How can I hide the Category name of a Product or Service number on an estimate and invoice? Categories are for internal purposes only.

Good Afternoon, @k-handler. 

I hope you're having a great day so far. To clarify, are you referring to the editing screen of the invoice/estimate or the form that can be sent to a customer? Although the categories won't show up on the forms that are sent to a customer, they will on the edit screen of an invoice or estimate. 

At this time, you're not able to delete the column of the Product/Service to remove the categories from appearing on that screen. I'll submit feedback to our Product Developers so they can consider this feature in one of the upcoming updates for QuickBooks. Here's our QuickBooks Blog link so that you can keep up with what's new in the product. 

Here's the editing screen visual: 

If you're referring to the invoice and estimate forms that can be sent to customers, then the category won't show up.

Here's the visual of one of the forms: 

You can also check out this link to help customize your invoice and estimate forms that are sent to clients. 

Should you need any further information or assistance, please don't hesitate to let us know. I'm always here to lend a helping hand. Bye for now!

Thank you Candice, however, your answer is not correct.  The category DOES show up on the estimate sent to the customer.  That is the problem.  See my screen shot.  In this example, the Category is "Single License" and the Part number is the 426.512. 

The Category name is for internal purposes only and means nothing to the customer...in fact it would confuse the customer.  There has to be a way to prevent this from showing up.

Well...after much hunting I figured it out.  The user has  to go into all estimate and invoice templates and "uncheck" the "Category" as information they want to show on the estimate or invoice.  This is  apparently added/checked by default when one converts their product list to use categories.

Suggestion: This important information should be included in the instructions re: converting to categories.  Also, QBO shouldn't automatically make any changes to a company's templates without warning or asking!!  This caused some significant problems and embarrassment and need for explanation to both our staff and customers.

Hello, I am having the same issue. I have a custom invoice template, is there a way to deactivate the show category option in my invoices?

Hi, @risala1. I'll be delighted to share with you how to deactivate the category option in your invoices.

You can go to your custom form styles to remove the category option. You can find it in the Column part under Product/Service of the invoice template.

Let me show you how:

1. Select the Settings icon on the top right and then choose Custom form styles.
2. From the Custom form styles window, find your invoice template currently in use and then hit Edit from the Action column to update the template.
3. 
4. Go to the Content tab and then select the Columns' Pencil icon.
   
5. Uncheck the Category box underneath the Product/Service column.
   
6. Hit Done.

Alternatively, you can create a new invoice template style (New style button) and uncheck the Categorize box. Then save this template and make it your default custom invoice.

Here's how to make it as default invoice form:

1. From the Custom form styles window, select the Arrow beside Edit.
2. Choose Make default.
   

I've also added an article that can benefit you with enhancing your sales forms: Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online.

Just in case you need to add customer commissions with your sales forms, here's the article you can refer to: Add a discount to an invoice or sales receipt in QuickBooks Online.

Feel free to dive and comment if you have additional questions about customizing your sales forms preferences. I'm ready to help you anytime. Have a great day!

I have this same issue and went into the setting but the category is not checked but still showing. I even created a new template for the estimate.

Great having you join us here in the Community, @jjason. I'll handle your query about hiding category name of a product or a service number on an estimate and invoice.

The first thing I can suggest is to look at a possible browser issue. Stored cache in browsers can cause unexpected behaviors. To isolate it, we can proceed with the steps below:  

  1. Restart your browser. 
  2. Use other browser like Incognito.
  3. Clear your browser’s cache and browsing history.

If issue persists after following the steps above, I'd advise reaching out to our QuickBooks Online Support and have them check what’s really causing this issue.

Keep me posted if you still have questions or concerns. I'll be around for you. Have great day!

I am having this same issue but with my purchase orders. Please help! this is embarrassing and factories I work with do not like having the extra words in front of the actual product.

Thanks for reaching out to us, nrasky.

I understand that your suppliers don't need this information. Currently, the option to remove the category details on purchase orders is unavailable in QuickBooks Online. 

Please that know that your ideas and suggestions will help us determine what features our customers need the most. To help improve your experience, I'd recommend sending feedback to our Product Development Team. Here's how:

1. Sign in to your QBO account.
2. Click the Gear icon.
3. Choose Feedback.
4. Enter your product suggestions.
5. When you're done, hit Next. 

In the meantime, you'll want to consider downloading your purchase orders so you'll be able to customize it according to your business preferences. Then, send the form outside of the program.

I've also added an article that will help you in designing the invoices, estimates, and sales receipts you send to your customers: Customize sales forms.

Keep me posted if you have any other concerns or further questions. I'll always have your back.

I will echo what others have said. Categories should be a separate field and not appended to the item#, allowing us to add the category field or not in both entry screens and output reports (like invoices and purchase orders). This is rather typical of a programmer who has a "good idea" but doesn't consult people who use the program. I really can't think of any good scenario where someone would want to append the item# with the category. Just plain silly. It has been over 4 years now and still haven't rectified this clumsiness. How long do we have to wait?