One of my vendors changed their company name. Is it okay to just edit their name to the new name?

Good evening, @pamspaper. You've come to the right place.

If you'd like to update the Vendor's company name, then you can! Here's how:

1. Go to Expenses on the left-hand menu, then Vendors.
2. Click on the Vendor's name to view their profile.
3. Press on the Edit button at the top-right.
4. Enter the new name for the Company. You can make Notes of the old name for documentation if needed.
5. Hit Save.

That's all there's to it.

I'm always here if you need anything else. Wishing you and your business continued success!

Get a NEW w-9 from your vendor, compare to the old one and if the TIN has not changed, yes you can just edit the name, if the TIN has changed, then no, create a new vendor with new 1099 reporting if applicable

How do you edit the name if you have made online payments to them?  It's instructing me to create a new vendor but I really don't want to do that unless I can merge them afterwards.

I appreciate you for joining the thread, Doug. I'm here to share with you some additional information about modifying vendor's information in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Yes, you can create a new vendor profile for this. Once done, you can permanently merge your old vendor details to the new one. I'll guide you on how.

1. Click on Expenses at the left pane, then tap on Vendors.
2. Tap on New vendor.
3. Fill in the vendor details, then save the information.

Once you're ready to merge the two profiles, you can follow these steps:

1. Select the old vendor profile from the Vendors page.
2. Click on Edit.
3. Change the Company and Display name so they match the new vendor profile you're keeping exactly. 
4. Hit Save, then Yes to confirm.

This merges the two vendor profiles so you end up with one. QuickBooks moves past transactions from the duplicate to the name you want to keep.

Aside from vendors, you can also merge your accounts and customer names. You can open this article as your guide: Merge duplicate accounts, customers, and vendors in QuickBooks Online.

On the other hand, here's how you can learn more about handling your expenses and other vendor transactions. Here's the link: Enter expenses, pay bills, write checks, and manage suppliers.

If you have any other follow-up questions about managing your vendors and other transactions in QBO, let me know by adding a comment below. I'm always here to help. Have a good one!