General Ledger Q&A: Removing Old Accounts from Reports

May 2020    Tags: Bank Accounts, General Ledger, Inactive, Reports

We recently switched to a new bank for our operating account. Everything is configured correctly, but when I run the Balance Sheet I see both the old and new accounts showing up. How can I stop the old account from being displayed?

There are a couple options for excluding an account on the Balance Sheet – you can mark the account inactive or change the account’s Report Options.

Marking an account inactive is a good solution for accounts that no longer have any activity. Keep in mind that inactive accounts are shown in the Account Lookup when running reports, and if the account has a balance or journal entries in the period for which the report is run, it will still be shown on the report.

To mark an account inactive

1. From the File menu, point to Open and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Double-click the account you want to change.
3. On the Account tab, in the Account Options section, select the Inactive check box.
4. Click Save.

Alternatively, if the account still has a balance or activity, and you still do not want it to be shown on the Balance Sheet, you can change the Report Options. Report Options can be set to not show an account on the Balance Sheet (or Income Statement). Keep in mind that regardless of whether this option is changed, report totals will still be affected by this account’s balance, provided the account falls within ranges for other options selected for the report when printed. Additionally, the account may still be included on other reports.

To change an account’s Report Options

1. From the File menu, point to Open and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Double-click the account you want to change.
3. On the Report Options tab, in the Detail Report and Summary Report sections, clear the Display on Balance Sheet (or Display on Income Statement) check box.
4. Click Save.

Run the Balance Sheet again to verify that the account no longer appears on the report.