SAVING A CATEGORY WITH EACH VENDOR

Welcome to the Community, @TAMMY9524.

Here's a Community Article that provides more details about what information gets imported into QuickBooks Online from QuickBooks Desktop: What to expect when you switch from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.

I'm here to help you get your Vendor's Information into QuickBooks Online. We can export your Vendor List from QuickBooks Desktop into an Excel spreadsheet then convert it into QuickBooks Online. No worries, I'm walking you through every step of the way. Let's begin:

Step 1: Getting the Vendor List

1. Open QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Go to Reports on the top menu, then Vendors & Payables > Vendor Contact List.
3. Click on Customize Report at the top-left of the window.
4. Take away or add any columns that you need: Vendor Address, Phone Number, etc.
5. Hit OK.

Step 2: Export Report to Excel

1. Click on the Excel drop-down menu at the top of the report window.
2. Select Create New Worksheet.

Step 3: Save the Excel Spreadsheet in your files

1. Go to File at the top-left of the worksheet, then Save As.
2. Enter in the information so you can easily locate it.

Step 4: Upload the file to QuickBooks Online

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online account.
2. Go to the Gear icon at the top-right of the page, then Import Data.
3. Click on the Vendor tile.
4. Browse for your Excel file.
5. Follow the steps to upload.

This should put you on the path of getting your Vendor Information into QuickBooks Online. Here are a few Community Articles that you may find helpful:

• Which contact fields are imported from Excel?
• Import or export MS Excel files
• Import customer or vendor contacts from Outlook, Excel or Gmail
• Import and export data in QuickBooks Desktop

Let me know how this goes for you. If you need further assistance, just know that I'm only a Reply away! Have a great day.

Hi Ashly, thank you for the reply.  I don't have a problem with the addresses, I know I can enter them and then save them.   My issue is with the saving the category for each vendor.  So when I enter a new bill for a specific vendor I don't have to memorize the chart of accounts number.  Any solutions?

Thanks,

Tammy 

Good Afternoon, @TAMMY9524. 

I hope your week is going well so far. After researching your question further, I've discovered that the option to save a category to a vendor isn't available at this time. However, I'll send feedback to our Product Developers so they can consider this feature in a new release for QuickBooks. Developers take the time to look over all request and try to make the product better and easier to navigate through for every customers. Here's an extra link that may come in handy: Categorize online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with. Wishing you continued success. Enjoy the rest of your week. 

I would also like to see this feature added to Quickbooks. I have used "Quicken" for my personal books for years, and it has always had that feature, so the Intuit guys should already know how to add this to Quickbooks without too much difficulty. This would be a great time-saver for me when adding imported transactions from my business bank accounts, since most of my regular vendors and contractors always fall into the same category each month.

Thanks for joining this thread, john128.

You can add a default expense account to each vendor. Go to the Expenses menu and select Vendors. Click the Edit menu and choose an expense account under the Default expense account drop-down. This will auto-populate in the Category details section when creating a vendor transaction like bill, expense, or check.

The default expense account you set up on the vendor's profile won't apply to the downloaded transaction. Instead, you'll want to add a bank rule to easily categorize them. From the Banking or Transactions menu, select Rules. Then, click New rule.

I added this link for the detailed steps:

• Setup bank rules to categorize online banking transactions in QuickBooks Online.
• Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online

Visit us again if you need anything else. We'll respond as soon as we can!

I'd like to add to this thread.  I am using the Mobile Android version of quickbooks on my Samsung phone.  While i know i can log into Quickbooks Online and add a Default Expense Account for all of my vendors i  wish that information would then be available in the Mobile Version so every single time i create an Expense on my phone i don't have to also add the additional step of choosing what Category/Expense account its part of.  Why this isn't a default option like its been on the iOS version of quickbooks for years completely baffles me.

Thanks for joining the thread, mjbcomp.

We recognize that each company has unique needs, and I can see how the feature you're looking for would benefit and empower your business. In the meantime, I recommend setting up the expense account on the vendor profiles using the browser.

Since the feature you're looking for isn't currently an option, I encourage you to submit feedback to our Product Development Team. They look through submitted feedback for future updates and use those suggestions to develop changes for the product.

You may also want to visit our QuickBooks Blog. And be the first one to know about any updates that you'll find beneficial for your business. The QuickBooks Blog is our way of letting you know the latest features released and what the product team is working on. They update the site every time new information is available. 

If there's anything else you need help with, let me know by adding a comment. I'm more than happy to assist you. Have a great day!

Is this still not available?  If not it is another reason why QB online is the poor relation to desktop.

Hi Bairdc,

Being able to add a default account through the QuickBooks mobile application is a great feature to have. It makes the work easy while on the go.

While this option is unavailable, you may create a default account through a web browser. You may follow the steps below:

1. From the Expenses tab, select Vendors.
2. Select the customer's name.
3. Click the Edit button.
4. Go to the Additional info section.
5. Under Accounting, select a default expense account.
6. Click Save.

I also recommend sharing this feature request with our developers so they can analyze and provide the best possible solution. You can do so by clicking the Gear icon and selecting Feedback.

Whenever you have concerns in making sure your transactions are on the correct accounts, you can check these references:

• Set up bank rules to categorize online banking transactions in QuickBooks Online
• Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online

Feel free to mention my name if you have other concerns about vendor-related transactions.

I have gone through this process with each of my vendors. Creating a rule for the automatic downloaded transactions is easy and successful. When I go through my "handwritten" check transactions (manually categorizing etc) the vendor default expense category does not automatically fill in and, in fact, when I have to manually choose the expense category it actually populates the entire transaction list. Ugh! Drives me crazy. There has to be a way to automate this process.

I understand the challenges you're facing, SylvesterOU. Rest assured that I'll be with you in troubleshooting this. 

When you set up a vendor and select a default expense category, it will automatically appear when you create a transaction using the same vendor. You can also manually choose a category for the transaction, and it will be reflected accordingly.

However, if you have manually categorized a transaction and it still populates the entire transaction list, you can turn off the automation by toggling off the auto-recall feature in QuickBooks Online (QBO). As this feature automatically fills in the rest of the transaction (excluding the date) when you select a customer, vendor, or employee while entering bills, writing checks, or entering credit card credit.

If the issue persist, let's resolve the issue by performing some browser troubleshooting steps. This could be an issue related to your browser.

To begin, let's access your account through your browser's incognito mode, which will prevent your browsing history from being saved. Here are the keyboard shortcuts based on your browser:

• Google Chrome: Ctrl + Shift + N
• Mozilla Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Microsoft Edge: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Safari: Command + Shift + N

Alternatively, you can clear the browser's cache to eliminate common errors that may hinder the application from working properly. Clearing the cache will reboot the system, allowing you to work with a clean slate. You can also use other supported browsers to see if the issue persists. 

In addition, I'll be adding this references to help you ensure that your transactions are correctly accounted for.

• Set up bank rules to categorize online banking transactions in QuickBooks Online
• Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online

Keep us posted if you have further questions about expense categories in QBO. I'll be of help. Take care. 

This feature DOES NOT WORK WITH THE MOBILE APP.

Stop recommending that users log into QBO through the browser and set this feature up when its useless for the mobile app.  I have requested this feature be integrated into the mobile app more than 100 times and yet here we are in 2024 and still this feature is nowhere to be found.

Also, why doesn't the mobile app have a DARK MODE like 99% of all apps on a phone?