Hi there, Jay G.

Welcome and thank you for posting here in QuickBooks Community. I'll different share steps on how you can delete customers in QuickBooks Desktop.

Since the customers you're trying to delete have transactions associated with them, you'll have the option to make them inactive. This way, they will be removed or deleted from the customer's area. Please note that inactivating them is still included on the list usage limits.

Here's how to inactive:

1. Go to the Customers menu at the top.
2. Choose Customer Center.
3. Click on the customer's name.
4. Select the Pencil (Edit) icon.
5. From the bottom left-hand corner, put a checkmark in the "Customer is inactive" box.
6. Hit OK.

However, if you want to delete customers permanently, you'll have to manually remove all the transactions associated with the customer first. Then, delete the customer profile so it will no longer appear on the QuickBooks Desktop. Please follow the steps below.

1. Go to the Customers menu at the top.
2. Choose Customer Center.
3. Choose a specific customer's name. Then, right click.
4. Select Delete Customer:Job.
5. You'll be prompted with Are you sure you want to delete this customer? Click OK to confirm.

Please refer to this article to see steps on how you can merge accounts, customers, vendors, and more in QuickBooks Desktop: Merge list entries in QuickBooks Desktop.

Let me know if you have further questions. I'll be here to lend you a hand. Have a wonderful day ahead of you!