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dudleytut
February 17, 2020
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Creating a parent account for credit card

  • February 17, 2020
  • 2 replies
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I am new to QB and I am trying to reconcile my credit card account for the first time. It is one main credit card account with two credit cards. I have already connected the bank to QB for these credit card accounts but each one comes over separately.  I would like to make a parent account and edit the two existing credit card accounts to make them sub accounts to the parent account.  Is it ok to do this after the fact?  I already have all of the transactions coming over for each credit card separately.  But I don't think I can reconcile it because both credit cards are reported under one statement from the bank.  

    Best answer by MarsStephanieL

    I’m here to clarify things out about the parent account and sub-accounts, dudleytut.
     
    No, it won't create a problem. It would be best to do that, you can follow the steps below in turning an existing account into sub-account:

     

    1. Log in your credentials in QuickBooks Online company.
    2. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Chart of Accounts.
    3. Find the account and select the small arrow ▼ in the action column.
    4. Select the Edit button.
    5. Select Is sub-account and then enter the parent account.
    6. Select Save and Close.

     

    Some banks may show the overall bank balance at each sub-account level. This is because the bank provides us with a static balance of the entire account, not the balance of each sub-account.
     
    You can refer to this article for more information: About bank or credit card subaccount setup.
     
    Do you have questions in mind? Let me know right away and I’ll back you up. Take care!

    2 replies

    KlentB
    KlentB
    February 17, 2020

    I can see that this is your first post so let me take time to welcome you in the Community space, dudleytut.

     

    Yes, it would be best to do that.

     

    When we connect our credit card account, we have to determine how your bank sends the downloaded transaction. We'll have to connect only the parent account if the transactions are downloaded to one account. If it's downloaded to both parent and subaccounts, then we'll have to connect them both.

     

    In your case, we'll have to disconnect all the subaccounts then connect only the parent account. This way, you'll only have to reconcile the parent account since all the transactions in the subaccounts are rolled up into it. You can refer to this link in disconnecting the subaccounts: Disconnect or delete an account from the Downloaded Transactions page.

     

    Once done, we can create subaccounts in your chart of accounts to break down your bank transactions into greater detail. I'll guide you how:

    1. Click the Gear ⚙ icon.
    2. Choose Chart of Accounts.
    3. Click New. 
    4. Select the account type and detail type.
    5. Click the Is sub-account option and then enter the parent account.
    6. Enter the necessary information.
    7. Hit Save and Close.

    We can also turn an an existing account into subaccount (If you have one).

     

    Then, let's connect the parent account. I've added an article that will guide you in doing it: Connect bank and credit card accounts to QuickBooks Online.

     

    You may refer to this link in categorizing your downloaded credit card transactions.

     

    If you have further questions or need a helping hand in managing your credit card accounts, just let me know and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can.

    D
    dudleytutAuthor
    February 17, 2020

    Dear KlentB,

    Thank you so much for your quick response and detailed solution.  I have disconnected both of the credit card accounts.  Before I continue, I want to be sure I understand the next step.  In your instructions, you say to create new sub-accounts.  I am wondering if I could use the existing accounts I had originally set up and edit them so that they will be sub accounts to the parent.  Will that create a problem?

    Thanks again for all of your help as it is most appreciated!

     

    MarsStephanieL
    MarsStephanieLAnswer
    February 17, 2020

    I’m here to clarify things out about the parent account and sub-accounts, dudleytut.
     
    No, it won't create a problem. It would be best to do that, you can follow the steps below in turning an existing account into sub-account:

     

    1. Log in your credentials in QuickBooks Online company.
    2. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Chart of Accounts.
    3. Find the account and select the small arrow ▼ in the action column.
    4. Select the Edit button.
    5. Select Is sub-account and then enter the parent account.
    6. Select Save and Close.

     

    Some banks may show the overall bank balance at each sub-account level. This is because the bank provides us with a static balance of the entire account, not the balance of each sub-account.
     
    You can refer to this article for more information: About bank or credit card subaccount setup.
     
    Do you have questions in mind? Let me know right away and I’ll back you up. Take care!

      P
      Pipdoestaxes2019
      January 7, 2022

      I have the exact same issue and looked to this thread for an answer. I highly recommend the strategy of MarsStephanie. I created a parent account that was NOT linked to the bank and made each employee's creditcard a subaccount of that parent account (they ARE linked - don't change that). I want to be able to see who makes what transaction when it comes through the bank feed, and I also want to be able to reconcile them all together because the bank statement does not break them down, but rather has one total. The parent account does exactly that. When I reconcile the parent account, it has all the information from the subaccounts included.

       

      Also, according to a website I found, "When you post a transaction to an account which serves as a parent account you get something called “Ugly Other.” The golden rule of entering transactions into QuickBooks when you have an account with sub-accounts is that everything must go to a sub-account. When you post to the parent account you will get Ugly Other every time."  So I truly think this is the way to go.

      G
      gratitudecollab
      March 9, 2022

      I have my Bank of America already downloaded. 2 years ago, my account was hacked and I had to start over. but when I did last year it made 2 accounts one with the transactions and one with my payments. assuming the payments are the parent account and the transactions are the baby account. so weird when It only me and one card to have 2 accounts. But here we are. I have been reading the threads and is there any way to change it now with out manually re entering all the info? That would take hours, to put in 2 years of transactions and categorize again. please advise. Thank you! 

      is there a way to transfer from the parent to the sub. Since the parent has a negative account balance and the sub has a balance?

      JessT
      JessT
      March 9, 2022

      Hopefully, the authorities caught the hackers, gratitudecollab.

       

      Thank you for joining in. I also find it unusual when there are two cards and the payments and transactions are recorded on separate accounts. Let me help you out.

       

      I assume you got a new card, so what could have been done was to create a new credit card account that is not a sub-account and then pass the balance from the old one to it. Then, use the new account moving forward. In this way, it is as if you'd have replicated the real scenario.

       

      If you want to merge them, you can remove the new card from being a sub-account to make it the same level as the old card and then merge them. However, please save all the reconciliation reports of both cards before doing this coz the reports of the other account will be gone after merging them. Please note also that this process is irreversible.

       

      Make the sub-account the same level as the old card:

       

      1. Go to Settings and choose Chart of Accounts.
      2. Click the down arrow beside View register on the sub-account and choose Edit.
      3. Remove the checkmark in the Is sub-account field.
      4. Click Save and Close.

       

      Merge the accounts:

       

      1. Follow steps 1 and 2 above.
      2. Rename the new card similar to how you named the parent card. You will get a prompt saying that name is being used by a different account and asked if you want to merge them, just select Yes.

       

      Here's an article for your additional reference: Merge duplicate accounts, customers, and vendors in QuickBooks Online.

       

      If you need further assistance with your transactions, accounts, or anything about QBO, just hit the Reply button. We're always available to help.

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