Printing invoice, paid in prior accounting period

It's my pleasure to help you print your paid invoices, mwhite69.

You can print your paid invoices in the Invoices tab. Please know that you can only print within one year.

Here's how:

1. Go to Sales.
2. Select Invoices.
3. Click the All dropdown under the Status, then select Paid.
4. Filter the date you want to print under Date.
5. Tick the checkbox beside the DATE column.
6. Select the Batch actions dropdown, then click Print.

Alternatively, you can run a Transaction list by Customer report and customize and filter the invoice and paid invoices.

Here's how:

1. Go to Reports.
2. Enter the Transaction list by Customer in the Find report by name.
3. Click the Switch to classic view.
4. Filter the date you want to see.
5. Select Customize.
6. Click Filter, then tick Transaction type.
7. Mark Invoice and Payment.
8. Select Run report, then click the Print icon.

Moreover, you might want to scan these resources for guidance when you need to download your data and save it to your local hard drive:

• Export reports, lists, and other data from QuickBooks Online
• Export your reports to Excel from QuickBooks Online

Feel free to post here in the Community if you have additional concerns regarding your invoice. Stay safe!

Thanks MelroseV

What you propose isn't a solution for me.     If I am understanding your first proposed solution, it boils down to have me to to Sales, have that Get Every Invoice, Look through every result of Every Invoice for the last two or three years, and Click the invoice I want to print.  My staff/bookkeeper don't even have the permissions to get to the Sales reports area.  I hired people to do these things for me.  I cannot scroll through 10,000 invoices to select the one I need to print.

Your Alternate solution is to run a Report to pull up all invoices by Customer, filter the results by date, and select the invoice I want to print.   Again, my staff/bookkeeper don't have the permissions to run reports.  If I as Administrator was supposed to find the invoice that need printed, the problem with that is that I already have to query by Invoice Number to find the customer name, and date of the invoice so I can add in at least a couple of filters so the results will be somewhat limited. Yes, it pulls up a record by that query.  I would need to write down that information.  Then I would need to go to a separate area of QuickBooks Online to run the Report limited by invoice date, customer name.  That's something like 12 extra steps in a different Report every time I want to print an invoice.

The only solution to all of this would be one where the invoice could be found by a QUERY of invoice number or some other data element.  When you find the record, you can print it, save it, etc.  Additionally, Printing the invoice cannot open up the invoice such that it can change the financial records, simply by trying to print an invoice.   Please understand that opening up prior year financial records will cause havoc (and legal issues) with the closed books of any organization, its IRS filings, and a multitude of other areas.

What's the fix to all of this?  This can be accomplished in a very simple way.  Have the program working exactly like it was for the last 10 years, up until it was updated 10 days ago.

If the functionality I described already exists in the new QuickBooks Online systems, please train me how to use it.  I look forward to understanding how this change 10 days ago made QuickBooks Online more user friendly, efficient, and provide better financial information for my company.  I am also looking forward to learning more about what was "broken" such that the change resolved that issue(s).

Thanks for your continued help.

I recognize the importance of printing your paid invoices, mwhite69. I know a way to print the transactions without opening each entry.

QuickBooks Online offers a Batch Print feature. It'll help you print the paid invoices without opening them to avoid accidental changes. 

To easily locate the invoices you want to print, I suggest following these steps:

1. Go to the Sales menu and then select All Sales (Take me there).
2. Under Type, select Invoices.
3. Filter the correct period by clicking Custom dates under Date.
4. Locate the client you want to print the paid invoices under Customer.
5. Choose Paid under All Statuses.
6. Place a checkmark beside the Date column.
7. Click Batch actions.
8. Hit Print. You'll be routed to another tab where you can select the Print icon to proceed.

For visual reference, I've added a screenshot below.

You can also invite your staff/bookkeeper to have access to your sales area. 

Additionally, you can run various customer reports in QuickBooks Online. It'll help you track your sales and ensure your record is accurate. Then, export the data to Excel to personalize the info and use it outside the program.

I'm here to help again if you have more questions about managing or printing your invoices. Would you like to learn more about other processes in QuickBooks? I'm with you every step of the way.

Thanks CarleneMaeF

Its good there is a way to print the invoices without opening up the financials. However, I cannot tell in advance which invoices we will need to view. I have to assume I need to print all of them.

The Batch print (to PDF) will result in a 2023 invoices PDF image document of around 16,000 pages, one page for each of our 2023 16,000 invoices. Conservatively, I will need three years worth. I doubt that is technologically feasible to have a document that size, and be able to efficiently search it.

What's the hangup with simply having a button available that says "Print the Invoice" (as it was, a pdf image, not live data, etc) ? Its actually a very simple concept to implement - in fact you already had it that way.

I am gravely concerned that the software engineers have set a process into motion with zero understanding of the the dire consequences of making it unwittingly easy to manipulate prior year financial data. That topic will not raise its ugly head for some time - far to long down the path to address it. Whoever made this decision may have a reckoning coming in the near future - they had better be able to explain why it was done, how it was good for QuickBooks Online customers, that it was appropriate, helpful, and necessary. Maybe it was. (Hint, Hint - see if the software crew can get that option working as it had before)

That topic is separate from how this makes QuickBooks Online disastrously difficult to use, with this change made for no known reason, no stated benefit, no notice, etc.

In the interim, I will see how a 16,000 page pdf works.

Thanks for your help. I appreciate getting an answer, even if I don't like it - and I won't be mad at the messenger. Your part of the experience is excellent.