Why does my customers balance still show negative, after issuing a refund check?????

The only transactions that impact the customer balance use the AR account.

Did you use the AR account on the check in the detail area in the Expense column? 

Yes i did.

Hi @Bpkeeper,

Let's review first all the transactions of your customer to check if there are any other outstanding transactions. You can consider this as one of the reasons why it's still showing a negative balance after recording a refund check.

To do so:

1. Go to Customers.
2. Select Customer Center.
3. Find and open your customer's profile.
4. Under Transactions, select All on the Date menu.

If there are still outstanding transactions or amounts on the list, you can create a new refund check to resolve it. But if you're unable to see any outstanding transaction, you may want to consider running the utility tool.

From there, QuickBooks will automatically any issues on your company file which can be the reason why your customer still has a  negative balance. That being said, here's how you can run to tools:

1. Go to File.
2. Select Utility.
3. Tap Verify Data.
4. Hit OK.
5. Go back to File.
6. Select Utility.
7. Hit Rebuild Data.
8. Click OK.

I've got you this article for more information about the tools: Verify and Rebuild Data in QuickBooks Desktop.

Please let me know how it works in the comment section down below. I'm glad to lend a helping hand.

No Luck. When I select the all option under transactions it shows all invoices and payments for that particular customer. I verified and rebuilt data and nothing changed. Any other ideas?

Thanks for getting back to us, @Bpkeeper.

Processing a refund check to a customer in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) should remove the negative balance (overpayment) in their account.

Since the same thing happens after checking the customer's profile and performing the verify and rebuild utility tool, I highly suggest contacting our Phone Support team. They're able to pull up your account using their screen-sharing (remote access) tool and further investigate this odd behavior. They can also try other troubleshooting steps that fix this for you.

Here's how to reach them:

1. Open QBDT and to go the Help menu at the top to get to the QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. Select Contact Us at the bottom to connect with our live support.

Just in case, I'll add this article for future reference: Give your customer a credit or refund in QuickBooks Desktop for Windows.

Please know that I'm only a few clicks away if you have any other issues or concerns. I want to make sure everything is taken care of for you. Have a great weekend!

i did have an issue just like the OP.

i had followed the QB instructions to create a credit memo, and then was told to create a refund check. 

this procedure is doubling up the credit. 

I went it and deleted the credit memo and the balance is now zero. i left the refund check in the system.

any questions, let me know :)

With all due respect, deleting the CM doesn't make any sense. Why issue a CM, then later go back and delete it?  

Here is how I resolved this problem.

1. Go to the Credit Memo issued to the account in questions and open it. 

2. Example:  Account, ABC Tool shows a -$500.00 amount remaining.  The work is complete, so it's time to issue a refund to ABC Tool.

3. Directly under, "Help", "Docs" is "Use credit to give refund".  Open it.

4. A "Issue a Refund" box will open.  Fill in the specific information.  Type the check number in the memo box, hit the "ok" button and done.  Check issued and account is at zero. 

Hope this helps!

This is precisely the correct procedure to follow to resolve this issue.