Question: I am working in QuickBooks Premier. I want to delete an item in a list, but QB will not let me. What can I do?
Answer: QuickBooks will only allow you to delete an entry in a list if you have never used it before in your company file. If you have ever used an entry in a list such as “Customer,” “Vendor,” “Item” or “Terms,” QuickBooks will not permit you to delete it.
Instead, QB has a function where you can make a list entry “inactive.” This will make the entry disappear from the list, but not alter its previous use in an order. This is very helpful when you want to prevent it being used again by mistake—by you, one of your employees or your bookkeeper.
To make a list entry inactive, highlight the entry and right click on it. Select “Make Inactive.” It will then disappear from the list.
If you want to view all entries for customers and vendors—active and inactive—sort for “All Customers or Vendors” from the pertinent center at the dropdown box at the top.
For other lists, select the box at the bottom of the list that says “Include Inactive.” The complete list will have an X next to the inactive entries. If you want to make the inactive entry active, highlight the entry on the list, right click, and select “Make Active.” This will remove the X and include it as an active option on the list again.
Please email your questions to Harriet at Ask The Accountant.
QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise can be modified to better serve ad specialty distributors. Harriet Gatter is a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, a former accounting professor and a former ad specialty distributor. She advises ad specialty distributors to use QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise, often in conjunction with other industry-specific software, to manage the complexities of the ad specialty business, with the results being time saved, errors eliminated and an overall accurate accounting of your business. Contact her at [email protected].
