How to Delete a Journal Entry in QuickBooks Pro

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In QuickBooks, it is often recommended to only enter a journal entry as a measure of last resort. Instead, users should rely on provided features like creating invoices, bills, checks, etc to record transactions. However, if you’ve entered a journal entry and wish to change it, then the same can be done in QuickBooks by reversing the entry.

QuickBooks is accounting software that makes daily tasks easier and highly used in the accounting world due to its many features which make many types of finance-related tasks much smoother for every QuickBooks user. It is greatly utilized by startups to its full strength due to its many tools and features.

In this article, you’ll learn to edit or delete a journal entry in QuickBooks Pro.

The tasks become uncomplicated with helpful software like QuickBooks. In fact, it makes tasks faster. For all sorts of doubts and help related to QuickBooks. They will resolve any questions related to the software anytime. Let’s discuss one such topic to get an idea about it.

Reverse a Journal Entry in QuickBooks Pro

First, we’ve provided the steps to edit a journal entry by reversing it. In cases where you simply want to change the debit and credit amounts or accounts, simply editing the journal entry will suffice. However, you must reverse the entry before you can edit it.

Reverse and Edit a Journal Entry in QuickBooks Pro

The steps to edit a journal entry in QuickBooks Pro are provided below:

  1. From the Settings menu, click on Chart of Accounts.
  2. Select the Account to which the journal entry was posted.
  3. Click on View Register.
  4. Find the Journal Entry. To identify the transaction easily, you can go through Ref No. Type column which will contain the keyword ‘Journal’.
  5. Click on the Journal Entry and select Edit.
  6. Click on Reverse.
  7. Select Save.

A new Journal Entry is created by QuickBooks to reverse the selected Journal Entry. This balances the wrong entry in your books. Here are the changes you’ll find in the new journal entry:

  • An ‘R’ will be added to the journal number of the new entry. The ‘R’ specifies that the entry is reconciled.
  • The reconciled journal entry will contain the same data as the original one.

The Reconciled Entry will be dated the first day of the month in which the original entry was dated

QuickBooks Pro aids in automatizing the billing and invoicing process. Besides, the work order management can be done from a particular reconciliation window. The QuickBooks user can link, sync, and import data from different integrated applications like American Express, PayPal, Square, etc. To keep a track of the monthly earnings and expenses, the transactions are categorized automatically.

The user may find that you make errors while creating lists and general journal entries. In generally all situations, the entry can be hidden or reversed. This is the best way forward as you leave a symbolic trail if doubts about the entry while the account is reviewed. Deleting an entry is the best method for clearing up your account. This is valid in case of duplicate entries,

Reverse and Delete a Journal Entry in QuickBooks Pro

If for any reason you want to delete the original journal entry permanently from QuickBooks Pro, then you can follow the steps provided below:

  1. From the Settings menu, select Chart of Accounts.
  2. Click on the Account to which the entry is posted.
  3. Select View Register.
  4. Find the Journal Entry. An easy way to identify is to go through Ref No. Type column and find the keyword ‘Journal’.
  5. Select the Journal entry and click on Delete.
  6. Click on Yes to Confirm.

Note: Consult with a professional accountant before creating or deleting a journal entry manually in QuickBooks.

You’ve successfully deleted a journal entry in QuickBooks Pro. To know more, you can get in touch with our experts at 99Accounting Team.

FAQs

We recommend against it, as it can lead to unknown errors later down the line. However, if you’re proficient in accounting and have significant experience, then you can create journal entries. In any other case, you should rely solely on the features provided in QuickBooks to record different types of transactions.
If the transaction is important, then simply edit it after reversing the journal entry. However, if you posted the entry by mistake, then it is better to delete it permanently from QuickBooks Pro.