Change default due date for invoices

"I use the Terms field to differentiate pricing options between customers."

But this tool has specific Functions. The function you are asking about is Price Levels, not Terms. Terms is part of Payment and AR management. Price Levels is part of Pricing management.

"While using QB desktop 2014 I never had a problem with this, as it seemed like QB had a "back code" to know the default terms was Net30, so regardless of what I entered on the Terms field (I used as option 1, 2, 3,4), the terms were always Net30 and an invoice didn't go Past Due until 30 days."

You control what you Name Terms in the Terms List. You Edit it to see how you Defined it, for managing the Due Date.

"Recently updated to QB desktop 2018 and now their "back code" default is due upon receipt"

You Edit that Terms to see how it is Defined. Also, make sure your Template is not using Invoice Date twice, as due date.

"so I can't use the Terms field for what I was using it anymore, as I MUST enter Net30 unless I want the invoices to show past due...."

That's not true. You have to Review, refine, and set up what meets your needs.

 And you might want to open Help and read about Price Levels. Please see my attachments.

Tools exist for specific functions.

"but unless you have it appear on your invoice (I have it on screen only not to print) the program will not apply it. Glad this is helping a few people"

Once you Assign a customer name their default, that is used, even if you don't show it to yourself, to set the Due Date. However, it doesn't change Existing invoices. Once you assign terms to the name, that is Now available to be used by the program.

On an invoice, you can Show the due date to yourself, and/or to the customer. You see it to control it, to confirm it, to see if you forgot to assign that new customer a default terms, and if you put terms here now, you can have the program "feed this back" to Update that Customer Name with this new option as their Default terms.

"I assigned default terms to all my customer’s but the program still set the due date as the same day the invoice was created"

Let's separate out these Date field functions: The date I create my Month End invoices is typically around the 22nd. The Invoice is dated for end of month. My Terms are all assigned to clients as "Date Driven" and the 10th of the next month.

The explanation is how Three Different things happen for understanding Dates and invoicing.

"that is why I asked the question, thinking I had missed a setting somewhere. QB’S does not apply the terms that you set as default until you add the terms field to your invoice."

You are Revealing it. Changing the Template never changes the sale. It changes what you see on that sale, and separately you control what you show to the customer for print/email.

That's why Sales Orders can be printing using 3 different templates. That isn't changing the Order; it changes what you Reveal. The same is true for Invoices and for Sales Receipts. You can see this in my attachment.

"You are right in that it does not change pre-existing invoices although it does ask you if you want to"

I've never seen that. What I see is: I start an invoice for customer where I forgot to assign Terms; or I just added a new job "on the fly" while starting this invoice. Then, when I select Terms, I get the pop up (that I can control in Preferences) asking if I want this info to be used to Update the Customer:Job info, to be saved (as if I edit Customer and put the terms, myself), or I don't want it to update, or I set the preferences to Never Ask and Never Update name info.

You can test drive this by using the sample file; your program comes with at least 2 of them.

"it worked and it did not work"

It works fine.

Making settings and selections never changes Existing invoices; you have to Update them yourself.

"but it may be worth looking into for all you IT guys and Gals out there in radio land."

This is a peer user forum on the internet; this is not live chat with Intuit.

I teach this; I have been using QB since 1997. I know how it works, and I am glad to help you know, too.

To change the default setting for your terms you need to go to the gear wheel> your company > account & settings > Sales and there you can change what appears as standard on your invoice.

I use the Terms field to differentiate pricing options between customers. While using QB desktop 2014 I never had a problem with this, as it seemed like QB had a "back code" to know the default terms was Net30, so regardless of what I entered on the Terms field (I used as option 1, 2, 3,4), the terms were always Net30 and an invoice didn't go Past Due until 30 days.

Recently updated to QB desktop 2018 and now their "back code" default is due upon receipt, so I can't use the Terms field for what I was using it anymore, as I MUST enter Net30 unless I want the invoices to show past due.... 

Anyone know is QB changed their default from the '14 to the '18 version? And is there anyway to change that back code default?

Thanks

That was helpful, but it relates to invoicing. 

I'd like to add deadline to projects, which would include times.

Is there a way to customize that?

E

Hi EvieKat,

I know having set deadlines on a job and being able to see them helps for keeping on top of the work you need to do. In QuickBooks Desktop, projects are handled through tracking job costs. When you set up a job under your customer, you can include a start date, a projected end date, and an official end date on the Job Info tab of the Job profile. Here's how to set it up.

1. Go to Customers in the top menu bar.
2. Choose Customer Centre.
3. To create a job for an existing customer, select the customer then click the New Customer & Job button at the upper left of the Customer Centre window.
4. Click Add Job.
5. Enter the job details as needed.
6. Go to the Job Info tab to choose the appropriate dates.
7. Click OK to save.

See this screenshot to get an idea of what it looks like.

If you already have a job set up, you can double click it from the Customer Centre to edit the details. The dates will now appear in Job Information display to the right of the Customer Centre. Here's another screenshot, coming from my Looney Tunes themed test file.

That should get you on your way! I'm here if you need clarification for any of those steps. :)

Hello Laura, 

Thank you for your very detailed reply. 

It certainly looks like there's an answer in there somewhere.

However, that's not what my quickbooks looks like. There is no Customer Centre, I find Customers through the Sales tab and none of the option you mentioned are available. 

I guess, I just got the wrong version (QB Online Plus), which I was told included projects and it does, but with features missing apartently. 

Either way, thank you for time and effort on this matter, but I have decided to go with another, simpler app.

Cheers!

Evie

Hello @EvieKat ,

It appears you are using QB Online and this entire thread has been about QB Desktop, thus you are not seeing what is being demonstrated in the screen shots or the described menu choices.  Perhaps the Online forum will provide you with the help you need.

Hello again EvieKat,

As Rochelley mentioned, the screenshots and steps I provided are for QuickBooks Desktop. QuickBooks Online's Projects feature is available in Plus-level accounts, as you've discovered and allows you to easily track invoices and other project-related transactions in one place. We've recently updated Projects by giving it a new layout and the ability to change the status of the Project, but there isn't a spot for deadlines just yet. It's a great idea that I'll be sure to pass on to the product development team. In the meantime, the Notes option could be used to supplement this need. Here's a screenshot of what I mean.

I'm sad to see you leave QuickBooks Online, but encourage you to do what's best for your business. It's important to find the right fit for your needs.

Take care!

Thank you, that worked.  The only thing I need to do now is see if I can get it to work with income tracker.

After many phone calls and trying many different things, this is the only solution I tried that worked to "fix" the problem of invoices becoming 'past due" one day after being created.

Is there a way to adjust the terms to apply to our ship date? We manufacture items and therefore our order date is approximately 3-4 weeks before it ships.  By the time we ship, it says past due for some of our customers AND when running reports to collect past due invoices it is incorrect.

Is there a way to adjust the terms to apply to our ship date? We manufacture items and therefore our order date is approximately 3-4 weeks before it ships.  By the time we ship, it says past due for some of our customers AND when running reports to collect past due invoices it is incorrect.

Hello linda728. Glad to have you chime in on this thread. I can see the importance of being able to adjust the terms on your ship date. Since this feature isn't available, I encourage you to send feedback about this to our engineers. New product improvements are based on the valuable feedback we get from users like you. To submit your feedback, follow these simple steps:

1. Go to the Help from the menu bar.
2. Select Send feedback online.
3. Choose Product suggestion.
4. Fill in the form with all of your inspired ideas, and click Send feedback.

You're more than welcome to ask other questions, I'm here to help. In the meantime, I recommend looking into using estimates and sales orders as you can create invoices from these two forms. 

Here are some helpful articles that go through the process of using estimates and sales orders and creating your invoices from them:

• Get started with customer transaction workflows in QuickBooks Desktop
• Create an estimate in QuickBooks Desktop
• Create a sales order

Let me know if this info helps. I'll be on standby in case you need anything else.