I am testing uploading journal entries. I turned off chart of accounts and now I get the message my accounts are invalid. Why is this process so difficult?

You need to ensure that the accounts in your Journal Entry (JE) match those in your chart of accounts, Michael.

The reason for the accounts to be invalid is that the account you are trying to set up for uploading your journal entry is inactive or mismatched with what was in your chart of accounts.

To successfully upload your Journal entry, make sure that the account you're trying to enter in your Journal Entry (JE) is active. If not, you'll have to make it active.

Follow these steps to proceed:

1. On the Chart of Accounts page, go to the Gear icon.
2. Checkmark Include inactive to show the inactive accounts.
3. Identify your inactive accounts and then click Make Inactive under the ACTION column.
   
   

You can scroll down to the bottom of this article for more information on making your inactive accounts active again.

In case you connect your bank account in QBO, this article will help you categorize your uploaded transactions: Categorize online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Also, it might be beneficial to reach out to a QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted service to review your entries and guarantee the accuracy of your financial records.

Please feel free to reach out if you encounter further issues or have additional questions. The Community team is here to support you.

@Michael-Dorner 

What do you mean you "turned off chart of accounts" (COA)?  You can make accounts inactive, but you can't turn off the entire COA.  The accounts on your journal entries need to exist in your COA, so if you made them inactive, that's presumably why you're getting the message.