A newly added customer doesn't appear on the customer list. When I try to add it again, it says the name already exists?

That is exactly what the problem was, the display name.  I thought that was a field for the customer contact name.  So the company name did not appear as the display name, the contact did.  Once I changed the display name to the Company name, it appeared on the list.  Thank you

You're certainly welcome, @abaldovin.

It's great to know that the customer was added and is now appearing on the list.

The Community always has your back, so don't hesitate to let me know if you ever need anything. Take care.

I had the same problem. I added a new customer, then I tried to generate an invoice. The new customer is not appearing in the drop down menu. So I attempted to add the customer a second time, and it says that customer already exists. But it's not showing in any lists. ???

Hey there, Amy888.

Thanks for following up on this thread.

From your description, it sounds like this might be a browser issue. I recommend clearing the cache as an initial troubleshooting step. If the cache becomes too full of older stored data, it can potentially cause viewing and performance errors in QuickBooks Online. Clearing it will force the system to refresh and get everything back up and running as normal. The following steps will show you how to do this in Chrome:

1. Click the three vertical dots in the top right corner.

2. Select More Tools, then Clear Browsing Data.

3. Change the time range to All Time.

4. Only check Cached images and files.

5. Click Clear data.

If you're using a different browser, this link offers similar steps: https://community.intuit.com/articles/1771586

Once you've cleared the cache, log out of your account and then log back in. You should then be able to see the new customer in the list.

Please feel free to comment below if you have any other questions.

I had been using Firefox. I opened Chrome, cleared browsing history just in case, and logged into Quickbooks. I had previously created a new instance of the company (Customer), but it's listing it under the employee contact's name and not the name of the company. So I tried to edit the display name to the name of the company, and I get the error below. The name I'm attempting to use, though, doesn't show up in my list of Customers. I was thinking I would just delete this customer and start over, but it it only gives the option to make it "Inactive."

I appreciate you trying out the steps provided, @Amy888.

In QuickBooks Online, you can only make a customer inactive instead of deleting entirely. The only way to remove the name in the list is to merge it as one with the same name and type. To know more about this process, you can check this article link: Manage your customer list.

Once you make the other name inactive, you should be able to create a new customer using the name you're trying to use. However, if the issue persists, it'd be best to contact our Online Support so they can further investigate the error you've received.

Let me know if there's anything else you need. I want to help and ensure you'll achieve your goal for today. Have a nice day!

A number of times now while adding a new customer, Quickbooks will kick you back to the customer list.  The add new customer, add job or add multiple customers: jobs dropdown will appear and lock the screen

Thanks for joining this conversation, @premium lawn.

There can be times that the browser is already full of frequently accessed page resources (cache and cookies), causing some unusual responses. To isolate this, try signing into your QuickBooks Online (QBO) using a private browser (incognito).

Here's how:

• Press Ctrl + Shift + N (Google Chrome).
• Ctrl + Shift + P (Firefox).
• Control + Option + P (Safari).

Once logged in, try adding new customers again to double-check. If it's successful, return to your default browser and perform a clear cache to refresh the system. However, if the issue persists, try using other supported browsers.

I'll also add this article that tackles adding, editing, and managing customers in QBO: Add and manage customers in QuickBooks Online.

Reach out to me in the comment section below if you have any other concerns. I'm more than happy to answer them. Have a great day!

yes another customer does exist with the same name but has a different address and different needs. say we have a customer john smith on main street, another john smith on fifth street needs to be added. i can't add him because another john smith is already a customer?

Hi, @lynn55barbi.

Thanks for joining this thread. I'm happy to share some information about adding customers and managing duplicate names in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

You'll get this error message "The name supplied already exists. Another customer, vendor, or employee is already using this name" when you're adding an existing customer name in QBO. Since the system won't allow you to do so, you can alter or change the duplicate name as a workaround.

Here's how to do it:

1. In QBO, go to the Sales menu at the left pane to get to the Customers list.
2. Locate the name of the duplicate customer, then tick Edit.
3. Change the Display name as format to "last, first".
4. Once done, hit Save and close.

If you're still about to create another customer, you can add some special characters before or after their names. To learn more about managing customers in QBO, please refer to this article: Add and manage customers in QuickBooks Online.

I'm also adding these articles that tackle creating invoices and receiving customers payments for future reference:

• Create invoices in QuickBooks Online.
• Record invoice payments in QuickBooks Online.

I'm just a comment away if you have other concerns or questions with QuickBooks. I'll be right here to answer them. Take care!

None of this makes sense.

I have seen this problem more than once. I add a new customer and attempt to immediately log time against this new customer. The new customer does not show up as a customer I can charge time against. I go to my customer list, and there he is.  I tried refreshing the screen, going out of the time screen to another screen and back, no luck. The only solution I have found is to log out and then log back in. 

Seems like a very inefficient way to have to utilize software, to have to log in, add a customer, log out, then log back in to be able to use that new customer name. 

I guess my background in Fortran and Basic programming, with a little COBOL, doesn't prepare me for the way software writers setup programs for businesses to use. 

Somedays I think an Excel Spreadsheet would be more efficient. 

Played with it some more. Logging out and logging back in did not resolve my issue. Customer is an individual, I played around and added his name as a company name. Still could not get it to show up after this change and even a log out and back in. Tried to add time on tomorrow's date, still did not show up. Finally, edited the customer profile to show a zero balance on his account as of yesterday, and when I went back to my timesheet, I was able to pull his customer name up to assign time against.

Waste well over 15 minutes trying to get this to work. 

Who do I bill at Intuit for this wasted time?

Hi, schroeder2. I appreciate the steps you've performed about customers not showing on the list concern.

I did some research and found out that we have an ongoing investigation into this. Note that our engineers prioritized getting this fixed. I recommend contacting our Customer Care Support to add your company to the affected user list. This way, you'll be notified via email once an update is available. Here's how:

1. Click Help.
2. Select Search and click on Contact Us.
3. Enter your issue in the description field and click Continue.
4. Choose a way to connect with our experts.

Please note our support hours and types to ensure we can address your concern.

In addition, I'm adding resources to learn more about adding timesheets in QBO:

• Enter a single activity timesheet.
• Enter a weekly timesheet in QuickBooks Online.

Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated as we're working on a fix.

OK. Intuit says they knew this was an issue almost 2 months ago, but yet a very basic function is still giving me the same issues today. 

Are the programmers this incompetent, or is the software this poorly written? Or, more likely, no one is working to resolve the issue, you just give us the same canned answer that you are working on it. In reality, no one is assigned to fixing issues with the software, they are too busy trying to come up with popup ads to try to bait us into spending more money?