I need to clear old A/P but need to maintain the inventory. How do I do this?

 I know how to get rid of your Accounts Payable (A/P) balance. waayhome.

You can create a journal entry (JE) to write off the balance of your AP account without deleting the item receipts. I'll show you how.

1. Go to the Company menu, then select Make General Journal Entries.
2. In the Make General Journal Entries window, change the date and fill in the entry number if necessary.
3. In the Account field, choose Accounts Payable from the dropdown.
4. Enter the amount under the Debit column, then select the vendor name in the Name column.
5. In the next line, select the offset account and enter the amount under the Credit column.
6. Hit Save & Close.

Once done, you can apply the journal entry to the existing vendor credit.

Here's how:

1. From the Vendor menu, select Pay bills.
2. Select the bill and choose Set credits.
3. Under the Credits tab, choose the available credit and then click Done.
4. Hit Save & close.

For more information, see this article: Write off customer and vendor balances.

For future reference, I've included this resource if you need to remove a bill payment check for a bill that has been recorded as paid: Void or delete a bill or bill payment check.

If you need further assistance clearing the AP account, please let me know. I'll be here to help you.

Giovanni,

My biggest hurdle is that the Item Receipts are hitting the AP.

WIthout a bill this doesn't seem logical. As previously mentioned, these are old 

as in 2020 or 2021 old, they were prepaid on a credit card or via Int'l Wire without any 

additional documentation. So, I have nothing to post against but the inventory must be received.

If you have a better way of doing this I am open to suggestion.

Hello, waayhome. 

The best way to handle those old transactions without deleting the item receipt is by creating Journal Entry, as suggested by my colleagues since they are past transactions.    

I would suggest reaching out to an accountant. This way, they can help you with other options and make sure your records are accurate.  

Also, remember to always back up your company file before doing anything, especially with old transactions.

If you need related articles for future use, please feel free to visit our site: Help articles for QuickBooks Desktop. 

Please don't hesitate to reach out to us again if you have other questions in mind. We're always here to help you out again. Stay safe!

Hello,

A credit, whether via a journal entry or from the creation of a credit memo can only be cleared when applied to open, unpaid bills.

To clear the item receipts from Accounts Payable and still maintain the (inventory) items on the balance sheet I would hit the expense tab on the item receipts you need to clear from A/P, enter a negative amount on the expense tab equaling the value on the item receipt and hitting 'recalculate' to zero out the transaction.  The account you can hit needs to be 'opening balance equity' or Paid-in Capital, since the actual expense and corresponding payable has already been entered on a bill, not linked to the item receipt.  If this is in relation to prior year transactions, a journal entry can be made to hit the same equity account and Accounts Payable to restore the balance sheet,  Accounts Payable Account.