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.