Cancel a Quicken Check Pay Payment

cdawnkaski

I have a payment that I sent to the wrong PO Box and now the check is in the great unknown. I am sending a new check and want to void the prior transaction (or delete it) but in both cases Quicken says I must cancel the transaction. This can't be done since it was already delivered to USPS.

How can I remove this payment from my register?

The Keeper

This is a very common (and frustrating) Quicken situation. The short answer is: you can remove it from your register, but you must first change how Quicken thinks the payment was sent. Quicken is blocking you because it believes the payment is still an active bill-pay item. Below are the clean, safe ways to handle it, depending on how the payment was created.

Why Quicken won't let you delete it

If Quicken thinks the check was sent via Quicken Bill Pay / Check Pay, it locks the transaction until Quicken receives a cancel confirmation from the service. Since the USPS already has the check, Quicken never gets that confirmation, so it stays stuck.

Option 1 (Recommended): Convert it to a manual check, then delete it

This works in almost all cases.

1. Open the account register containing the payment
2. Click the transaction
3. Change Payee to something generic like
   VOID – Sent to Wrong Address
4. Change Payment Method to Check
   • If there is a field for “Send via,” change it to Manual
5. Remove the check number (or change it to VOID)
6. Save the transaction

Once it is no longer tied to Bill Pay:

• You can delete it, or
• Change the amount to $0.00, or
• Leave it as a voided record for audit history

Option 2: Mark it as paid, then void it (if Quicken won't let you change the method)

If Quicken won’t let you change the payment method:

1. Open Bills & Income > Bills
2. Find the payment
3. Mark it as Paid (even though it really wasn’t)
4. Return to the register
5. Now edit the transaction:
   • Change amount to $0.00 or
   • Delete it

This breaks the Bill Pay lock.

Option 3: Keep it but neutralize the balance (best if deletion stays blocked)

If Quicken still won’t allow deletion:

1. Leave the original transaction as-is
2. Enter a new transaction:
   • Same payee
   • Same amount
   • Category: the same as the original
   • Positive amount (offsetting entry)
   • Memo: Offset – check sent to wrong PO Box

This nets to zero and keeps your balance correct without confusing Bill Pay. Since the check went to the wrong PO Box:

• If it hasn’t cleared yet, consider stop-payment with your bank
• USPS will not forward or return checks sent to the wrong PO Box unless the recipient rejects it

Something to consider going forward. When resending:

• Use Manual Check (not Bill Pay)
• Or verify the payee address under Tools > Payees & Rules

sueasselin

how do i change my credit card number for my quicken payment and delete the old number?