Time reflected on invoices

I see you want the time on invoices to appear in a tenth format, @JDavi. I want to give you a few suggestions and guide you through some  steps.

Only the hh:mm format can be used when billing your customers in QuickBooks Online. I understand your want for the feature. I suggest sending feedback about it. Your useful idea will be sent to our product engineers for future QBO improvements. Here's how:

1. Click on the Gear icon at the top.
2. Select Feedback.
3. Type in your comments or product suggestions.
4.  Then hit Next to submit feedback.

You can keep track of any feature requests through our QuickBooks Online Feature Requests webpage.

I'll also attach these useful modules about handling timesheets and invoices in QBO:

• Enter a weekly timesheet in QuickBooks Online
• Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online

Feel free to message back if you need more assistance regarding time, invoices, or QuickBooks. I'm always ready to back you and your business. Stay safe.

That's your solution??  That I submit a suggestion that QB actually doesn't alter my time entries from tenths of an hour to minutes?  Who bills clients in minutes??  No one does that.  This looks to be designed into the system so one has to upgrade in order to actually send invoices that make sense and will get paid.  The time sheets allow time to be entered in tenths of an hour?  Why can't it use that same format on the invoices?  I also note that all of QBs examples of time entries are conveniently in whole hours, as to avoid highlighting the issue.

Did you find a solution? Im experiencing the same issue

Hi there, @RaquelRHC.

In QuickBooks Online (QBO), the format for entering time is in an hour (HH:MM) form. It applies to fields that require hours, like timesheets and paychecks. 

When the time is added to invoices, the program will convert it to decimals since quantity is the only available column. That said, changing the format is currently unavailable. 

For instance, when you added 10.25 this will show as 10:15 on the Time Activity window and will be converted as 10.25 on the invoice. See the snips below:

For reference, feel free to read these articles:

• Enter billable time by job in QuickBooks Online
• Enter a single time activity timesheet

Once everything is fine, you're next step is to take and process your customer's payments: Record invoice payments in QuickBooks Online.

If you have any other concerns managing billable time on invoices, please don't hesitate to leave a reply below. Have a good one and stay safe. 

Unfortunately, this isn't accurate, as QBO allows either hours/minutes or time in decimals when entering time, so you can ENTER time in tenths of an hour, and it will show as such when you enter it, when you save your timesheet, and even when you review your time entries by Customer.  It isn't until you generate an invoice that the QBO system inexplicably converts those time entries into a format used by virtually no one paying on an open invoice:  HH:MM. A solution I found is to generate an invoice with the HH:MM entries in PDF format, then use Acrobat to edit those entries.  That will allow you to send clients an invoice that looks like it should, and the time will still track with what is in the QBO system, so the invoice balance will stay consistent.  In my view, there is no reason QBO should be converting the time entries into a never used format for invoices. 

Hope this helps!

Raquel--

See my response below.  Basically, generate the invoice using QBO, save the invoice in PDF, then use Adobe Acrobat to edit the time entries to convert the time entries back to decimals/tenths of an hour--I'm a lawyer, so my whole world is tenths of an hour!  It is an extra step, and shouldn't be necessary for QB, but it does work and still keeps your records straight (as the time entries will still be the same when applied to hourly rates). 

Good luck, and let me know if it works!

Jeff

I have raised this issue multiple times over the PAST THREE YEARS!!!!

I have been doing this for the past 3 years.  I have clients who will reflect the invoice if it is not shown as tenths of hours.  QBO/ Intuit is more focused on the tax end of their clients than the small business user, as they have not identified an edit for this.  They need to make the quantity feature in the invoice editable.  This would allow you to adjust this field as necessary.  

Is there a fix to correct the time entry (HH:MM) Quantity format error when the customer invoice is created? I enter time in Decimal format but it appears HH:MM on the final invoice.

This causes the customer to see an invoice to where the Quantity (HH:MM format) multiplied by the Rate (per hour in Decimal format) does not equal the Amount. For example, QTY (0:24) next to Rate (50.00) equals Amount (20.00). 

It appears that the invoice has errors and is unprofessional. This error makes the invoicing and time entry function unusable. How should this error be corrected on my end?

From the messages above . . . JDavi Level 2, May 3 2023 12:59 PM

I will provide information to assist you with your inquiry regarding how time is displayed on invoices, valued customer,

At present, there isn't an option to modify the time format to decimal when you're in the process of creating invoices within QuickBooks Online.

However, you have the option to follow the solutions suggested by trm on how to convert the hours back to decimals before sending the transactions to your clients.

Customer input and recommendations are essential in enhancing the software's functionality and catering to user requirements. I encourage you to submit a feature request regarding the ability to convert time formats when generating invoices. Here's how you can share your feedback in QBO:

1. Go to the Gear icon and select Feedback.
2. Type in your feedback and suggestions.
3. Click Next to submit them.

Suggestions that are submitted through the forum and other channels are collected and reviewed by our engineers. This process is designed to enhance your QuickBooks experience by allowing us to contemplate and implement valuable improvements based on user feedback.

If you require more resources or guidance for adjusting settings in your account, please refer to the following articles:

• Edit Company Settings in QuickBooks Online
• How Do I Set My Advanced Account Settings?

Don't hesitate to return to the Community if you have any additional concerns or questions. Our team is always ready to offer assistance and support.

No one should be editing invoices in another program, then QuickBooks records don't match what was given to the customer. That would be flagged in an audit and I would be liable if a mistake was made during the conversion. That advice to fix an error in the software has negative legal and tax implications for a small business using this software. Do you have any other fixes that I could try?

Did you ever figure how to bill in tenths of an hour? I haven't been able to find a way.

We appreciate you joining us here in the thread, LawDog1.

Please know that the option to bill in tenths of an hour is currently unavailable in QuickBooks Online. The system will only allow time in an hour (HH: MM) form.

Therefore, I recommend sending feedback directly to our product development team. Your insights and ideas are gathered to assess its functionality and determine if they might be considered when working with future product updates.

Here's how:

1. Click on the Gear icon.
2. Choose Feedback.
3. Share your product improvement ideas.
4. Click Next to submit.

If you decide to track your suggestions, visit this website: Customer Feedback for QuickBooks Online.

In the meantime, utilize a third-party application that meets your business needs. You can look for one here: QuickBooks App Store | Online Tools to Power Your Business.

Moreover, you might want to browse these materials for guidance on tracking billable time for specific project-related expenses:

• Enter billable time by job in QuickBooks Online
• Invoice customers for project expenses in QuickBooks Online

Add a reply below to notify us in the Community if you have additional questions about managing billable time in QuickBooks Online. We've got your back.

Don’t bother trying send feedback to QBO’s product development team about this issue. Customers including me have been asking for over a year to be able to print out invoices in hourly decimals, but our ideas are ignored. I’ve had it with QBO because of this issue and others and am looking for an alternative. 

Agreed (that reaching out to QB's development team is a fool's errand).  I actually use QB's downloaded version, which is in some ways worse, as it lets the user enter time in decimal format (like every attorney enters time), but when QB generates the invoice, it actually converts the entries to HH:MM.  Makes no sense, other than they want to push users to a more expensive QB option.  There is a workaround, though, which should still work for the online version, assuming you also have a license for Acrobat--the invoices are generated in PDF format, which can be edited by Adobe Acrobat to reflect the same amount of the time entry, but in the decimal format all clients will want to see.  This approach will still require you to initially enter your time in HH:MM format, but as long as you are billing in tenths of an our, it should be easy enough, albeit an unnecessary nuisance.

Hope that helps, at least until you find a better solution!  Good luck!

CORRECTION TO MY OWN POST:  I do, in fact use the online version, so my workaround of generating an invoice in PDF and using Acrobat to edit the time entries to reflect the same amount of time, but in the standard decimal format, should work for you.  Sorry for the confusion.