This bug is STILL present - do we have an update on the investigation? It's been four months since I reported it - is there any progress to share?

Hello there, @kirkjmiller.

I'll update you on the investigation about managing vendor lists in QuickBooks Online.

I have checked the investigation, and it is still in progress. Our engineers are still looking for a resolution.

In the meantime, you can follow the workaround.

Here's how:

1. Click Banking on the left side menu.
2. Choose Banking.
3. Tick the Gear icon on the right side menu.
4. Uncheck Remember category selection and Show suggested rules from the Transaction details section.

For future reference, you can read this article about running reports in QuickBooks Online: Run reports in QuickBooks Online.

Feel free to click the Reply button below if you have questions about managing the vendor list. I'm always here to help. Have a great day.

This is not a workaround - it does not work. Sure doesn’t seem like QBO is keen on fixing this bug that is continuing to pile up unwanted entries into our vendors. 4 months and no progress to show? Is there a timeline for when this gets attention? 

I understand your frustration entirely, kirkjmiller. 

At this moment, we don't have a specific timeline for when this investigation will be resolved. But don't worry; our technical support team is working continuously to resolve this issue immediately. 

Once the investigation is resolved, we'll keep you updated through the thread or via email. 

I've added this article containing resources that will efficiently guide you in performing any tasks in QBO. The topics include taxes, forms, managing employees' information, Banking, and Payments, to name a few.   

Don't hesitate to add a comment if you still have questions. I'm more than happy to answer them for you. Have a good one.

Agreed! Unacceptable. Meanwhile, the prices are increasing yet again.

I’m sorry but I can’t quite believe the response I just received from support. 

‘The experience has been reported, and escalated to engineering. This feature is currently working as designed. Online banking creates vendors automatically to help categorize transactions. We understand there's a need to have control over this feature, and have asked our engineers to add the ability to turn on or off the feature that auto adds vendors into QBO. 

This will be the final communication, and we're closing this investigation. This does not mean we have stopped working on this issue, expect this feature to be rolled out in the new future.‘

On what planet is this working as intended? Why would a software be at liberty to add data to our books that is both unwanted and incorrect. I’m so beyond tired of QBO deciding that a bug is something that is working as intended when clearly - you have a user base speaking out that it’s making their use of the software a crap experience. This is akin to QBO tallying expenses and income BOTH as positive numbers in Class reports and calling it a balance and stating the feature is functioning correctly. It’s not. Why is this product, and its support, so blind to user feedback. Calling it ‘intentional’ and closing the investigation after users ask for an update is just trash support. If this is functioning ‘as designed’, we’re switching to a functioning software with functional design.

WTF.

@kirkjmiller - I agree with you, this is ridiculous that QBO still hasn't resolved this.  Their work around doesn't work and vendors continue to be added.  I created a work around to avoid having a bunch of random vendors added that I don't want or need.  It's unbelievable that we have to create a work around for an issue that QBO is aware of and doesn't fix, but that's the way it is.

To avoid having vendors added that you don't want, create a faux vendor profile.  Such as MISC Vendor- Due to QBO.  Then, from your banking feed, anytime a transaction in the feed shows it is going to add a new vendor, just change the vendor to the faux profile you created.  Then at the end of each week, my AP clerk opens each of the expense transactions with the "MISC" vendor and deletes the vendor from the expense.  With this, you control if a vendor gets added.  Yes, it's more steps, but it still leaves us in control of who is added as a vendor.  Hope this helps.  

It's been a year and this is still not fixed!!!!!!!!!! I don't need and definitely don't want every gas station and fast food I stop at on work trips to be added as a vendor....it's beyond stupid and shouldn't be difficult to "fix"...just stop doing it.

I have created generic "gas station" and "restaurant" but sometimes QB will add them as a vendor before I even change the the payee to the correct generic category, and once someone is added as a vendor they can never be deleted...only make "inactive". 

100% agree.  This appeared to be fixed for a period then reared its ugly head again. 

It's so frustrating when it creates more suppliers, I had a nice clean supplier list and now it wants to add every single thing it sees on a credit card transaction.  Why would I want "Tim Hortons" recorded as a supplier?  Why did anyone think this was a useful feature in the first place?  You know it's dumb when it created a supplier named "ANNUAL FEE".  Developers, please just leave things alone sometimes, whatever is in your brain as a good idea, think twice about it.

100% agree.  This appeared to be fixed for a period then reared its ugly head again. 

It's so frustrating when it creates more suppliers, I had a nice clean supplier list and now it wants to add every single thing it sees on a credit card transaction.  Why would I want "Tim Hortons" recorded as a supplier?  Why did anyone think this was a useful feature in the first place?  You know it's dumb when it created a supplier named "ANNUAL FEE".  Developers, please just leave things alone sometimes, whatever is in your brain as a good idea, think twice about it.

It is so frustrating that QBO doesn't seem to care that they are creating large databases of unneeded vendors. ANNUAL FEE as a vendor is just a new level of stupidity that happens when you allow computers to do things without human intervention. Unfortunately, QBO has made it clear that they are all in on AI which is going to result in more bad accounting

I have the same issue with a twist...the vendors being added automatically by Quickbooks are NOT in my bank transactions and are NOT companies we do business with.  On with tech support now for the second time this year on this problem.

I have turned off the automatic add.

Did I miss a new setting where automatic supplier creation can be turned off?  

The first time I encountered it was a couple years ago, no setting existed, then it stopped happening.  I know you’re saying it’s even worse now for you (I’m still getting stupid suppliers in the system) but I haven’t dug in the settings for a while and have just grown numb to the nonsense even renaming the real suppliers I use to have a AAA prefix so I see them first.  

Imagine if we had the right to claim a right to a fees refund from them for all the time we spend clearing up these nonsense entries and dealing with support calls.  It’s infuriating.  Artificial Stupidity at it’s finest.

Anyone receive any recent updates? I called support this morning and they said there was no workaround of fix and that the system is designed to add the vendors. Is there a way to add an enhancement to QuickBooks to let users turn this feature off?  Many clients get frustrated with the adding of every single restaurant they go to.  It makes the vendor reporting in QuickBooks useless with all the pointless vendors.  

QuickBooks identifies common vendors from your bank transactions and will automatically create new vendor entries in your account, kyle38. I'm here to help you with disabling this feature.

To turn off this option, you can follow these steps:

1. Go to the Banking page and click the Gear icon next to the Export option.
2. In the Automation section, disable the Add new vendors feature.

That's all you need to do, kyle38! With this change, new vendors won't be added to your list anymore.

For more information on managing your bank transactions, check out this article: Categorize online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Additionally, for future reference, you may find this article helpful for best practices in reconciling your account: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online. It also provides advice for tackling any challenges during the reconciliation process.

This thread is open for replies, kyle38. If you run into any challenges regarding your vendor entries, expenses, reports, or lists, feel free to provide the details below.