QB Desktop "Receive Payment" Sort on (Invoice) Number

Hi @JohnWerth,

In QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), you have another option to view open invoices, as well as sort them by invoice numbers. 

I'm referring to the Customer Center page. To get there, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Customers menu.
2. Select Customer Center.

Once you're on the page, go to the Transactions tab, and click Invoices. From the Filter By drop-down menu, choose Open Invoices. At this point, you can click the Num column to sort the list by invoice numbers. Please keep in mind, you can record a payment for any open invoice on this page, one at a time.

Another way you can process your customer's payments is through our QuickBooks Payments. Check out this article for the steps: Sign up for QuickBooks Payments. This allows you to send online invoices, which your customers can also pay online. 

Feel free to tag me in a post below if you have any other concerns with invoices in QBDT. I'll be around to help you out. 

Thank you Ryan_M but this does not answer my question. 

Please think -- you have a US Mailed Customer check in hand.  It includes the list of which 7 of 50 open Invoices in QuickBooks DESKTOP they are paying.  You go to “Customer Center”.  Go to “New Transactions” then “Receive Payments”.  You want to sort on Invoice Number to click off the 7 of 50 Open Invoices this check pays.  You quickly find it VERY DIFFICULT to find 7 respective Invoice numbers because Invoices are NOT listed in Ascending or Descending Invoice number order.  You want Invoices in Ascending or Descending order to easily do your job and Receive Payments.  How?

Ryan,  BTW: I do "get" what you are saying, but doing this reports receiving multiple checks -- not one.  I do know QuickBooks will Total multiple checks as one check in "Deposit slip" for Bank when Customer Name and Check Number are equal, but having Customer records / reports yield receiving multiple checks, not one, is not clean accounting and I have had problems with that in reporting for another company I worked at.

Thank you for reaching out to the Community. I am here to help you sort this out @JohnWerth.

Yes, you can also do this to in your end. Just pull up the Customer Center report and customize it to show transaction details. Let me show you how:

1.Go to Customer Center, and then select New Transaction Invoices. 

2.Click on the Reports tab, and then View open Invoices. 

3.Select Customize Report and you filter all the details provided.

4.Click Ok. 

By default, you can sort the date of invoices once you receive payment. 

 You can check this article: Get started with customer transaction workflows in QuickBooks Desktop since sending invoices and receiving payments are just part of Accounts Receivable workflow.

If you need further assistance, just drop a message in the comment section. I'll be happier to help. Have a nice day!

Thank you for you attempt, this has nothing to do with sorting Receive Payment window to receive payments.

Hi John.

I've read your previous posts, and I'm here to share with you some information about how Receive Payments works in QuickBooks Desktop.

Yes, invoices are arranged by dates on the Receive Payments window. The good news is, you can always sort the invoices number into descending or ascending order. I'll show you how.

1. From the original arrangement of the invoices, go to the Number column.
2. Tap on the column to switch the arrow on the upward position.

Once done, the invoices are now sorted by the invoice number and not by date.

For more tips about receiving payments in QBDT, you can open this article: Receive and process payments in QuickBooks Desktop.

On the other hand, here's how you can learn more about the different ways you can track customer transactions in QuickBooks Desktop.

If you have any other follow-up questions about invoices and receive payments, please let me know by adding a comment below. I'm always here to help. Have a good one!

Thank you, BUT QB Premier 2020 does NOT allow you to do as you say / illustrated.  As per my original post, QuickBooks Accountant (or Enterprise) can do this, not Premier does this.  This is what you used, correct?

In Premier I can click on "NUMBER" field a million times and it remains sorted on Date.

I could use Excel Template, type in check data (Customer / Invoice # / Amount ....), use Transaction Pro to import/match, but this is a rather cumbersome way when QuickBooks should simply do as you illustrate.

John Werth is correct. What you are saying to does not appear to work with Desktop Pro 2018 as well. It does not seem reasonable to only sort by date. Any payment we receive from larger clients have multiple invoices being paid with a single payment and their accompanying invoice number paid list does not include the invoice date. This is a significant issue as we may have hundreds of open invoices from that client (closed on varying dates that differ from the invoice number order) and we have to sift through the QB payment list of invoice numbers to apply. I do not think having to create a custom report to simply receive payments is reasonable.

Do we have a solution yet? I am experiencing the exact same thing as John Werth. I cannot change the sorting method no matter how many times I click. I’m on QB pro 2020.

Hello, soyeahstuff.

I know sorting the invoice numbers in the Receive Payment window is helpful for you and your business. For now, I suggest submitting feedback directly to our product engineers. They may look into this suggestion and consider adding the sorting option in the future update for QuickBooks Desktop Pro.

To submit feedback, you can go to the Help menu and select Send Feedback Online. You might also want to visit our feedback forum to check the recent updates made in QuickBooks.

Please know that the Community forum is always open if you need further assistance in QuickBooks Desktop. Have a good one.

I too am frustrated at the fact that I cannot sort by Invoice Number. This seems absolutely ridiculous for a major accounting software. Who on Earth decided to default by Date and NOT allow sorting by Invoice for the user??

This makes NO SENSE Quickbooks! 

I followed the link and it looks like it's just for QBO. Our issue is with Quickbooks Pro Desktop. 

I just can't believe that we are not able to sort by Invoice in the Receive Payments window. It's a very basic necessity when receiving payments.

Is there a fix coming? Seeing as how I'm encountering the same issue and this thread started a year ago, is this on QB's radar? If so, why is it taking so long to correct?

Thanks for turning to the Community about your concern, CAB9.

I can see that being able to sort the invoice numbers in the Receive Payment window is beneficial to a lot of users. We're continuously working to enhance QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) features. This way, our customers can perform the tasks easily. I recommend sending your suggestions straight to our product engineers for consideration in future updates.

Here's how:

1. In QBDT, head to the Help menu at the top bar to select Send Feedback Online and Product Suggestions.
2. In the QuickBooks Feedback window, click the Type of Feedback drop-down and choose Product Suggestions.
3. Tap the Product Area drop-down and pick the specific area you wish to improve.
4. Type your product suggestions in the Here is my suggestion box.
5. Fill in the remaining fields and press the Send Feedback button.

For tips and resources on how to handle any customer-related activities seamlessly, you can go over our self-help articles. It contains topics about processing refunds, credits, payments, customizing sales forms, etc

Stay in touch if you have additional concerns receiving payments or sorting invoices. I'll be glad to assist further. Have a good one.

Are you kidding me?!!!!!  I brought this issue up when I purchased my QB Premier 2018.  They said that they will include this in the update.  I just purchased 2022 and its still not fixed for Premier.  

Enterprise is worthless if your accountant doesn't have Enterprise.... so why would I purchase Enterprise?

Desktop Pro Plus and still can not sort by invoice number. Very, very frustrating and huge waste of time.

That is correct.  They disabled this for years ago, called it a bug, and only enabled this for Enterprise users.

It's not the most convenient way, but I've adapted and use the "Look up Customer/Invoice" button.

Thanks, will give that a try.