Customized Report Item and Item Description Columns

Hello there, @bizownerca. I want to ensure you'll be able to run the customized report with the correct details you need. 

To clarify, may I know the report you run? That information is a great help so I can provide a timely solution. 

In the meantime, let's perform some troubleshooting steps to resolve this. 

To start, let's check the item's profile and make sure that the description details are entered correctly. Here's how:

1. Go to the Lists menu and select Item Lists.
2. From there look for the items and double-click them to open.
3. Then, ensure that the description details are entered in the Sales Information or Purchase Information field.
4. You can make changes if needed.

For reference, check out this article: Add, edit, and delete items. 

Once done, run the customized report again or the Item Listing report and filter the details. Let me guide you on how.

1. Navigate to the Reports menu and hover over to the List section.
2. From there, choose Item Listing.
3. Next, click the Customize report button.
4. Then, go to the column section to add the Item and Description columns.
5. Add other columns and filters you need.
6. Select OK when done.

The report should be like this:

If the same thing happens, we can run the Rebuild data tool to self-resolve potential data issues. Refer to the instructions below.

1. Select the File menu and click Utilities.
2. Then, select Rebuild Data.
3. Click OK to start a backup.
4. Select OK when you get the message Rebuild has completed.

For additional reference in customizing your report, read this article: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop. 

I'm always here ready to lend a hand if you have any other concerns managing your product items in QuickBooks. Please don't hesitate to leave a reply below. Have a good one and stay safe. 

@DivinaMercy_NThank you for the detailed instructions. 

The report I am running is a Invoice Report for a specific customer with customized columns (PO #, Item, Item Description, etc.). 

I followed your instructions and I verified that under Item List, our Item Name only contains numbers and that under Description is where we wrote the description of the Item.  The only difference between your screen shot and my screen is that most of our items are Non-inventory Parts (not sure if this makes a difference). 

When I run an Item Listing Report, the Item and Description Columns function correctly and as expected (Item lists only Item numbers with no description in parenthesis and Description lists the descriptions).  However, when I run the Invoice Report, I continue to get the same issue per my original post. 

I then followed your instructions and rebuilt my data.  However, when I run the Invoice Report afterward, I continue to encounter the same issue. 

Is this a function of how Invoice Reports display information?  Any other suggestions I can try to rectify this?

Hi there, @bizownerca.  I appreciate you for following the steps that were provided by my colleague to resolve your issue.  I'm here to clarify why you're seeing a parenthesis in your report. 

I tried running the same data, and it shows that if you set up your item with a description, it will also reflect on your report with a parenthesis under the item field. Thus, this is working as designed, regardless of its inventory or non-inventory parts. As a workaround, you can modify your report without adding the item description to the column. 

See the screenshot below for your reference. 

To know more about managing and customizing reports in QBDT, consider checking out these articles:

• Customize company and financial reports.
• Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop.

I also recommend visiting our website for more tips and other resources you can use in the future: Self-help articles.

If you have other questions, please let us know by posting another one in the Community. Take care and stay safe always.

@AbegailS_Thank you for your reply.  I am a little confused by your answer though.

First, if I run an Item List Report, the description is not showing up within parenthesis under the Item column.  This seems like the proper behavior for Item and Description fields; the Item name should be what is listed in the Item field only. So why is this showing up differently when I run an Invoice Report with the description appearing in parenthesis within the Item column?  This is inconsistent and I fail to see why it was designed this way.

Second, is your workaround simply not giving Items a description?  Or removing the Description column because the description is showing up under the Item column?  Both of those solutions are compromises for users: either we need to not use descriptions for Items or when we are exporting data so we can manipulate it in Excel we need to figure out how to parse the description into it's own column because Quickbooks isn't being consistent. 

I appreciate your effort in getting back to us, @bizownerca.

Allow me to add further information about customized reports.

As mentioned by my colleague above, running this specific report is working as designed. It is because it emphasizes what is in the item since the report itself is intended for an invoice, not specific items. Also, know that there are different sources and targets for each report we run in QuickBooks.

If there's a need for you to have this specific invoice report, I suggest exporting the data to Excel and manually altering it to your preference. 

Additionally, you can use this link to help you customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop and keep track of your inventory.

I'll be around if you have additional questions or concerns about QuickBooks. Have a great day, and stay safe!

@bizownerca  RE: Is there a way to customize the report so the Item name only displays under the Item Column and not the description of the item in parenthesis? 

Yes, this is a preference.

To change it, pick Edit | Preferences from the QuickBooks Menu, then pick Reports & Graphs | Company Preferences and change the Show Items by: preference  to "Name only". It looks like this:

@Daniela_A  , @AbegailS_ , @DivinaMercy_N 

The OP's question was: "Is there a way to customize the report so the Item name only displays under the Item Column and not the description of the item in parenthesis? 

Did any of you answer the question? No, not you did not. I'm confused as to why not? It's a simple question. It's a reporting setting QuickBooks has had for almost two decades. Why don't you know the answer when I do? It's not even my job to know the answer, but it is yours...