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Managing Transactions, Reports, and Company Settings

This guide addresses common questions regarding transaction management, reporting discrepancies, and company configuration in QuickBooks Online.

Issue: Line item amounts disappear when editing downloaded expenses

A small number of users may experience an issue where editing a downloaded expense transaction causes the line item amount to disappear. Our engineers are aware of this and are working on a resolution.

If you are impacted by this issue, you can try the following workaround, provided you do not rely on the pre-fill forms option:

1. Select the Settings gear icon.
2. Select Account and Settings (or Company Settings).
3. Click on the Sales or Expenses tab (depending on your version).
4. Locate the Preferences section.
5. Uncheck the option for Pre-filled forms (or similar wording regarding pre-filling content).
6. Select Save and try editing the transaction again.

We recommend checking official Intuit communications for the latest updates on this fix.

Understanding Profit and Loss report discrepancies

You may notice line items appearing on a Profit and Loss (P&L) report that do not seem to exist in your printed Chart of Accounts. This often occurs when transactions are posted directly to a Parent account rather than a specific Sub-account.

To keep your reports accurate, avoid posting transactions directly to upper-level or parent accounts if sub-levels exist. For example, if you have a parent account named “Insurance” with sub-accounts for “General Liability” and “Auto,” post all transactions specifically to “General Liability” or “Auto.” Posting to the main “Insurance” parent account can cause the program to generate unexpected subtotal lines or ”- Other” designations on your reports.

Tracking multiple companies or divisions

QuickBooks Online is designed with a “one Company Data File per FEIN” (Federal Employer Identification Number) structure. While you cannot easily merge two separate legal entities into a single ledger for tax purposes, you can segregate data within one company file using Class Tracking.

Class Tracking allows you to categorize transactions by department, division, office location, or store. To enable this:

1. Select the Settings gear icon.
2. Select Account and Settings.
3. Go to the Categories tab.
4. Select Track classes.
5. Select Save.

Once enabled, you can assign a class to every transaction. Important: While Class Tracking is excellent for reporting, it has limitations. For example, Payroll functionality often cannot segregate data by class in the same way manual banking entries can. If you need to track completely separate entities with distinct payroll tax liabilities, maintaining separate company files is usually the best approach.

Handling donor deposits and unapplied amounts

If donor accounts show a negative balance with an “unapplied” status, it typically means a deposit was received but not linked to a specific invoice or sale. To resolve this and properly track customer deposits:

1. Create a liability account:

   • Go to the Settings gear icon > Chart of Accounts.
   • Select New.
   • Select Other Current Liabilities as the Account Type.
   • Select Other Current Liabilities as the Detail Type.
   • Name it (e.g., “Customer Deposits”).
   • Select Save and close.

2. Create a deposit item:

   • Go to the Settings gear icon > Products and Services.
   • Select New.
   • Select Service.
   • Name the item (e.g., “Cust-Dep”).
   • In the Income account field, select the liability account you created above.
   • Select Save and close.

3. Record the deposit:

   • Create a Sales Receipt.
   • Select the customer and the “Cust-Dep” item.
   • Enter the quantity and amount of the deposit.
   • Select Save.

4. Apply the deposit to a sale:

   • When creating the final Invoice or Sales Receipt for the goods or services, add the items being sold.
   • As the last line item, select the “Cust-Dep” item.
   • Enter the quantity as -1 (negative one) to apply the deposit as a payment.
   • Select Save.