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lgrbook
Level 3

Sales Tax Issue on Memorized Invoices

I have been a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor for over 16 years and I don't think I have seen this problem before.  Maybe it was always there?  My client has memorized invoices for her customers and they charge sales tax.

This is desktop QuickBooks Pro 2020 version. 

When sales tax change notices come from the state, they go into their item list and find their sales tax items and change the cities and counties.  But just today we noticed that when a memorized invoice is opened and it has the current date, it brings in the old sales tax rate that no longer exists and doesn't catch the new one for the same sales tax group.  Those groups are edited quarterly if the state sales tax newsletter shows changes.   I was surprised because now they have to go in and open each memorized invoice and check the sales tax rate.  That is a lot of work for probably over 200 customers.   Memorized invoices are a great tool, but if you can't count on the sales tax being right, then it can become a liability in time and effort. One client we noticed had the whole year in the system with the wrong rate that was changed a year ago and there is no way to see that because it is lumped in with all the other invoices that have the same sales tax group. His monthly invoice was not large enough for the difference to make enough to be noticed.  Just a quirk today that I opened one up and noticed it had the wrong rate.  

Has anyone else seen this problem?  I think I would have noticed major differences on the sales tax liability report in QuickBooks versus what the online sales tax system for our state calculated but I am not seeing major differences.  So is this just a glitch on a few invoices or is this systematic??  

But the client is worried enough that they are going to go into each memorized invoice and check them.  We checked one other that had a county change and same thing, the memorized invoice when opened with today's date did not catch the updated sales tax group.  Had the old one.  Again the difference was 50 cents so hard to notice with hundreds of invoices each month on the sales tax liability report.  What a headache if after each sales tax change, you have to locate those clients that are affected and go into the memorized invoices, open them up and fix the sales tax rate and then re-memorize them to be ready for the next use.  Any help would be appreciated.  

9 Comments 9
JonpriL
Moderator

Sales Tax Issue on Memorized Invoices

I hear you, @lgrbook. I'll help make sure to fix the sales tax rate of your memorized invoices.

 

Let's perform a few troubleshooting steps to determine why sales tax rates on your clients' invoices are not updating even after changing the required updates. I'll show you how.

 

A. To Rebuild Data

 

  1. Go to File.
  2. Click Utilities.
  3. Select Rebuild Data.
  4. Click OK.

 

B. To Verify Data

 

  1. Go to File.
  2. Click Utilities.
  3. Select Verify Data.
  4. Click OK.

 

Here's a link you can read to learn more about the troubleshooting steps: How to Fix Possible Data Damage on your Company File in QuickBooks Desktop?

 

You may also read this reference with the topics to use while working with your sales tax and transactions: A Series of Articles that Covers Sales Taxes in QuickBooks.

 

I've got you covered if you have other questions about sales taxes and rates. Let me know by leaving a comment using the Reply option below. Take care always!

lgrbook
Level 3

Sales Tax Issue on Memorized Invoices

Thank you for that answer.  I am no longer at this client's but I sent her your suggestions.  I hope she will attempt them.  She did a rebuild just a couple days ago and there is no issues popping up during the backup about needing a rebuild.  Just to clarify, she is having no problem with regular invoices catching the updates sales tax groups, only the memorized ones.  So I suggested before you she verified her data, to find one of the memorized invoices that is not working and then verify the data and then go test the memorized invoice again to see if it updates to the latest sale tax group data.  I will follow up on this next week with her. 

 

lgrbook
Level 3

Sales Tax Issue on Memorized Invoices

My client did not attempt this so I went to their office today and noticed the same problem existed.  When you open a memorized invoice, it doesn't update to the latest sales tax group if that group has been edited since the memorized invoice was used last.  It will let you save using a sales tax group that doesn't exist anymore.  I can't understand that.  The sales tax group exists, but one of its components was updated to a new % and yet the memorized invoice keeps the old % total even though it doesn't exist anymore. 

They have used memorized invoices for years and this problem did not exist until maybe 2 months ago. 

I verified the data and I did a rebuild and everything is fine. 

But attempted a memorized invoice again that had a sales tax group that has been updated and yet it doesn't update to the latest sales tax group, it keeps the old %.  So the problem has continued.  

My client is very disappointed as each time there is a sales tax change for a city or county which can happen quarterly,  they have go into their list of memorized invoices that are probably 150-200 total and pick out the ones that are using that county and/or city and fix the memorized invoice so the next time it automatically enters, it will be correct. 

Lots of work that did not exist a few months ago.  Something has changed and it is not a good change. 

MaryLandT
Moderator

Sales Tax Issue on Memorized Invoices

I appreciate you sharing the steps you've made to make the new sales tax rate appear on the memorized invoice, lgrbook.

 

Let me provide one more solution to get this working for you. You can delete and re-create the invoice.

 

Here's how to delete it.

 

  1. From the Lists menu, select Memorized Transaction List.
  2. Select the transaction you want to delete.
  3. Choose the Memorized Transaction drop-down, then select Delete Memorized Transaction.
  4. Click OK.

 

Once done, memorize again the invoice and check if the new rate will appear. I'm adding this link as your guide: Create, edit, or delete memorized transactions

 

If the issue persists, I recommend contacting our QuickBooks Desktop Team so they can check what's causing the issue.

 

Don't hesitate to leave a comment below if you need additional information on your sales tax issue. I'll be right here to help you.

Go Get Geek
Level 3

Sales Tax Issue on Memorized Invoices

I am also a Certified ProAdvisor and just worked with a client today who is having a similar issue. Pro 2021 where the memorized invoices show a different rate than what is set up for the sales tax group item. Somehow these memorized transactions got corrupted as the rate was not actually changed but the file verifies with no problems detected. 

ChristineJoieR
QuickBooks Team

Sales Tax Issue on Memorized Invoices

Hello there, @Go Get Geek.

 

I'm here to help you how to solve problems or unexpected outcomes while using QuickBooks Desktop to manage your sales tax.

 

These usually happen if you are currently using a damaged template. I suggest creating a new one to ease the issue.

 

Here's how:

 

  1. Select Templates from the Lists menu.
  2. Select the Templates drop-down at the bottom of the Templates box, then New.
  3. After selecting the template type, click OK.
  4. Give your template a name and save your changes.

If the issue continues, we can try to duplicate the template you have just created.

 

See the steps below:

 

  1. Select Templates from the Lists menu.
  2. Select the invoice template to be highlighted in the Templates pane.
  3. Select Duplicate from the Templates drop-down menu at the bottom.
  4. Choose Invoice in the Select Template Type window, then OK.
  5. Create a duplicate invoice using the copied template.

 

Furthermore, if you are still experiencing a problem, you can visit this article for more troubleshooting suggestions: How to resolve common sales tax issues.

 

Once everything looks good, check out this link to guide you with setting up a sales tax in QuickBooks Desktop. 

 

If you have any more questions or concerns regarding your taxes, please comment to this thread. Thank you for your time, and I hope to see you again soon!

 

Go Get Geek
Level 3

Sales Tax Issue on Memorized Invoices

I don't think it is because there is a damaged template. The sales tax field isn't even on the template in question. Besides, I already tested creating a new invoice, not from the memorized transaction, and the sales tax percentage displayed was correct with the same template. It is only when creating from the memorized transactions that this happens, which leads me to believe that the memorized transactions are damaged. 

LeizylM
QuickBooks Team

Sales Tax Issue on Memorized Invoices

Hi there, Go Get Geek.

 

This isn't the kind of impression that I'd like you to have when making the new sales tax rate appear on the memorized invoice. We know how much time it can take when something isn’t working the way you need it.


Since the issue persists after performing those, I highly suggest contacting our Phone Support team. They're able to check your account using their screen-sharing (remote access) tool and investigate this further. They can also try other troubleshooting steps to fix this for you.

 

Here's how to reach them:

 

  1. Open QuickBooks.
  2. Go to Help, then select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
  3. Select Contact Us.
  4. Give a brief description of your issue, then select Let's talk, and then choose a way to connect. Phone support may be limited due to volume.

 

You can also refer to the Support hours and types link to contact us at a time convenient to you. Then, go click QuickBooks Desktop for more details.

 

This will be the best way to get your issue resolved as soon as possible. I'll be here to lend you a hand if there's anything else you need about your sales tax issue. Have a good day. 

Creamo
Level 1

Sales Tax Issue on Memorized Invoices

Waste of time with Quickbooks. Have Enterprise solutions, walked them through and showed them the sales tax issue and they have no answer. You have to delete every invoice and start over. They had us attempt to make secondary sales tax codes and different steps. nothing worked. Major flaw. Also, if you change the price of items, it does not increase, so if you get a large volume of invoices as memorized transactions, you’re going to spend your life trying to update them as prices and sales tax changes. Got to find a better program than Quickbooks, too out of touch with reality 

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