Is there a way to have customers with the same name? Some names are common and I need to have more than one Jack Smith. They have different emails.

Thank you for contacting us about setting up customer profiles in QuickBooks Online, citymoosecaterin. I understand you have multiple clients with very similar names and are looking for the best way to handle this in QBO.

You're correct that currently, QuickBooks does require unique names for all customers, vendors, and employees. This is essential for maintaining data integrity when running reports.

Since identical names are not allowed, a good workaround is adding a middle name, middle initial, suffix, or other modifier to slightly distinguish similar names. For example, "John Smith" and "John R. Smith".

Additionally, here are a couple of helpful support articles related to managing customers in QuickBooks Online that you may want to bookmark:

• Change Sub-customers Into Projects QuickBooks Online
• Set Up And Assign Customer Types In QuickBooks Online

Please don't hesitate to reach back out to the QuickBooks team if you need any other assistance setting up and managing your customer information in QBO, citymoosecaterin. We're always here to help resolve issues, provide guidance, and answer questions about effectively using QuickBooks Online for your business.

It's not typical to ask for a client's middle initial in my industry (catering).  Client's will find it obtrusive if it's something I ask for initially.  All email addresses are unique.  Why can't there be a way to keep reports/customers unique via this?

Unfortunately, asking for a middle initial for someone would seem intrusive in my business (caterer) as it's not a standard practice.  So that won't work as a solution.  As email addresses are already unique, there should be a way to use this as a way to maintain reports and customers do not get confused.  A client should be able to choose when a duplicate name appears.

I recognize the need to set up the same name for your customers to track them efficiently, citymoose. You'll want to submit a feedback request to our innovators, and I'll be glad to show you how.

Preventing confusion between the customers when tracking for reports is beneficial. You can share this idea with our product developers so they can consider it for future updates. Please know that the implementation still depends on the number of requests.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Under the Profile column, select Feedback.
3. Share your suggestion, then click Next.

You can visit our website or blog to track your requests and recent developments.

To learn what more you can do with your customers, refer to this article: Add and manage customers in QuickBooks Online.

I'm adding this reference to guide you through sending gentle reminders about their upcoming deadlines: Create and send customer statements in QuickBooks Online.

Let me know if you have more questions apart from creating the same customer's name. Just click the Reply button, and I'll keep in touch with you. 

Were you able to come up with a good resolution for common/alike names? I am this issue as well; I have a Real Estate company that we have multiple addresses and need to send an invoice to each address. I am not going to be able to put a middle initial in for a real estate company and I feel that is very unprofessional to ask someone to do that. Hoping you can give me some advice! 

Thanks

I understand the importance of managing common names of clients and companies you provide service to, Titan. I'll provide another workaround to manage your customers in QuickBooks Online.

Since you don't want to enter the middle name of your customer, you can use another identifier, like numbers and letters in the Customer Display name field. By doing so, you can differentiate customers even if they have similar names. You may refer to the image below:

In addition, you can customize the template so the identifier you enter to their name won't show in the invoice when your customer receives it. To start, you can edit or create a new invoice template by following these outline steps:

1. Go to the Gear icon, then select Custom form styles.
2. Select Standard, then click Edit if you like to customize the default template. If you want a new one, click the New Style button, then select Invoice.
3. In the Content tab, select the header and information display or the upper box.
4. Untick the box for the Form names in the Forms section.
5. Click Done.
    

Afterward, create an invoice, then select the invoice template in the Other Templates (view only) section of the Design menu. Once done, click Review and Send. You can also remove the identifier on the customer message before sending it to them.

Furthermore, I'll attach this helpful article to guide you in managing your customers within the program: Add and manage customers in QuickBooks Online.

To learn more about making changes to your invoice templates, check out this article: Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online.

Also, you can record your customers’ payments once they’ve decided to pay their invoices to keep your records balanced and accurate.

Please stay in touch if you need further assistance managing your customers and other QuickBooks-related concerns. I’m always glad to help in any way I can. Take care and have a great day!

Thank you for trying to help me but I still do not see a way to edit the customer name so that I don't have to add numbers because I have a customer with the same name. I do not want to send them an invoice with their name as Coldwell Banker1 and Coldwell Banker2, etc. If there is a way to prevent that please help me understand how to do it.

Thank you

I can share additional information about editing customer names, titan.

At this time, it's necessary to have distinct names for each customer, vendor, and employee to maintain data integrity while generating reports. As mentioned by my colleagues above, one way to distinguish similar names is to add a middle name, initial, suffix, or other modifier.

Here's a guide on how to keep your customer list up-to-date and efficiently handle customer-related tasks within the QuickBooks Online platform:  Add and manage customers in QuickBooks Online. It'll show you how to add new customers, create sub-customers, edit customer details, delete or make customers inactive, and merge duplicate customer profiles.

You can run the Customer Contact List report to generate phone numbers, emails, billing addresses, and other contact info for each customer. Check out this article for more information about generating and customizing this report: Run reports in QuickBooks Online.

I understand the importance of maintaining professionalism in your invoicing process, and I'm here to assist you further in finding a solution that meets your needs. Feel free to reach out if you require additional guidance or have any further questions. Have a great rest of the day!