---
title: "Write off bad debt in QuickBooks"
slug: "write-off-bad-debt-in-quickbooks"
updated: 2026-04-25T01:30:39Z
published: 2026-04-25T01:30:39Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.servicetitan.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Write off bad debt in QuickBooks

## 

## Overview

You may encounter customers that are unable to pay the remaining balance they owe your company. If this occurs, you should write off the outstanding *Accounts Receivable* (A/R) as a bad debt expense. Correctly recording bad debt will decrease your A/R and the income recorded for that transaction.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** In ServiceTitan, Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) follows the same solution as bad debt.

---

### 

#### Who uses this feature

- Administrators, office employees, managers, accountants, and bookkeepers
- Applies to all business types
- Applies to all trades

#### Feature configuration

- Account configuration is required to use this feature. Please contact [Technical Support](http://go.servicetitan.com/ask) for details.

## Things to know

**Follow the criteria for bad debt**

You will first need to ensure this customer’s A/R is deemed bad debt. The criteria for bad debt are the following:

- The A/R balance has been outstanding for the past 90 days.
- The customer has gone into bankruptcy.

## Set up ServiceTitan to record bad debt

Before you start recording bad debt, you will need to complete required setup both in QuickBooks and in ServiceTitan.

## Create a bad debt General Ledger Account

To set up a General Ledger Account to expense bad debt:

1. Go to **Settings ![](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/icon-gnav-settings-inactive.png)**.
2. In the side menu, go to **Accounting > General Ledger Accounts > Add GL Account**.
3. Create an Expense account that matches your QuickBooks account.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** We recommend naming this GL account *Write Off - Bad Debt*.
4. Click **Save.**

**![Editing a GL account with fields for number, name, type, and description.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/write-off-bad-debt-in-quickbooks-image-fu7s71ss.png)**

## Create a bad debt Payment Type

To set up a Payment Type to use for recording bad debt:

1. Go to **Settings ![](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/icon-gnav-settings-inactive.png)**.
2. In the side menu**,**go to**Invoicing > Payment and Invoice Types > Add**.
3. Create a *Payment Type* and select the above General Ledger Account from the **Account**dropdown.**Note**: *We recommend naming this payment type*“Write Off”.
4. Click **Save.**

**![Payment type selection for write-off, including journal entry and account options.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/write-off-bad-debt-in-quickbooks-image-lnjoxv9p.png)**

## Set up QuickBooks to record bad debt

### Create an expense account for bad debt

To create an expense account to map your QuickBooks bad debt item to:

1. In QuickBooks, go to **Lists** **>** **Chart of Accounts**.
2. In the*Chart of Accounts* window, open **Account**> **New**.

> [!TIP]
> **Tip:** You can also use the short-cut CRTL+N.
3. From the **Account Type**dropdown, select *Expense*.
4. In the *Add New Account* window, fill in the required information.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** We recommend naming this account *Write Off - Bad Debt*.
5. Click **Save & Close**. Your bad debt account should now show in your *Chart of Accounts*. ![Editing account details for a write-off bad debt entry in accounting software.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/write-off-bad-debt-in-quickbooks-image-e2i44iax.png)
6. In ServiceTitan, go to **Settings ![](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/icon-gnav-settings-inactive.png)**.
7. In the side menu, go to **Integrations** **>** **Quickbooks Desktop >** **Company File.**
8. Click **Edit**next to *Chart of Accounts Mapped*and make sure the bad debt GL account in ServiceTitan is mapped to the one in QuickBooks. ![Settings overview showing mapped accounts, assigned units, and inventory export options.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/write-off-bad-debt-in-quickbooks-image-mng0v3u8.png)

## Record bad debt using an expense payment type

1. Use [search](/v1/docs/use-search-in-servicetitan) to find the invoice.
2. Click into the invoice.
3. On the left menu, click **Collect and Apply Payment**. ![Options for updating payment terms, invoice details, and adding tasks or adjustments.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/write-off-bad-debt-in-quickbooks-image-50h9b543.png)
4. Select *Writeoff*from the **Payment type** dropdown and enter the remaining balance into the **Amount Applied**column. ![Payment form showing writeoff option, amount, date, and memo fields for entry.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/write-off-bad-debt-in-quickbooks-image-15hhcel2.png)
5. Confirm the payment is applied to the correct invoice.
6. Click **Save.**

**![Invoice application interface showing selected invoices and total amount allocated.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/write-off-bad-debt-in-quickbooks-image-jiqhkw39.png)**
7. [Batch and export](/v1/docs/batch-post-and-export-transactions) the payment to QuickBooks.

## Want to learn more?

- See [AR Transactions report](/v1/docs/ar-transactions-report)