Could not post account as an item

Description of Error

When posting invoices from ESC to QuickBooks, the following error may be received:

Could not post account as an item:

1100 Accounts Receivable

There is an invalid reference to QuickBooks Account...
...QuickBooks error message: You cannot associate an item with Sales Tax Payable, Undeposited Funds, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable or non-posting accounts. Usually, if you sell the item, use an income account; if you buy it, use an expense account.

Cause of Error

The account listed on the second line of the error is a reserved account in QuickBooks. An item cannot be created for it during the posting process. A different account should be used in its place. The account listed on the second line of the error may vary, but the number shown for that account may help you to track it down.

Resolution

The account in question is attached to an item on the invoice. Use the following procedure to find the billing code in question and fix it on any unposted invoices.

1. In ESC, go to the Sales menu and open the Invoice List.
2. In the Invoice List view, select the Unposted List view from the Views panel on the left side of the screen. If you have unposted invoices for more than just your current accounting period, you may use the Invoice Date filter in the Filters panel to narrow down the list to only the invoices for the month you are trying to post.
3. Starting with the first invoice in the list, go to the Post to QuickBooks screen under the File menu and post just that single invoice number. 
4. Continue posting invoices until you find one that generates the error message. That is the invoice we will work with. 
5. Open that invoice in the Sales Invoicing screen.
6. Open the Activities menu and select View Details. You will see columns for Income Account, Cost Debit and Cost Credit; one of these columns will show the account number for the account that was in the error message you received when posting invoices. Record the item this account is tied to (it will most likely be a Billing Code).
   Note: If all items in the View Details screen are associated to the account listed in the error under the Income Account column, then the incorrect account may be assigned to the Department on the invoice. If this is the case, you'll need to head to Company → Enter Departments to correct the account on the Department.
7. Head to the Sales menu and select Enter Billing Codes. 
8. Double-click on the Billing Code that contains the incorrect account to edit it.
9. If that account is being used in the Income Account field, replace the account with an actual Income account. Otherwise, you may clear that field and leave it blank. This means that the income associated with this code will go to the Income Account tied to the invoice Department. If the account is being used in the Cost Debit or Cost Credit field, you'll need to replace it with a Cost or Expense account. Once the account has been replaced, save that Billing Code.
   Note: If the item causing the problem is an Inventory Item, these corrections will need to be made by recalling the item in the Inventory Entry screen. You'll also want to check the System Accounts tab in Company → System Setup to make sure that the Inventory Account and Cost Account fields are correct.
10. Once the item causing the problem has been corrected, you'll need to return to the original invoice and replace the item. The item and its information may remain the same, but by replacing it you'll be correcting the associated accounts on that invoice. This can be done by putting your cursor in the Item field for that line item and then typing the item number in again.
11. Save the invoice.
12. Return to the Post to QuickBooks screen and post that invoice.

At this point, you may continue posting invoices to QuickBooks. However, if that item was used on other invoices, the error may appear for additional invoices. To find any and all invoices on which this item was used, you'll head to the Reports section under the Sales menu and look for the Sales Invoice List (not to be confused with the Invoice List directly under the Sales menu). Click the Add Filter button and add the Product/Part Number filter. In that filter, enter the item that you just corrected and the Accounting Period you are trying to post; then click Preview. Any invoice on this report will need to be corrected before it can be posted.

Additional Information

QuickBooks does not allow individual line items to directly affect certain accounts such as Accounts Receivable, Undeposited Funds, Bank accounts, or Liability accounts (such as Sales Tax Payable).