How to Make an Account Inactive in QuickBooks Online?

There can be occasions when you don’t use the account throughout the year that has been stored in the COA. In such cases, you can make the account inactive. This should be noted that inactivating the account will not delete the account permanently. Rather, it shows that the particular account is not in use and will not be displayed in the COA menu. But, how to make an account inactive in QuickBooks Online?

QuickBooks lets you deactivate the account using different ways. You can also find these deactivated accounts later in case you want to make them active again. However, some unexpected errors may show up while making the accounts inactive which can be resolved using easy methods.

How Can You Make an Account Inactive in QuickBooks Online?

The process of QuickBooks Online make accounts inactive can be followed in two different ways. For instance, you can make your QuickBooks accounts inactive from the Gear icon or use the Accounting menu to get the job done.

Keep in mind, changing the account visibility might affect the balance. Also, these accounts will not appear in the account list once you make an account inactive in QuickBooks Online.

Method 1: Make Account Inactive from Gear Icon

If you have used your bank account for some transactions then you will see the option to make the account inactive. To successfully implement the action, you can navigate through the QB Settings (Gear) option.

Right from there, you need to open QB COA and locate the account you want to inactivate. This should be noted that if you make an account inactive in QuickBooks Online, it will also change the balance.

• Go to the “Gear” icon from the toolbar.
• Then, click the “COA” button from “Your Company”.
• Choose the account you wish to remove from the list.
• Now, you can press the drop-down list from the “Action” column.
• After that, click the “Make Inactive” button.
• Hit the “Yes” button to confirm the action.

Important Note: The income account cannot be inactivated if it is used by the service or product. Such accounts are default accounts that were created automatically to serve necessary roles in the accounting system.

Method 2: Make Account Inactive from Accounting Menu

Those who are willing to clean up the account can make the active account inactive in QuickBooks. This will not let the specific account show up in the list. QB Accounting tab will be helpful to get this job done.

All you are required to do is locate QB COA, find the expense account, and implement the relevant action using the drop-down.

• Navigate through the “Accounting” tab from the left.
• Then, select the “COA” tab.
• Here, you need to look for the expense account.
• Once done, choose the drop-down option beside the “Run report” option from the “Action” column.
• Now, select the “Make Inactive” button.

As you do so, the accounts will be switched to inactive status. Remember that making it inactive does not mean it will delete the account. Inactivating the account means the particular account is not in use and also it will not be displayed in the COA menu.

Please Note: When you make the account inactive, QuickBooks will create a journal entry. It will move the remaining balance to a different account. Remember the existing transactions will not display or stay on the financial reports. However, if you use the account in the future then QuickBooks won’t change your journal entry or move the balance back.

How to Find Inactive Accounts in QuickBooks?

Users can find the accounts that are inactive with all the transactions after you run the reports. In addition, QuickBooks Online includes such accounts in order to keep the information accurate. If needed, you can even customize certain reports to hide your inactive account. However, it might affect account accuracy.

• To see the inactive accounts in the COA, navigate through the “Settings” menu.
• Then, click the “COA” option.
• Now, hit the “Gear” button located beside the printer icon.
• Once done, click the “Include inactive” option.

How to Make an Inactive Account Active in QuickBooks Online?

In some instances, you might want to use the inactive account again for some reason. To make it possible, one has to activate the inactive account. This can be done easily from QuickBooks settings.

Once you open the QB COA, the Gear icon will show the list of accounts that are no longer active. You can pick the appropriate one and make it active again.

• Open the “QuickBooks Settings” by clicking on the “Gear” icon.
• Then, go to the “COA” tab.
• Now, click the “Gear” tab located beside the printer icon.
• After that, you can choose “Include inactive”.
• Once done, you need to choose the account you need to use again.
• Select “Make active”.

This is how you can turn the inactive accounts active again. Remember that QuickBooks will not add the account or make changes to the journal entry that contains your balance.

What If You Encounter Errors in QuickBooks?

While making your accounts inactive, if QuickBooks not working in Chrome or other browsers, you need to configure your web browser. The piled-up cache might be the reason you are facing issues during QuickBooks Online make account inactive procedure.

However, using the private window and clearing the browser’s cache will surely help to resolve the error. This will let you access QB properly and make the account inactive successfully.

Fix 1: Use QuickBooks Online in an Incognito Browser

When QuickBooks Online is causing trouble while making the accounts inactive or active, you should try using a QBO account in an incognito window.

Incognito mode does not store cache, cookies, and any information you enter while accessing web pages. Therefore, it will let you perform certain actions for QB in private mode easily. Also, it will help you to determine if you need to take some action for the normal mode.

To access the incognito window, different shortcut keys can be used based on the browser you use:

• Google Chrome users can press Ctrl + Shift + N keys.
• Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge users can use “Ctrl +Shift + P” 
• Safari users can hold down the ⌘ + Option + P key combination.

Fix 2: Clear the Browser’s Cache

If you can use QuickBooks Online in a private window, it indicates that your regular browser is loaded with cache and cookies. Hence, clearing the cache is essential to easily fix the errors.

The browser’s cache can be cleared in different browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and others. Google Chrome users can use these steps as a reference.

• Open the “Google Chrome” browser.
• Then, select the “More” button from the top right.
• After this, choose the “Settings” menu.
• Select the “Privacy and Security” option.
• Click the “Site Settings” option.
• Choose the “Cookies and site data” from the “Content” button.
• Select the “See all cookies and site data” option.
• Once done, type “Intuit” using the search bar. This will help you to locate the cookies related to Intuit.
• After that, click the “Remove all shown” option. You can also press the “Trash can” icon.
• Then, restart the browser to reflect the changes.

Similarly, you can clear in other browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Opera. Thereafter, you can restart the browser and make bank account inactive in QuickBooks Online.

To Wind Up!

To keep organized or accurate, it is important to delete or deactivate the accounts that are no longer in use. Bear in mind, if the account contains some balance, it will move to the journal entry by QuickBooks. You can use the account again by making it active if needed in the future.