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Writing off old unpaid invoices is easy, Charm25. We'll use the Credit memo feature. I'd be glad to show you how.
If the invoices you send through QuickBooks are no longer collectible, you can classify them as bad debts and remove them from your records. This process helps keep your accounts receivable and net income accurate. Here are the steps to write off invoice balances.
To start, let's run the Accounts Receivable Aging Detail report. Doing so helps us review all your invoices that should be considered bad debt. I'll show you how:
- Go to Reports.
- Find and open an Accounts Receivable Aging Detail report.
- Check which outstanding accounts receivable should be written off.
Then, create a Bad debts expense account:
- Go to the Gear icon and then select Chart of accounts.
- At the upper right, click New to create a new account.
- From the Account Type dropdown, choose Expenses.
- From the Detail Type ▼ dropdown, select Bad debts.
- In the Name field, enter Bad debts.
- Hit Save and Close.
Next, if you haven't already, create a non-inventory item as a placeholder for the bad debt. It isn't a real item, it's just to balance the accounting:
- From the Gear icon, select Products & services.
- At the upper right, click New, and then Non-inventory.
- In the Name field, enter Bad debts.
- From the Income account ▼ dropdown, choose Bad debts.
- Hit Save and Close.
After that, create a credit memo for the bad debt:
- Go to + New and then select Credit memo.
- Choose the customer from the Customer ▼ drop-down.
- From the Product/Service section, click Bad debts.
- On the Amount column, enter the amount you want to write off.
- In the Message displayed on statement box, enter Bad Debt.
- Hit Save and Close.
Once done, apply the credit memo to the invoice:
- From the + New, select Receive payment.
- Choose the appropriate customer.
- From the Outstanding Transactions section, add the invoices.
- From the Credits section, select the credit memo.
- Hit Save and Close.
- The uncollectible receivable now appears on your Profit and Loss report under the Bad Debts expense account.
For more details about the process, please see this article: Write off Bad Debt in QuickBooks Online.
If you have any further concerns about tracking the transactions, please don't hesitate to post them here. I'm always ready to assist you. Have a great day!