apply a reconciled check to open invoices

Welcome to the Community space, @Kolel. Before we dive in, could I ask a few questions to clarify what you're trying to achieve? This will help us provide you with more accurate solutions tailored to your needs.

Are you looking to clean up your accounts by linking a payment you’ve already made (a check) to invoices (or bills) that are still open? Or are you trying to link a reconciled check, which is your customer's payment, to their open invoices?

If you're looking to link a payment you’ve already made to your open bills, here's a straightforward way to handle this without messing up your reconciled balance:

To apply a reconciled check to an open bill, QuickBooks needs to recognize that check as a Bill Payment. Here’s how you can do that:

1. Go to your Vendor Center, find the vendor, and double-click the reconciled check to open it.
2. Look at the Expenses tab at the bottom of the check. Take note of the account currently listed (it’s likely an expense account like "Supplies" or "Subcontractors").
3. Change that account to Accounts Payable. This tells QuickBooks that this money was a payment toward a debt.
4. Click Save & Close.

If a warning pops up about changing a reconciled transaction, click Yes. As long as the dollar amount stays the same, your reconciliation remains intact.

Now that the funds are recorded in Accounts Payable, you need to inform QuickBooks which bills this payment covers. Here's how:

1. Go to the Vendors menu and select Pay Bills.
2. Select the Bills you want to pay.
3. Click the Set Credits button near the bottom.
4. You should see the amount of that check listed in the Credits tab. Check the box next to it to apply it.
5. Click Done, then click Pay Selected Bills.

Since the payment comes from the check you previously wrote, the Amount To Pay should end up being $0.00. QuickBooks will simply create a Bill Payment entry that links the check to the invoices.

If you're referring to something else or have any additional questions about this, please feel free to revisit this thread.