To delete an account from the chart of accounts, there must be no transactions posted to the general ledger that reference the account ID. If an account has a nonzero balance, you must delete or remove transactions associated with it. These can include beginning-balance entries.
If an account has a nonzero balance, you can enter an adjusting G/L transaction in the General Journal to bring the account's balance to zero. Then, after two year-end closings, you can purge or delete the account.
To make the account inactive
You can make the account inactive to ensure that no further transactions are associated with it. Then after two year-end closings, you can purge the account.
- From the Maintain menu, select Chart of Accounts. Sage 50 displays the Maintain Chart of Accounts window.
- Select the account you want to make inactive. To display a list of existing accounts, type ? in the G/L Account ID field, or select the Lookup button.
- Select the Inactive check box to the right of the account ID. (There is an X in the check box when it is selected.)
To delete an account immediately
- From the Maintain menu, select Chart of Accounts. Sage 50 displays the Maintain Chart of Accounts window.
- Enter or select the account ID you want to remove. To display a list of existing accounts, type ? in the G/L Account ID field, or select the Lookup button.
- Select the Delete toolbar button to remove the account.
If the account has a nonzero balance in any accounting period within the two currently open fiscal periods, Sage 50 displays a message stating that you cannot delete the account.
If you still want to remove an account that has had a nonzero balance at one time, examine the history of the account in the Maintain Chart of Accounts window. Then, display the General Ledger report including a date range of the two open fiscal years. Locate the account transactions; then double-click to display the corresponding task window where the transactions originated. Finally, delete these transactions, and return to the general ledger. To remove an account beginning-balance entry, select the Beginning Balances button in the Maintain Chart of Accounts window.