Add a supplier field to sales forms and reports in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

Learn how to use the new Supplier field in sales forms and reports to improve traceability between your sales and supplier transactions in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise for Windows.

The Supplier field lets you link each sales transaction to a supplier, helping you identify the source of items and services sold. This enhancement is part of the Transaction Improvements initiative that improves accuracy, reporting, and supplier traceability.

Note: This feature is only available in the latest version of QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 2024.

Add a supplier field to sales forms

You can now add the Supplier field directly to your Estimate, Sales Order, Invoice, and Sales Receipt forms.

Here’s how:

1. Go to Customers, then select either:
   • Create Estimates
   • Create Sales Orders
   • Create Invoices
   • Enter Sales Receipts
2. Select the Formatting tab, then select Customize Data Layout.
3. If you’re working in a locked template, select Make a Copy.
4. Select the Columns tab.
5. Find Supplier in the list, then select the Screen and Print checkboxes. 
6. Select OK.

Now, you can enter or choose a supplier directly on your sales forms.

Tip: Adding the Supplier field helps find which supplier supplied the items on a specific sales transaction. This helps you find the supplier faster and improves purchase—sales linkage.

You can now view and filter your sales and purchase-related reports by suppliers to analyze their contributions and trace items.

1. Go to Edit, then select Preferences.
2. Select Items & Inventory, then select the Company Preferences tab.
3. Select the Inventory and purchase orders are active checkbox, then select OK.
4. Select OK again.
5. Go to Reports, then select Report Centre.
6. You can either:
   • Select Purchases, then select the Purchases by Supplier Detail report. 
   • Select Sales, then select the Sales by Customer Detail report.
7. Select Customize Report, then select the Supplier checkbox from the Columns section.
8. Select OK, then select Refresh.

The Supplier column now appears in your reports, letting you view linked supplier data for each sales transaction.

Why use the Supplier field

Adding the Supplier field improves your ability to:

• Trace each sold item back to the original supplier.
• Identify preferred suppliers and track supplier performance.
• Reduce data reconciliation between sales and purchase workflows.
• Simplify reporting for reseller and wholesale businesses.

Learn more

For additional details on customizing forms and fields, see: Create and use custom fields in QuickBooks Desktop.