How to delete an unused - unwanted account from the records/QB online?

I got your back on this, Russ20. Let me share all about deleting unused accounts from your Chart of Accounts in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

In QBO, you can turn unused accounts into inactive to delete them. It's important to make sure the account balance is zero before deactivating it. If it isn't, QuickBooks will automatically create an adjustment entry, which will potentially affect your tax information.

Follow the steps below if you're ready to make them inactive:

1. Navigate to Settings and select Chart of accounts.
2. Find the account you want to delete.
3. Select the Action ▼ dropdown and select Make inactive.
4. If you need to hide several accounts, select all accounts you want to hide.
5. Select Batch actions ▼ and then Make inactive.

Also, if you want to check which accounts have been made inactive, I've laid out the steps below:

1. Navigate to Settings, then Chart of accounts.
2. Next to the printer icon, click the Settings icon.
3. Select the Include inactive checkbox.

You can find a more elaborated explanation about this process on this article: Make an account inactive on your chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online.
 

Lastly, when generating reports, inactive accounts and their transactions will still be visible because QuickBooks includes them to maintain overall accuracy. However, you have the option to customize certain reports to exclude inactive accounts. Feel free to refer to this Community article for future reference: Customise reports in QuickBooks Online.

If there's anything more you'd like to learn about the Chart of Accounts, don't hesitate to tag me in your comments on this thread. I’ll jump in quickly to help you out. Stay well.