in QuickBooks:

https://www.leanlaw.co/chart-of-accounts-trust-accounting-qbo-video/

I am trying to run a year end profit and loss report for only my general checking account. My Trust account is showing up on it. I filter and click for only the general checking account, but it comes up with $0 balances. I called into support, and they were not able to help me. Any ideas???

Thank you for reaching out to the Community space. I'm here to help you understand why your general checking account shows $0 balance in your profit and loss report.

The transactions included in a profit and loss report are all the income and expenses incurred by the company during the period being reported on. It's possible that the transactions for your general checking account are not properly categorized or tagged as income or expenses in QuickBooks Online, which is why the report displays $0 balances. 

I also suggest consulting your accountant for further assistance when handling this matter and ensuring accurate recordkeeping.

You can also customize reports and save their configuration settings within the program.

Please comment below if you have any further questions about running financial reports in QuickBooks. I'm always available and ready to assist you in making the most out of your accounting experience.

I am having the same difficulty and cambridgelaw - the trust account deposits and expenses are showing up with my attorney's finances in a P&L.  The chart of accounts is set up correctly.  Each client has a "sub-account" under current liabilities and there are shared expense categories labeled and used just for the clients.  Each client has its own file showing all deposits and expenses made on its behalf.  Additionally, I was taught to make a general journal entry showing that the deposit went to the client's sub-account and was credited to the attorney's particular sub-field of work i.e. will preparation, adoption, consultation.  When the money is earned, the reverse is applied in the general journal and monies transferred from the client's individual sub-account to the operating account as income.  All of the transactions in the trust account are showing up on the P&L as income and expenditures for the attorney.  Any help will be appreciated.

I understand the challenges you are experiencing with your trust account transactions incorrectly reflecting in your attorney's finances on the Profit and Loss report, Judith. 

In QuickBooks Online (QBO), the Profit and Loss (P&L) report is a financial statement that summarizes the revenues, expenses, and net income over a specific period. Since your deposits affect income, they will appear in the reports. 

I suggest consulting your accountant if you do not want to show it on the P&L. They can provide guidance based on your business needs and accounting practices.

If you need to modify the details of your report in QBO, you can refer to this article: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online.

Keep your posts coming if you have further questions about running P&L or other reports in QuickBooks. I'm always here to help. Have a great day.

When I did my P&L for 2023 recently I found this:

1. If I ran a report on income that was straight up actual income, the numbers were correct

2. I use "Other Current Liability (a standalone category, neither income nor expense) and subcategories I created "Retainer Received" and "Refund of Retainer." 

3. The  retainers marked in these categories did not appear on my P&L, which is accurate as they are, as you and I observed, neither income nor expense. 

I have a category under "Other Current Asset" called "Retainer applied against invoice" (I made it up so it's easy for me to remember) and then write a check from my retainer account to myself, from the account "retainer applied against invoice" which, again, is marked "Other current asset".

That seems to work but haven't tested it in a full P&L as it as 2024...

Thank you for your response.  I should have stated that I am using QBDT and not the online version.  The account with whom we work is out sick and not available for consultation.

Thanks for clarifying the product you're using, @Judith7425. I'll make sure you get the assistance needed concerning your profit and loss report.

The Profit and Loss Report in QuickBooks Online (QBO) displays the same data when accessed in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). Still, this is the summarization of your financial statement, not limited to revenues, expenses, and net income over a specific period. Since it's best to consult with your accountant about the following amounts on your P&L, which were already suggested by my peer in this thread, you can find one by going over to this link: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/find-an-accountant/.

Once you're on the site, enter your ZIP code and press the Find a ProAdvisor button to search for nearby accountants. 

I will also include an article that can help you understand the fundamental principles of reporting data. Additionally, you may want to explore ways to customize the data more efficiently: Understand reports. 

Feel free to check out the Community if you have any additional questions regarding report management. I hope your business thrives and prospers. Take good care of yourself and stay safe.

I am also on desktop--I think the 2018 version. FYI. I use the older version because it is considerably easier for our needs.

Older seems to be better!!  8-)