How to Remove a Company From QuickBooks

When you open a company in the desktop version of QuickBooks, the software may give you several options to choose from. Some of these may be old or outdated versions of your company file. Also, some may be companies that no longer exist or you no longer need to access. Depending on the situation, you can either remove the company from the QuickBooks company prompt or delete the company file entirely.

When you open a company file in QuickBooks, the software gives you a list of available company files to choose from. The more files on the list, the higher the chance you'll accidentally choose the wrong file and work in the wrong company. If you want to remove a company file from the list but you don't want to permanently delete the file, you can edit the companies that QuickBooks displays on startup.

1. From the File menu, choose Open or Restore Company.
2. Choose Open a Company file and click Next. A window with all available company files will open.
3. Click on Edit List, located under the Open button. An Edit Company list window will open.
4. Put a check mark next to the company file you want to hide by clicking the name of the file.
5. Click OK to hide the company.

If you want to remove a company file altogether, you can use QuickBooks to delete the file permanently.

1. From the File menu, choose Open or Restore Company. Navigate to the file you want to delete and select Open.
   
2. Press the F2 key or Ctrl+1 to open file information. Copy down the location of the file. The location address begins with "C:\" and ends with ".qbw".
3. Close the QuickBooks program and navigate to the file location on your computer. The file should have the QuickBooks icon on it.
4. Right-click on the file and choose delete.
5. Reopen QuickBooks and navigate to Open or Restore Company. If the file still appears, click on Edit List and click the company file to hide it.
6. Select OK to hide the deleted file.

The process of removing QuickBook files is slightly different in QuickBooks online. If you're listed as a user on a QuickBooks online account, the company file will continue to appear when you log on as long as you are listed as a user for that company. You cannot delete your own account, so an administrator must delete your user account on your behalf. To remove yourself as a user:

1. Log in under the administrator credentials at http://login.quickbooks.com.
   
2. Select the company you no longer want to show at the log-in stage.
3. Click on Edit/Remove a User's Access.
4. Select your user name and click on Remove User.
5. Click OK to remove yourself as a user.