Is there a way to sort customers by last name without having the last name show up first on the invoice?

I would like the customer names in "Invoices" and "Customers" tabs to be sorted by last name.  Our company does not want the invoices to say, "Last name, First name" on the invoices and that seems the only way to get an alphabetical sort by last name.  Sorting by first name is pretty much useless for us as everything we have regarding customers is sorted or sortable by last name, except for QB.  Thank you so much for your help on this!

Thanks for getting back here and adding more details about your concern, osouthpools-gmai.

QuickBooks Online always uses the first name when sorting out the list in both the Customer and Invoices tab. Although, you can export the list to Excel so you can add more customisation to the list. 

Just click the Export icon to download your data. Then, use Excel's function to sort out the list using your customer's last name. 

Product updates and new features are always added improve your experience when using QBO. Customer feedback and suggestions are reviewed by our engineers when new updates are designed.

You can send your feedback to them directly from QuickBooks. Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear icon and select Feedback.
2. Type in your feedback and suggestions about the advertisements in QBO.
3. Click Next to submit them.

You can also access to track all feature requests through the feature request website. Here's the link: https://feedback.qbo.intuit.com/?_ga=2.216120210.58371353.1655657225-49430407.1655657225.

Keep me posted if that helps you get the data you need. The Community is always here if you have more questions for us and we'll make sure to answer them for you. 

What I've just done is go to Customer, Edit Customer   (Our customers are homeowners, so no company names).
First Name  =   John

Last Name   =  Smith

Customer Display Name  =   Smith, John

Name to Print on Checks =  John Smith

When I test an invoice, the invoice is addressed to John Smith.  

All customers are now alpha sorted by the Customer Display Name, which is the Last Name.  It's beautiful!

Hello, DeBerryAdminSolutions.
 

I'm so glad to hear that you were able to find and share with us a workaround for sorting customers by last name without having the last name show up first on the invoice. Please know that your opinions and ideas matter to us to help improve your experience in QuickBooks Online (QBO).
 

Feel free to tag me in the comment section if you have any other information or concerns with managing customers in QuickBooks. I'll be happy to assist you. Stay safe, and have a prosperous business!

Is there any way to make the above work-around a default option?  With multiple people inputting data, some use the work-around and some don't. It makes for mixed data. Thanks!

Thank you for joining the conversation, LI Audiology.

I understand the challenge when different people use different methods, leading to mixed data. While we can't make the mentioned workaround the default option, I suggest sending feedback so that our engineers can make changes in future updates.

1. Go to the Gear icon and select Feedback.
2. Type in a summary of your feedback.
3. Click Next.

If you have other questions, feel free to ask here. I'm happy to help.