Time entries do not show when I create a new invoice for that customer

mattclifton · ‎August 11, 2025

Hello.

I have been using Quickbooks Online for a few years for my self-employed IT business, and I'm fairly comfortable with it. So far, I've managed my schedule with Apple Calendar, and then manually located and transferred time entries to QBO when it's time to invoice. But I wanted to get more disciplined with time entries.

So I set up a subscription to QB Time, since I believed I needed that to create time entries that will sync with my invoices. However, while I can create time enties for a client, I don't see how they get transferred to an invoice. I created the entry, and approved it (even though I'm the only person creating entries), but when I create a new invoice for that same client, nothing shows up as a suggested time entry.

Help!

mattclifton

I think I know what the issue is. I have the $35/month Simple Start, and this requires the $75/month Essentials plan, right? But not necessarily Time Tracking. (And why is there a Time feature and a Time Tracking feature and they're both different things?)

I guess I have to decide if the doubling of my subscription is worth it, or if there's a slightly cheaper third-party solution that will do the same thing.

Matt

RCV

You're right, Mattclifton. The QuickBooks Online (QBO) Simple Start Plan only offers basic time tracking features.

With the Simple Start version, you can only record a single time entry at a time for employees or vendors. If you want to track billable hours for multiple projects and create invoices from that data, Essentials is a better choice.

Also, the Time feature in QBO is different from a QuickBooks Time subscription. With the built-in Time tool (available in Essentials and higher), you can track billable hours and add them to invoices. QuickBooks Time is a separate app that offers extra features like GPS tracking and scheduling. You can use it on its own or connect it to your QBO account.

To learn more about QuickBooks Time, check out these articles:

If you upgrade from Simple Start to Essentials, your subscription cost will go up, but all your data will stay together for a smoother experience. Since you already know about the higher cost, you might want to look into third-party time-tracking apps that work with QBO. Here’s how to find one that works for you:

Visit our QuickBooks Apps Store website.
Click the Search icon and then type Time tracking. After that, press Enter.
From the lists, select the one that you want to integrate with the program.

If you have more questions about timesheets or anything else in QuickBooks, feel free to ask here anytime.

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Time entries do not show when I create a new invoice for that customer

Time entries do not show when I create a new invoice for that customer

Time entries do not show when I create a new invoice for that customer

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