How to clear transactions in AR Aging/AP Aging that net to zero.

The screenshot isn't showing on the first post

In this case, edit the customer Payment transaction and then select the Journal to pay as if it was an Invoice.

Thanks so much!

What about if the debit and credit are both journal entries? 

Here's a screenshot of my aging detail to give you a visual...

It's all just JEs to a customer account that net to $0, but they show on the report. Trying to make them go away.

Thanks,

How would you do this if the journal affects an A/P/vendor account? I'm having the same issue with a payable account. I did a journal and it keeps showing up on the A/P aging (net effect $0). Thank you in advance!

Hi aboss_village!

Thanks for joining us here. We can link your journal entry to your bills to fix it. Let me help you.

Please follow these steps:

1. Go to the Vendors menu and select Pay Bills.
2. On the pop-up, select and check the open bill you want to apply the credit you've created using a journal entry.
3. Click the Set Credits button. From the Credits tab, select the credit and tap Done.
4. Select Pay Selected Bills.

Also, please check these links. These will show you how to fix customer and vendor balances as well as AR and AP balance issues:

• Resolve AR and AP balances on the cash basis Balance Sheet

• Write off customer and vendor balances

Do you have other concerns. Leave a comment below and we'll respond as soon as we can.

BIG RED, thank you!  So easy to fix and the AR reports were driving me crazy.

Hello @AlexV 

We have a series of AP journal entries made between 2010 - 2019 in an attempt to "fix AP OOB" which has now caused the same issue (Vendors on AP aging with zero balances).  These are JE to JE transactions, no invoice to match with in following the above instructions.  Is there a way to clear our JEs and remove these vendors from our aging without unraveling all the PY adjustments.  I'm worried about the mess we may create in prior, closed years.

Thank you for your time,

Liann 

Welcome to the QuickBooks Community, @TS Delaney.

In QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), entering journal entries to correct your books is not really recommended because it might cause errors or unwanted mistakes in your file. 

To isolate the issue, I would recommend reaching out to your accountant in correcting your books. This is to ensure that everything is recorded accurately and to avoid messing up your accounting data as it involves past transactions.

If you're not affiliated with one, you can utilize our Find an Accountant tool to look for one near your area. 

You'll also want to visit our QuickBooks Help page if you need guides and articles to further help you in performing your QuickBooks tasks.

I'm just right here if you have any other QuickBooks-related concerns. Don't hesitate to post again here in the Community. Take care. 

Wow. Thanks for the help on this. Been trying to figure out how to do it yesterday and today with no luck. Your steps worked perfectly and I am showing clear. 

Thank you for the help! 

@DivinaMercy_N  thank you for the reply.  I'm the new Director of Finance and we do have several accountants.  Unfortunately the journals were made in 2009, 2012, and 2013; all by previous employees.  I agree JEs shouldn't have been entered.  Since these books are closed and taxes filed, I'm apprehensive to have anyone touch those transactions and change the records to correct.

Based on your response, is it safe to say, there's no way to have these zero balance accounts not appear on the aging reports unless we remove those JEs and process the corrections through AP and AR processes (i.e. invoices, credits, etc.)?

Thank you,

Liann 

Worked like a charm!!! Thank you so much! It was so easy. I am usually in the AR thick of things.  You've made my Monday! 😊

Thanks for getting involved with this thread, basementdoctorbabe.

I'm happy to hear AlexV was able to help with linking your journal entries to bills.

You'll also be able to find many detailed resources about using QuickBooks in our help article archives.

Please feel more than welcome to send a reply if there's any additional questions. Have an awesome day!

I have the same issue with AP transactions. All of the solutions mentioned are for A/R (which I already knew the answer to), but that solution does NOT apply to A/P. When I go to "Pay Bills", the journal entries do not show there, so guess we're stuck with them. I don't see a response here. Did you ever get one?

Going back and forth isn't easy, @nduffy.  I'm here to ensure you'll get the help you need about clearing off accounts payable transactions. 

Make sure to consult your accounting professional before trying these suggested resolutions. 

Let's start by writing off the amount for AP by creating a General Journal Entry. 

1. Open the Company menu, and click on Make General Journal Entries.

2. From there, edit the date and fill in the entry number if needed.

For vendors with underpayment: 

• Choose the Account field and hit Accounts Payable from the dropdown.
• Fill in the amount under the Credit column, go to the Name column and pick the vendor name from the dropdown.
• Proceed to the next line and choose the offset account and type in the amount under the Debit column.

For vendors with underpayment:

• Choose the Account field and hit Accounts Payable from the dropdown.
• Fill in the amount under the Debit column, go to the Name column and pick the vendor name from the dropdown.
• Proceed to the next line and choose the offset account and type in the amount under the Credit column.
• Once done, click on Save & Close.

After that, you'll want to link your journal entry to your bills to fix the balance. Here's how:

1. Open the Vendors menu and click on Pay Bills.

2. On the pop-up box, choose and put a check to the open bill you want to apply the credit you've created using a journal entry.

3. Select the Set Credits button. From the Credits tab, select the credit and tap Done.

4. Lastly, click on Pay Selected Bills.

For more details about the steps, check this handy article: Write off customer and vendor balances.

I'm also adding this guide in case you're ready to review and make sure your accounts are balanced: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop.
 

You already know where to find me if you need more assistance handling reports/balances. I'm also available for queries about QuickBooks in general. Take the best care!

I don't think you understand the problem. What you're describing above is not what I need. The Vendor balance is -0-. It will remain -0- as we're not doing business with them anymore.

However, we have 2 JE's that were processed on their vendor account (way before my time and in a previous fiscal year) that offset to -0- and I can't get rid of them from the aging. See attached screen shot.

Never mind - I figured it out. When you go to "Pay bills", select what's there for that vendor (the offset won't show) but when you select it for payment it will then recognize the credit.

Actually that didn't work for them all. Suggestions?

I admire you for putting so much effort and time into getting a resolution to your concern, @nduffy. I’ll go over how we can sort out this issue about clearing off Accounts Payable transactions.

Clearing Accounts Receivable (A/R) and Account Payable (A/P) balances can be a little tricky. I’ve got some steps here to get these balances taken care of. However, I'd recommend reaching out to your accountant to ensure that everything is recorded accurately and to avoid messing up your accounting data.

If you're not affiliated with one, you can utilize our Find an Accountant tool to look for one in your area. 

Once ready, we’ll have to create a clearing account first. Here’s how: 

1. Go to the Lists menu, then go to the Chart of Accounts.
2. Click Account, then choose New.
3. Choose Bank, then click Continue.
4. Enter the desired name (example: clearing account).
5. Click Save & Close.

From there, we can now create a Journal Entry. I’ll show you how: 

1. Go to Company, then choose Make General Journal Entries.
2. In the Account field, select Creditors.
3. Enter the amount in the Debit field, then select the vendor in the Name field.
4. In the next row, choose the clearing account you've created in the Account field. 
5. Enter the amount in the Credit field, then select the vendor in the Name field.
6. Click Save & Close.

Once settled, we can now apply the entry to the existing balance. Here’s how: 

1. Go to Vendors, then go to the Vendor Center.
2. Choose a vendor, then look for the bill.
3. Open the bill, then click Pay Bill.
4. Click Set Credits, then you'll find the journal entry in the Credits tab.
5. Choose it, then click Done.
6. Click Pay Selected Bills.

For more details about writing off vendor balances, feel free to read this article: Write off customer and vendor balances. 

Moreover, I’ve added this helpful resource for future reference in case you’ll want to write off bad debt in QBDT: Write off bad debt in QuickBooks Desktop. 

Feel free to keep me posted on your progress with clearing off balances in QuickBooks Desktop, or if you need anything else with QBDT-related tasks. I'm determined to help you succeed. Keep safe always.

How is creating another JE going to solve my problem of getting rid of the JE's already open and unmatched?

Also, I have no GL account "Creditors". What is that supposed to be?

Allow me to chime and join the conversation, nduffy.

Creating a journal entry will correct inaccurate information in your accounting records. Aside from that, it lets you enter transactions that you're unable to add in other sections of the program.

To ensure the accuracy of your books, I suggest you reach out to your accountant for further assistance. They can advise you on how to deal with the situation, particularly which account to use in your journal entry. Here’s an article that covers the step-by-step process of how to: Add, edit, or delete accounts.

These resources will also show you how to track customer and vendor transactions in the desktop program:

• Accounts Payable workflows 
• Get started with customer transaction workflows 

From there, you'll see the links to each process as well as screenshots for visual reference.

Reach out to me again if you have any further questions about clearing out your accounts payable or other QuickBooks issues. I'll be right back to help you out, nduffy.

The issue I have is that the detail for the accounts receiveable does not appear in the Payment section when I select the customer. Something to do with using a target account when posting JE's to the Accounts Receivable account. My AR Aging detail has years worth of these record and reverse JE adjustments that off-set but do not appear anywhere that I can find.

My Aging looks like garbage.

Hi, @T_Hor. Thanks for joining the thread. Let me help you fix this.

There may be damaged links between transactions or the transactions themselves that's why it does not appear in the Payment section. I recommend that you run the verify and rebuild data tool. This enables us to see any data issue within your company file. 

To run the Verify Data utility:   
 

1. Click the File menu.
2. Select Utilities.
3. Click Verify Data.
4. If there are issues found, you’ll be prompted to Rebuild Now.

Here’s how to run the Rebuild utility:   
 

1. Click the File menu.
2. Select Utilities.
3. Choose Rebuild Data.
4. Click Ok on Rebuild has completed.

It may take a few minutes for the process to start depending on the file size of your company. When the rebuild tool is complete, run the Verify tool again to check the remaining data damage. Otherwise, if you received the message stated above, then you're good to go.

You can also visit this article to learn more about depositing payments: Record and make bank deposits in QuickBooks Desktop. 

Let me know how it goes on your end. I'll be around to assist. Stay safe and have a great day!