You can merge two General Ledger (GL) accounts in QuickBooks, but there are a few important considerations:
- merging accounts can only be performed in single-user mode;
- the reconciliation status of each transaction in a balance sheet account is preserved in the merge;
- once you merge 2 accounts, you can’t reverse or undo it;
- you can only merge 2 accounts in a single step;
- both accounts must be on the same hierarchical level if you’d like to merge accounts based on the account name;
- both accounts being merged must be of the same type; and
- neither account involved in the merge can be mapped to a 1099 category.
To merge one account with another, start with the account that you want to remove from your GL chart of accounts and edit that account.
You can change either the name or the account number of the account being removed to match the name or the account number of the account into which the account will be merged.
If you are merging one account into another by editing the account number, you’ll see this window:
If you’re merging by editing the account name, you’ll see this window:
Remember that merging based on name only works for accounts that are on the same hierarchical level. If you change the name of a top-level account to match that of a sub-account, you won’t be asked if you want to merge the accounts because they’re not on the same hierarchical level. Instead, you’ll end up with a top-level account with a name that is identical to a sub-account.
For balance sheet accounts, the reconciliation status of each transaction in the account being removed will be transferred to the destination account, so that any unreconciled transactions in the account being removed will remain unreconciled after the merge. Therefore, before you merge accounts, consider the impact on reconciling the destination account after the merge, which will then include the transactions from both accounts. Often, performing a reconciliation is easier when there are fewer transactions to reconcile.
Merging accounts is also discussed in this Intuit knowledge base article.
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Hir Sir
How can i revese a marged Account ?
I’m using QB 2014 for Mac. I tried merging 2 credit card account, but I get an warning message that says “You can not merge two accounts which both contain online information.” I’m trying to merge a credit card account that was created twice with 2 different names. I’ve downloaded info to both account at different times, but I need to merge all the information together because it’s all for the same credit card. How do I make this happen? Thanks.
PS
Is it possible to merge old/ inactive items? I get this error: “This account is used in a 1099 category and cannot be deleted or merged.” I’m using QB 2014 for Mac. Is it possible to delete the association with 1099 category for inactive items so I can merge old, unused items?
Thanks.
We don’t use QB for the Mac, but you can try editing your preferences and change your 1099 accounts. On Windows, see Edit->Preferences->Tax: 1099. Once you delete the account, you should be able to merge old accounts.
Two bank accounts where set up in QB Cloud but only one exists in reality. I can reconcile the bank account because the transaction are spread across two G/L accounts. If I merge the two accounts will
I be able to reconcile the bank account?
If the transactions are spread across 2 GL accounts, you’re not really reconciling 1 account though. Merging the 2 accounts is the best solution because that reflects reality. You should only reconcile after you’ve successfully merged the accounts.
I have followed the directions exactly to merge 2 accounts (credit card) in QB 2014(same card entered with different names). They are the same type/hierarchy etc. I now have 2 accounts with exactly the same name. The merge window does not come up. Solution?
If what you’re reporting is true, then QB isn’t behaving the way it normally does. Before jumping to that conclusion, check your premise that they are exactly the same name. Copy the names separately to a plain text editor on 2 different lines and compare them carefully. In all likelihood, there’s a difference.
if i mistakenly merge the 2 accounts, then how can i remove that merging
Once merged, the only way you can undo that is to revert to a previous backup. QB doesn’t have an “undo” feature.
Hi,
I can perform this merge function in my other quickbooks version, but there’s not merge message poped up when I tried in quickbooks 2012.
It’s not clear from your comment what went wrong. Merging GL accounts does work in QB 2012.
I have multiple Accounts Receivable accounts and I want to merge them into one single account. Will this process work in my situation?
Yes, you can merge multiple A/R accounts. The restrictions on merging accounts apply, so the accounts you merge must all be of the same type, ie, Accounts Receivable.