Question

How can I fix my credit card subaccount balances?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
April 2, 2019
3 replies
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I have a business credit card with multiple cards for different employees. I have them set up as subaccounts of the main credit card account. Each month I apply the payment I make to the main account, but it leaves the quickbooks balance in all of the sub accounts. How can I fix this? I have at least 10 old subaccounts that I can not make inactive because they "have a balance", but really they don't.

QuickBooks Online

MaryLandT

Good day, @laura73,

Posting transactions to the parent account will not impact the sub-accounts. The parent account's balance will decrease once you record money-out under entries under it, while the balance of the sub-accounts remains the same.

You can check the parent account if there are transactions that weren't assigned to the sub-account. This cause the difference between their balances.

If you want to inactive the sub-accounts, QuickBooks will create a journal entry to zero out the balance. Thus, you need to transfer all the transactions to the parent account first.

To make an account inactive:

Click Accounting from the left menu, the select Chart of Accounts.
Find the account you want to inactive.
Click the drop-down under the Action column, then select Make Inactive.
Click Yes to confirm.

You also check out to this page for your guidance with the steps above: How to delete an account or restore a deleted account.

Keep me posted if there's anything I can help with your accounts in QuickBooks. I'm always around whenever you need help.

M

Malcolm Ziman

@MaryLandT wrote:

Good day, @laura73,

Thus, you need to transfer all the transactions to the parent account first.

No, not all the transactions. Just the balances. With a journal entry: debit all the subs, credit parent with total of the subs, so the balances in the subs will then be zero. Then you can make them inactive. Reconcile the parent

Q

Q_B_desktop_Fan

Is it possible for Quickbooks to automatically create the journal entry to zero out the sub-accounts? I do this manually each month, but it would easily be automated and I wonder if I'm missing something.

M

mcbbsinc

I have the same problem. I reconcile the parent account and have subaccount balances. How do I zero out? What category do most use to zero-out? I wish it would do this automatically.

JenoP

You'll need to reconcile the sub-accounts first to zero out the balances, mcbbsinc.

Once reconciled, you can then go back to the parent account and reconcile it. Use the same articles in the previous responses just in case you run into an error or discrepancies when reconciling the sub-accounts.

If they're connected to online banking, you only need to reconcile the parent account because all transactions in the sub accounts roll up into it. More details about this function are shared here: About bank or credit card sub account setup.

You'll also want to run a reconciliation report after the process is complete. Here's an article on how you can do it: How do I view, print, or export a reconciliation report?.

I'd be more than glad to get back here in case you need more help with your banking transactions.

S

Slfike

I have my credit card set up as described by Quick Books. Parent account and then two subs under it. The Parent account is not connected to online banking. The two subs are. I reconcile the parent account. The sub accounts show that reconciliation. However, the balance has never zeroed out. Is there something else that needs to happen?

T

Total Air11

I'm having the same issue.

I reconcile my parent account every month with no issue. However, I don't do anything with the subaccounts and they do have balances that need addressing. I've read the previous replies, but I'm still confused about the "next steps" I should take to fix this issue. One post said to reconcile the subaccounts, another said to move all the transactions from the sub to the parent, another said to create a journal entry to move the balance. In the subaccounts, it looks like the transactions have been reconciled as they have a check or a lightning bolt next to them (we use bank feeds.) The transactions seem to be showing in both the parent and the subaccount, so I'm not sure what to move. What would the journal entry look like if I created it? Moving the balance from the sub to the parent account would make the total owed WAY off from what is actual.

AlcaeusF

Hello there, @Total Air11.

Thank you for posting here in the Community. I can share some clarification about how the account balances work in QuickBooks.

You don't need a journal entry to clear the balances. When entering payments, please make sure to select the sub-accounts instead of the parent account.

The process will zero out the balances, including the parent. Check out these screenshots for your visual guide: