Correcting a check that has been cleared, but is showing up as earn income.

Hi there, ocelestain.

This error message means that the transaction you are trying to delete is linked to an inactive account.

What we have to do is activate the inactive account then delete the transaction's from there. I'll show you how to do it:  

To Activate the deleted account

1. Go to the Gear icon. 
2. Choose Chart of Accounts.  
3. Tap the setting and tick box the included inactive.
4. Click the Make active. 

Then let's delete the transaction: 

1. Go to Gear icon.
2. Select Chart of Accounts.
3. Locate the appropriate account for the transaction.
4. From the Action column, select View  register.
5. Locate and tap the transaction to open it.
6. Press Delete. 

Delete the restored account. To make the restored account inactive again:

1. Go to Gear icon.
2. Choose Chart of Accounts.
3. Locate the appropriate account for the transaction.
4. In the Action column, tap Delete from the drop-down menu.
5. Press Yes to confirm you want to delete the account. 

 In additional to these steps, you can refer to this article: Delete account in QuickBooks. 

For future reference, you can browse some relevant topics from our QuickBooks Articles hub. You can find some easy steps and tips on your "how do I?" task. 

As always, you can visit us again at any time if you have other concerns. I'd be delighted to answer your next posts.