# How do i delete bank and credit accounts that I no longer need.I dont know where to go exactly

My quickbooks interface is very full simply because i have some business and credit accounts that I don't require and i don't know how to trash them

##### Post Metadata
- Posted at: about 7 years ago
- Author title: Administrator
- Net upvotes: 1


## Comments
### Comment 1

Any accounts that have been used in your books may not be deleted. They may be deemed inactive by going to the chart of accounts and then choosing the option if make inactive. Do keep in mind that if books are being maintained properly, the bank and credit card accounts should be reconciled monthly and If there is no activity then it should balance out to a zero amount in that account if not then you need to allocate the remaining funds to the proper accounts to be able to reconcile. The main reason for this is for record and tax purposes, you see if you had any form of activity in those accounts at any point you will want to have records of those accounts. For instance if you had bank account named ABC and paid bills out of that account or made asset purchases, if you are able to delete the account where will the expenses and assets be recorded? So instead of having access to delete anything but zero activity accounts  QuickBooks actually thinks about the long term effect of allowing users to delete needed information.  Running a business and deleting accounts is not good practice in the eyes of the IRS as they do audit most new companies within the first three to five years of business. You may delete accounts that have had zero activity . Hope this helps. 

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: almost 7 years ago
- Author title: QuickBooks Expert Bookkeeper & Certified QuickBooks  ProAdvisor



### Comment 2

These days you don't delete them, you archive them. You should be able to do this via the chart of accounts, by checking the box next to the account to modify and click archive.

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: almost 7 years ago
- Author title: Applications Administrator at EVO Transportation




## Related Product
[QuickBooks Online](https://www.g2.com/products/quickbooks-online/reviews)

## Related Category
[Accounting](https://www.g2.com/categories/accounting)

## Related discussions
- [How well does Trello scale into a larger team?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/1-how-well-does-trello-scale-into-a-larger-team)
  - Posted at: over 13 years ago
  - Comments: 6
- [Can we please add a new section](https://www.g2.com/discussions/2-can-we-please-add-a-new-section)
  - Posted at: over 13 years ago
  - Comments: 0
- [Quantifiable benefits from implementing your CRM](https://www.g2.com/discussions/quantifiable-benefits-from-implementing-your-crm)
  - Posted at: about 13 years ago
  - Comments: 4