Why do the line items in my bill show up as separate transaction in my register?

@typicoleRE: I have no idea why each line item included in my bill shows up as a separate row in my register.

What register is shown in your screenshot? For what account?

If that's you inventory account, and the items you purchased are inventory items, then that's what you'll see, an entry for each item on the bill.

It is my check register.

If line items from a Bill show up in your bank register, that means the items used on the bill are set up to use your bank account.

I'm not sure why anyone would do that and it's almost certainly incorrect. Items generally use income accounts. Where an item is configured to purchase and sell, then the purchase side uses an expense account and the sales side uses an income account:

If you edit your items and see your bank account in one of the account fields, that's the issue. Change the account to an appropriate account and then as you save the item, answer yes to update the existing transactions that use the item so they don't impact you bank account anymore.

@BigRedConsulting Thanks so much for the detailed response, I GREATLY appreciate it. I think im confused though because my bank account is my register. I want my register in QuickBooks to show all of my debits and my credits. I followed what you said by changing the account types associated with all the items in the bill. But when I did that, the entire bill no longer showed in the register. I just want the bill to have one row in my register that shows the total of the entire transaction. Then when I click in it, I can see all of the items that were included in the transaction. 

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@typicole wrote:

@BigRedConsulting Thanks so much for the detailed response, I GREATLY appreciate it. I think im confused though because my bank account is my register. I want my register in QuickBooks to show all of my debits and my credits. I followed what you said by changing the account types associated with all the items in the bill. But when I did that, the entire bill no longer showed in the register. I just want the bill to have one row in my register that shows the total of the entire transaction.

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Only bank transactions should show in your bank account register.  Your bank account register should not show anything that is not part of your bank account's activity - should not show bills, because bills have nothing to do with your bank account.

The same is true for all of your other account registers, like your AP and AR accounts, which will only show records that impact those accounts.

If you want to see all of your accounting in one place, run a report like the Journal or the General Ledger.

@BigRedConsulting Your constant feedback has been greatly appreciated, thank you so much. I think i'm starting to get it now. So QuickBooks only allows me to choose from the following account registers:

 - Bank

- Accounts Receivable - Accounts Receivable

- Accumulated Depreciation - Fixed Asset

- Furniture and Equipment - Fixed Asset

- Accounts Payable - Accounts Payable

- Payroll Liabilities - Other Current Liability

- Capital Stock - Equity

- Dividends Paid - Equity

- Opening Balance Equity - Equity

- Retained Earnings - Equity

As you can see, there are no expense account registers. So I guess my question is, what is the definition of a register in QuickBooks? And why are there no account registers for expenses? I'm assuming that when I add a bill, and all items are associated with an expense account, it will never go into any register?

I understand this wasn't an easy process for you, @typicole. Please know that this isn’t the impression we want to leave with you.

QuickBooks uses registers to track transactions according to where they came from. They show a user's entire transaction history as well as the account's current balance. A good example is your check register, which records all transactions that you identify as checks.

I've replicated your concern and checked my bank register for the expense transactions. I verified our records as well, and there are no reported cases similar to yours. With this, I recommend verifying and rebuilding your data in. Through this, we can identify and resolve the most commonly known data issues within your company file.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Window menu and then select Close All.
2. Go to the File menu.
3. Select Utilities and then click Verify Data.

To Rebuild:

1. Go to the File menu.
2. Select Utilities, then click Rebuild Data.

You can also check this link for more detailed steps: Verify and Rebuild Data in QuickBooks Desktop. 

You’ll want to consider resorting the accounts on your Chart of Accounts list. The Account QuickReport, on the other hand, is sorted by default. If you have multiple accounts or items listed, the Chart of Accounts or Item List may be out of numerical order.

Before doing so, let's create a backup copy of your company file to avoid company loss. Then, feel free to read this article to make your lists go back to its default order: Re-sort lists in QuickBooks Desktop

Furthermore, may I know what business industry you’ve set up in QuickBooks Desktop? The system will create the default accounts which relates to the type of business you’re operating in QuickBooks. You can use this link as your reference if you want to start a new company file in QuickBooks: Create a QuickBooks Desktop company file.

Feel free to update us on the result of this troubleshooting steps in the comment section below. I'd like to ensure this is resolved for you. Keep safe.

@typicole

the bill will hit your A/P and the expense accounts assigned to the items. The payment to the bill will hit your A/P again and your "bank register".

It's impossible that you don't have expense accounts/register in the chart of accounts.

@typicole 

RE: As you can see, there are no expense account registers. 

Yes, there are only registers for balance sheet accounts, for accounts that logically have 'balances'. I have never used an accounting system that has registers for P&L type accounts, though one might exist.

RE: So I guess my question is, what is the definition of a register in QuickBooks?

I'm not really sure how to answer that, but I'd equate it to a bank/checkbook 'register', which is a list of all the transactions that impact the account balance.

RE: And why are there no account registers for expenses? 

I don't know exactly, but that's the way it is. Why do you care?

In any case, you can right-click on any P&L type account, including expenses, and pick the QuickReport option and you'll get a report that is basically the same thing - all of the transactions that use the account.

RE: I'm assuming that when I add a bill, and all items are associated with an expense account, it will never go into any register?

Not correct. The bill will appear in the A/P account register - because it impacts the A/P account balance.