I need to add a invoice line item as a discount percentage. How do I do this? The instructions only allow a dollar amount not a percentage.

You'll need to manually calculate the discount amount and enter it as a negative dollar figure, Npi.

Currently, QuickBooks Online doesn't support percentage discounts directly on invoice line items. Only dollar values are accepted in the Amount field for each line item.

To manually calculate a discount, start with the total amount of the line item. For example, if the total is $100 and you want to apply a 10% discount, calculate 10% of $100, which is $10. Then, add a separate discount line on the invoice for -$10 to adjust the total amount accordingly.

For more information on applying a discount, refer to this article: Add a discount to an invoice.

You can check out this article if you want to learn how to personalize and include specific information on your sales forms: Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online.

If you have additional questions, feel free to comment below.

Thanks, that's what I am finding out. See italics below. Copied from the help section. #3 does not exist. 

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If you’ve never used a discount item, here’s how:

Step 1: Create a Discount item

1. Select the Lists menu, then select Item list 
2. Select the Item button, then select New
3. Select Discount from the type dropdown and fill out the needed info. You have the option to set a discount percentage or specified dollar amount. You’ll also need to specify the account to use to track your discounts.  
4. Select OK when you're ready.

The steps you've outlined apply to QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), NPI.

If you are using this product, you are on the right track for creating a discount item. Simply enter the value followed by the percentage symbol to allow the application to recognize the percentage amount. If you prefer to enter a fixed amount, you can input a whole number in the Amount or % field. Assigning an Account associated with this item is also required to easily track them.

On the other hand, if you are using QuickBooks Online (QBO), enabling the Discount feature will affect the total transaction amount. To apply a discount specific to an individual item, you can add it as a separate line item and manually calculate the value.

Next, consider reviewing this article to learn how to record payments once your customers have paid their invoices: Record invoice payments.

Whenever you need additional assistance managing your sales transactions, please don't hesitate to notify us.

I am using QB online and frankly am surprised, as sophisticated as QBO is, it won’t do this simple task. Maybe in a future release?

You can submit feedback to our developers, npi.

Since the option to add a percentage-based discount to an invoice line item is unavailable in QuickBooks Online. You can send your suggestions to our developers for consideration in future updates.

Here's how you can submit feedback:

1. Log in to your QuickBooks account.
2. Go to Settings.
   
3. Click Feedback.
4. Enter your suggestions, then click Next.

In the meantime, as suggested by my previous colleagues to apply a discount to a specific item, add it as a separate line item and manually calculate the discount amount or manually calculate the discount amount and enter it as a negative dollar figure.
 

For detailed guidance on adding a discount to an invoice, you can read this article: Add a discount to an invoice, estimate, or sales receipt in QuickBooks Online.

You can also customize and add specific details to your invoice in QuickBooks Online. For more information, please check this article: Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online.

Should you have any additional questions about managing invoices, please leave us a message below.

@npi-novawest-gma 

You can create a service product called "10% Military Discount".  When you set up the product, select the P&L account you want the discount posted to under the 'Income account' drop-down.  

When you use that item as a line item on the invoice, QBO can calculate the 10% discount; however, you need to enter the formula, which is quick and easy.  For example, let's say you have an invoice with a total you want to discount of $125.25.  In the amount box, enter "125.25*-.10" (omit quotation marks).  QBO will calculate this discount as -$12.53 (125.25 X -10%).      

@npi-novawest-gma 

RE: I am using QB online and frankly am surprised, as sophisticated as QBO is, it won’t do this simple task.

The key to being happy when using QuickBooks Online is to significantly lower your expectations, especially if you're used to QuickBooks Desktop. Lower than you can initially imagine. You have to really work at it.

The most expensive version of QuickBooks Online doesn't come close to feature parity with the cheapest version of QuickBooks Desktop.