Thank you for reaching out to us here on the Community page, @charley-b.
QuickBooks Online allows users to add a category to the products and services. When adding the item to a transaction, the system only divides them with a colon.
Yes, inserting a space next to the colon would be a great idea to separate the items and the categories. But doing this is currently unavailable. The good news is, our engineers are working nonstop to enhance the product for our customer's convenience. Adding a space after the category's ending colon might be added in the coming updates.
At this time, you can check out our blog to stay current with the latest QuickBooks news and feature enhancements.
Also, here's an article you can read more about grouping your products and services into different categories.
Lastly, you can as well add tax categories to the products you sell so you can track sales tax more accurately. You can open this link for more information.
Please let me know how else I can help you with QuickBooks. I've got your back and am always happy to help. Thanks for coming, wishing you and your business all the best.