Hit maximum customers, vendors of 14,500. How can I delete some or how do I add more?

I've got you covered, @moose18.

Since you've reached the maximum number on your usage limits for total names, you have one of two options. Deleting some odd names out of your system or deciding to go to our QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise product.

Deleting Names (Customer deletion) 

1. Open QuickBooks.
2. Go to Customers.
3. Press Customer Center.
4. Click on the customer's name.
5. Select the Pencil (Edit) icon.
6. In the bottom left-hand corner checkmark, "Customer is inactive" box.
7. Hit OK.

Note: When deleting a vendor and employee, do the same steps above just replace Customers with Vendors, etc.

Pro/Premier to Enterprise (Less than 100,000 limits)

Here's a link that provides steps on how to upgrade to Enterprise:

• Upgrade to Enterprise

If you want to learn more about usage limits, check this link out!

Should you need any further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask. Wishing you and your business the best going forward. Have a great evening.

@moose18 

You may have 3 options:

1. As mentioned by Candice C , upgrade to Enterprise edition

2. Create a new company file and migrate only the active list. Utilize the exporter/importer tool.

3. Purchase a 3rd party condense service with additional inquiry to delete some list data.

Hi Candice;

We're having the same problem and tried what you suggested. However, we're still not able to add customers. Do the list limits apply to inactive customers as well, or does inactivating them really keep them off the list for purposes of the limit?

Thank you

Hello Candice;

We're having the same issue where we cannot add more customers. I tried doing as you suggested and we began inactivating old customers, but even after doing that we still can't add. Are the inactive customers still counted toward the 10,000 item limit?

Thank you

Thanks for your time today, @Bryano,

Yes, inactive names are still included on the list limit. You will need to entirely remove all the transactions affiliated to the name and delete the customer profile so it will no longer count as one.

After you clear all the transactions, follow these steps to delete the customer:

1. Click on Customer Center and Customers & Jobs.
2. Tap the customer name you want to remove. Click Edit.
3. Click Delete Customer:Job to remove the customer from QuickBooks. Repeat this process for each customer you want to delete.

For more information about the list limitation, see this link here: Maximum number of list entries (list limits and custom fields)

If you have other questions about list limitations or customer management, please let me know in the comment. I'll be right here if you meed anything else.

In this scenario, you have to delete first: the invoice(s); second: the payments, which you can't delete until you delete the entire deposit (we batch our deposits, so there may be 20 - 30 checks in one deposit); and third, the customer. Deleting the deposits changes the reconciliations, doesn't it?

Creating a new company file is a great answer. I'm going to try to do that.

@martinauley1 

Utilize one of these migration tools if required

https://transactionpro.grsm.io/qbd

https://partners.saasant.com/affiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=5051_2

We are trying to delete customers but they all have transactions.

How can I delete them?

Hi there, Jay G.

Welcome and thank you for posting here in QuickBooks Community. I'll different share steps on how you can delete customers in QuickBooks Desktop.

Since the customers you're trying to delete have transactions associated with them, you'll have the option to make them inactive. This way, they will be removed or deleted from the customer's area. Please note that inactivating them is still included on the list usage limits.

Here's how to inactive:

1. Go to the Customers menu at the top.
2. Choose Customer Center.
3. Click on the customer's name.
4. Select the Pencil (Edit) icon.
5. From the bottom left-hand corner, put a checkmark in the "Customer is inactive" box.
6. Hit OK.

However, if you want to delete customers permanently, you'll have to manually remove all the transactions associated with the customer first. Then, delete the customer profile so it will no longer appear on the QuickBooks Desktop. Please follow the steps below.

1. Go to the Customers menu at the top.
2. Choose Customer Center.
3. Choose a specific customer's name. Then, right click.
4. Select Delete Customer:Job.
5. You'll be prompted with Are you sure you want to delete this customer? Click OK to confirm.

Please refer to this article to see steps on how you can merge accounts, customers, vendors, and more in QuickBooks Desktop: Merge list entries in QuickBooks Desktop.

Let me know if you have further questions. I'll be here to lend you a hand. Have a wonderful day ahead of you!

Hi Jen_D,

Can you please inform me as to how many customer names I can add to my QuickBooks Online Plus subscription?

Thanks.

Thanks for visiting the Community space, AvaizAnsari.

The number of customers you can add to QuickBooks Online has no actual limit. If you have tens of thousands of customers, though, you may have experienced performance issues. The more data you have, the longer the software will take to open pages. For further information, please see this article: Why is my QuickBooks Online slow?.

Let me include the following resources to assist you in managing your customer list in QuickBooks Online:

• Get the total number of customers in QuickBooks Online.

• Add and manage customers in QuickBooks Online.

In addition, you can check out this material if you plan to invoice your customer so they can pay later: 

Create and send an invoice.

If you have any additional questions about managing your customer's list, please don't hesitate to ask in the Community. We're always available to assist you.

Putting someone on 'inactive' status does not open up room for more names. 

Hi there, Indycals.

There are no number of limits as to how many customers you'll be creating. Though you have inactivated some you can still add more than usual. This is applicable in both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop.

Feel free to check out these links that will help you manage your customers: 

• Add and manage customers in QuickBooks Online
• Common custom reports in QuickBooks Online

Should you have other questions or concerns, please let me know. I'll be around for you. Thanks for posting and have a good one.

"This is applicable in both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop." Can you elaborate on this? I looked at the link about sub customers but that is not an option for me (QuickBooks Mac 2019). If Quickbooks Mac 2022 has this feature I could upgrade, but going online is not an option as I need the ability to work offline.  Right now my only option that I've found is to change the names of inactive customers to that of another inactive customer and merge them. 

Hi there, @Indycals.

Let me join in this conversation and share more insights about the limitations in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). 

Both QuickBooks Desktop for Windows and Mac have limits on the number of names you can enter in the program. 

The total numbers you can add together (Employees, Customers, Vendors, and Other Names) is 14,500. 

If you've already reached the maximum number, the solution you've shared would be a great workaround.

For more details, you can also check out this article: Maximum Number of List Entries (List Limits and Custom Fields).

If your company file has grown too large, you can condense the transactions for a period of time you choose. This provides you an option to remove their detail and creates a consolidated journal entry for data prior to the selected date.

Let me know how else I can help you with QuickBooks by adding a comment below. I'm more than happy to lend a helping hand. Keep safe!

I did try condensing - a few times, but I kept getting errors that necessitated force quitting. Same with rebuilding the data. 

I appreciate the steps you've done to resolve this issue, Indycals.

Since you're unable to condense your company file, and the verify and rebuild steps didn't work to resolve the condensing issue, I'd recommend reaching out to our Phone Support team. An agent can take a look at your file and isolate why you're unable to condense the data. 

You can reach out to them through this link: Contact QuickBooks Desktop support.

Once your able to condense your data, you can check this link for the detailed steps to condense your data: Use the Condense Data utility.

I'll be around if there's anything that I can help with. Keep safe!

@Indycals 

How big is your file size?

170mb. Data goes back to late 2003

Can you confirm that the Condense option will reduce the number of customers? My company file is approaching the limit and we have lots of very old transactions that we don't need to retain. It would solve my problem if I can consolidate and reduce the count.

Can you confirm that the Condense option will reduce the number of customers? My company file is approaching the limit and we have lots of very old transactions that we don't need to retain. It would solve my problem if I can consolidate and reduce the count.

Thanks for following this thread, @steventhom. Yes, the Condensed Data Utility will reduce the number of your customers. 

During the process, you'll be asked to choose which unused entries you'll want to remove.

And you don't have to worry because QuickBooks will create a backup and an archive copy before condensing starts. 

For additional insights, you can visit this link to learn more about what you need to do before, during, and after condensing: Use the Condense Data utility.

You can always visit and post again if you have additional concerns. We're always happy to guide. 

Nope. Condensing did not remove unused customers.