I have tried to use QuickBooks after the summer break and discovered that all the expense categories and income categories I created for my accounts have disappeared?

Thanks for letting us know about your concern, @williamiain. Let me provide ways to pull up the missing accounts and provide a way to fix this.

Let's first verify if these categories are made inactive.

1. Go to the Gear icon and choose Chart of Accounts.
2. Click the Gear icon beside the Printer icon and tick the Include inactive box.
3. Navigate and locate if there are accounts with a (delete) beside the expense accounts you've set up.
4. Make the accounts active again by clicking Make Active.

If you don't see the account you've set up, proceed to troubleshoot your browser. Start by opening your QuickBooks Online account in an incognito or private browser window using these keyboard shortcuts: 

• Google Chrome: Ctrl + Shift + N
• Mozilla Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Microsoft Edge: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Safari: Command + Shift + N

If the private browsing session works,  clear your browser's cache. This process will remove and fix specific issues and help the program run optimally. Also, you can use other devices and supported browsers to ensure everything works as expected.

If the issue persists, I recommend contacting our Technical Support team for a thorough investigation. They can do share screening and securely examine your account to identify and find a fix.

Additionally, you can refer to these articles for guidance in keeping your account accurate and to review the categorized transactions.

• Categorize online bank transactions
• Reconcile an account

Keep me posted if you have other questions about managing your accounts. I'll be around to help. Take care.