How to delete or zero out an unapplied payment

Hi  there, folsomtravis!

Thank you for taking the time to post today. Let's check your records to see why you have unapplied payments.

What you thought is one of the reasons why you have unapplied payments. Other reasons are advanced invoice payments or a paid invoice was deleted. It's a good thing that you're able to reconcile your account, which means we don't have an issue on the bank's side.

You can double-click the accumulated amount in the Unapplied Cash Payment account to see the list of transactions. Then, you'll want to go through each of them and delete them if you're sure that they are duplicates or shouldn't be part of your records. However, I strongly recommend backing up your company file first. You can work with your accountant to correct your books if you're unsure about them.

On the other hand, keep yourself updated with the latest features in QuickBooks by checking our blogs.

Let me know if you have additional questions with your records.

Hi There,

how can I do the same in Quickbooks online. I went to the account "unapplied cash payments" but if I run the report it doesn't show any unapplied payments although I have 2 at least in the system I need to get rid off.

Thanks

Markus

Thanks for joining this thread, Markus.

I have the steps to help you resolve the Unapplied cash payment in QuickBooks Online. To see the Unapplied cash payment in the report, you'll want to run the Profit and Loss report using the cash method.

Here's how:

1. Go to Reports > Profit and Loss.
2. Select the Report period, and under the Accounting method, choose Cash.
3. Click Run report.
4. In the Income section, click the amount for the Unapplied Cash Payment Income.

You will see the details of the unapplied payment in the Transaction Report. To check if the payment matches with an open invoice, you can run the Open Invoices report by following these steps:

1. Go back to Reports and type Open Invoices in the search field.
2. Select the Report period and click the Run report button.
3. In the Transaction Type column, locate a transaction listed as a Payment.

If the payment matches an open invoice, you can select the Payment date to open the transaction and select the invoice. Otherwise, follow step 3 in this article: Unapplied cash payment income on your profit and loss.

Please let me know how it goes. I'll be around to help you some more. Take care and stay safe.

When I try to clear out the payment that was in the unapplied account, it says it was deposited and that deposit must be deleted first. I cannot find the deposit to delete it. Where can I find the deposit?

Good afternoon, @aklobby. 

Thanks for taking the time to follow along with the thread and sharing your concerns here in the QuickBooks Community. 

It sounds like there might be some data damage in the company file that's affecting the payment. Let's try some basic troubleshooting steps to clear any possible damage. Such as running the Rebuild and Verify utilities. These utilities scan the company file and resolve any data damage within it. Data damage can cause issues like incorrect balances, duplicate transactions, etc. I've included the steps to run the utilities below. 

1. Close all windows opened in the company file.
2. Go to File > Utilities > Verify Data.
3. No action is needed when you're prompted with QuickBooks detected no problems with your data. The Your data has lost integrity message indicates that there's data damage in your file.
4. Continue to Rebuild data to correct the problem. File > Utilities > Rebuild Data.
5. You will receive a warning message to backup your company file, press OK.
6. Follow the onscreen instruction on where to save your company file.
7. The Rebuild Data utility starts as soon as the backup is finished.
8. Click OK when you get the message "Rebuild has completed".

Once the Rebuild has completed, please check if you're able to clear out the payment. If you're still getting the message to delete the deposit first, you can locate it by using our Transaction History feature. To do this, open the payment and using your keyboard hit the Control key and the letter H. Then, you should see the deposit listed. You can reference my screenshot below. 

You can see additional details about data damage in Verify and Rebuild Data in QuickBooks Desktop. 

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I'm always here to lend a hand. Take care! 

I have this same problem. The response regarding data damage does not seem to apply to the question.  Does anyone know how to find the deposit with the unapplied payment init? 

When I try to clear out the payment that was in the unapplied account, it says it was deposited and that deposit must be deleted first. I cannot find the deposit to delete it. Where can I find the deposit?

To find a deposit to delete in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), you can use the Transaction History, @ecarroll77. I know how to do this. I'll show to achieve your goal.

You can locate it by using our Transaction History feature. To do this, open the payment and press the Ctrl key and the letter H on your keyboard. You should then see the deposit listed. Alternatively, you can access the Transaction History in the Customers tab. To proceed, follow the steps below:
 

1. Click Customer Center from the Customers menu.
2. Decide what customer and select the payment in question.
3. In the Reports tab, hit the Transaction History icon.
4. Choose the deposit and tap the Go To tab. It will route you to the exact transaction.
5. Right-click the payment in the Make Deposit window. Pick Delete deposit, then OK.
6. Tap Delete and OK to confirm.

Note that if there is only a single deposit, you can directly delete the entire deposit. However, if you have a bulk deposit, only delete the specific line item associated with the payment.

Moreover, I have included this article to aid you in reconciling a transaction in QuickBooks Desktop: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop.

Once you have followed the provided steps, you can clear the unapplied payment in your QBDT. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out. I am here to assist you. Stay safe!