parent products not appearing when entering a sub product

I completely understand how this update is disrupting your workflow. QuickBooks Online replaced traditional sub-products with Categories to organize sales and streamline reporting. Because of this change, the search bar in the Is a sub-product/service field now pulls up too many broad matches. To avoid scrolling through hundreds of options, you can use Product Categories instead of sub-products. This is the new, optimized setup for QBO. Here is how you can create clean, easy-to-use lists for your brands (like Stihl or Honda):

1. Click the Gear icon and select Products and services.
2. Click the More dropdown menu, then select Manage categories.
3. Click Create New category and type your main brand name (e.g., Stihl).
4. Select Save.
5. When you create or edit a product, simply assign it using the Category dropdown instead of the sub-product box. This dropdown will only show your category names, keeping your list short and clean.

If you prefer to stick with your current sub-product setup, try typing the exact name or specific SKU of the parent item into the search box. This should force QuickBooks to bring the closest match to the top of the list.

You can also check out this article for more guidance on managing product categories in QuickBooks.

Let me know if you need additional assistance.