Reconnecting a bank account through the "Fix It" option can accidentally create a brand-new account in your chart of accounts instead of relinking to the one you already have. The fix is to disconnect the new duplicate, then reconnect your bank through the chart of accounts, where you can choose your original account instead of letting QuickBooks create another one.
Why did QuickBooks create a new account instead of reconnecting mine?
When you reconnect a bank account, QuickBooks Online can treat it as a brand-new bank connection. Depending on how you start the reconnection, this can create a new account in your chart of accounts and add its own automatic opening balance transaction, rather than linking back to your existing account. That's what created the duplicate you're seeing, and your original account and its transaction history are still there, untouched.
Can I just merge the two accounts instead?
No. QuickBooks doesn't support merging accounts connected to online banking, so the two accounts you have now aren't candidates for a standard merge. The right move is to reconnect your bank the correct way and retire the duplicate, which is what the steps below walk you through.
How do I fix this and keep my original account's history?
- Disconnect the duplicate account. Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Bank transactions. Select the tile for the new duplicate account, select the pencil icon, then select Disconnect account. Select Disconnect to confirm.
- Go to Settings, then Chart of accounts, and find your original account, the one with your transaction history.
- Select the dropdown arrow next to View register, then select Connect bank.
- Search for your bank and sign in with your online banking credentials.
- When you're asked which account to connect to, choose your original account from your chart of accounts instead of creating a new one. This tells QuickBooks to add new activity to the account you already have instead of creating another one.
- Select Connect, then Done.
- Before you disconnect, make sure every transaction in the Pending tab has been added or matched. Disconnecting removes anything still pending, and if it's more than 90 days old, you won't be able to download it from your bank again.
- If the duplicate account has any balance at all, get it to $0 first. QuickBooks creates an automatic adjustment entry for any account with a balance when you inactivate it in the next step.
How do I get rid of the duplicate account for good?
Once your bank is reconnected to the right account, the duplicate is safe to retire:
- Go to Settings, then Chart of accounts.
- Find the duplicate account, select the Action dropdown, and select Make inactive.
- Confirm when prompted.
This won't delete anything outright. QuickBooks marks the account inactive, keeps any data intact, and you can make it active again later if you ever need to.
My duplicate accounts keep coming back, some with "-1" or "-2" added to the name. How do I stop that?
If a new duplicate account with zero transactions shows up every time you update your bank connection, it's likely the same underlying issue: each update is probably creating a new account instead of updating the one you already have.
- Disconnect each duplicate the same way as above: All apps, then Accounting, then Bank transactions, select the tile, the pencil icon, then Disconnect account.
- Reconnect once using the Chart of Accounts method above, choosing your original account instead of creating a new one, so future updates land on the right account instead of spinning up a new copy.
- Once you've confirmed an update goes to the correct account, make each leftover zero-balance duplicate inactive from Settings, then Chart of accounts, using the Action dropdown and Make inactive.
If you run into any snags along the way, or your bank doesn't show up as an option when reconnecting, let us know in the comments below and we'll help you get it sorted out.
Sources:
Disconnect accounts connected to online banking
Connect bank and credit card accounts to QuickBooks Online
Merge duplicate accounts
Make an account inactive on your chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online
