Re-sorting QuickBooks lists is a simple but often effective way to fix a number of problems you may run into with QuickBooks for Windows and QuickBooks for Mac. It’s a trick that many ProAdvisors have known about for many years, but I felt it was a good time to talk about this because the issue has been coming up in several discussion forums lately.
Home Remedies – Self-Repairing of QuickBooks Files
As you work with a QuickBooks desktop database over time, you’ll find that problems tend to accumulate. The more you use it, the more likely you’ll be to run into one or another “odd problem” that doesn’t seem to make sense. Whenever someone talks about odd things, one of the first things we think about is how to “reset” some of the features in the database. There are several things that can be recommended: simply making a QuickBooks backup with “full verification,” creating and restoring a “portable company file,” performing a “rebuild data” function (perhaps three times in a row and verifying the qbwin.log file), and re-sorting lists. All of these techniques can be used to repair different issues that can come up with a QuickBooks file, and these are all using functions that are available in QuickBooks itself.
Based on U.S. QuickBooks Online customer transaction data categorized from Jan-Apr 2016. QuickBooks Self-Employed customers are not included. QuickBooks Online works on your PC, Mac, tablets, and phones. Example - if you want your invoice number (or quote #, etc.) for salesman 1 to be 1-1000, etc. And for salesman 2 to be 2-1000, QuickBooks will only add one to the last number that was typed into the invoice number box.
Re-sorting QuickBooks Lists
Here are a few of the problems you may see that can be fixed by re-sorting QuickBooks lists:
- A list appears out of order.
- New entries always show up at the top of your list.
- Reports show items out of order.
- You can’t turn on account numbers in the Chart of Accounts.
- Highlighting a customer, vendor, or employee displays no transactions in the appropriate “Center.”
- With Advanced Find, the name filter drop-down auto-fill doesn’t work properly.
- The “quick-type” feature, where you start typing a name while in a list, doesn’t seem to work in finding a list record.
If any of these kinds of problems show up, the first thing to try is re-sorting the list. This will rebuild the index behind the scenes; it won’t actually change any information that’s in the list itself.
Please note the following:
- Any QuickBooks User can re-sort a list if the user has access to that list. It doesn’t have to be the QuickBooks Admin user.
- After you re-sort a list, you should close QuickBooks and then reopen it to see if the problem has been resolved.
- QuickBooks allows you to manually rearrange some lists, which people do for convenience. If you re-sort a list, the manual changes you made will be lost.
- I’ll be describing how to re-sort lists in QuickBooks 2006 and later. In older versions, you may have to look in different places for some of these features (if you run into that being an issue, leave a comment and I’ll try to find the location for you).
Customers, Vendors, Employees, and Other Names
QuickBooks maintains a master name list that contains names for customers, vendors, and employees as well as the Other Names List that you sometimes run across. Although you can generally re-sort the customer, vendor, or employee lists separately, I generally recommend sorting the master name list to catch them all. This can be a bit tricky because you won’t find the master name list in any of the menus!
The simplest way to find this list is to open the Write Checks window. Place the cursor in the Pay to the order of field, and press Ctrl-L to open the list (as we describe in the article on improved list selection). This opens the master name list. Check the Include Inactive checkbox (this is important!), click the Name button, and select Re-sort List. Re-sorting should only take a few minutes at the most.
If your user account doesn’t include banking permissions, you can also do this in the Make General Journal Entrieswindow (click the Name column), the Advanced Find window (again in the Name field), or the Time/Enter Single Activity window (Name field).
This takes care of all four of the name lists. You can re-sort an individual customer, vendor, or employee list from the Center for that list, but I prefer using the master name list.
Chart of Accounts, Items, Payroll Items, Other lists
Several lists are found in the Lists menu (but not all, such as the Other Names List). These can be sorted by opening the list from the Lists menu, checking the Include Inactive (or Show All)checkbox, clicking the List button, and selecting Re-sort List. If you don’t see a “Re-sort” option in that button menu, you should find it in the View menu in the main menu bar.
Memorized Reports
I didn’t realize until recently that the Memorized ReportsList could also have re-sorting problems. It isn’t a list that I normally think of – and memorized reports can often be troublesome in QuickBooks.
In the main menu bar, select Reports and then Memorized Reports. Select the Memorized Reports List. In the lower-left corner, click the Reports button, and then select Resort List.
QuickBooks for Mac
Re-sorting lists can also help with QuickBooks for Mac. The options are similar to what you have in the Windows product.
For the master name list, open the Write Checks window, place the cursor in the Pay to the Order Of field, hold the Command/Apple key down, and press the L key to open the list. Make sure that All Names is selected at the bottom of the list. Then, go to the Edit menu and select Re-sort List.
For the Chart of Accounts, Item List, and Class List, find the appropriate list in the Lists menu. Make sure that All Accounts is selected, then go to the Edit menu and select Re-sort list.
Check 21 checks conform to the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act legislation that requires the format of checks to match a specific layout. This allows for faster processing times and prevents errors when banks process checks. When you print checks, you must select either the Check 21 or traditional check type. Some financial institutions may refuse to process the older traditional check formats. Using Check 21 checks and updating your check type in QuickBooks provides a way to conform to the check clearing act and avoid issues processing payments with your bank.
Step 1
Click the 'File' menu, select 'Print Forms' and choose 'Checks.'
Step 2
Choose the checks you want to print, and click the 'OK' button.
Step 3
Select the 'Wallet Check Type' arrow, and then select 'Check 21' or 'Traditional' to match your check type. Click 'Print' to process your checks through the printer.
Tip
- Determine the type of check you have by looking at the three-digit number on your checks that starts with the '#' sign. If the number following the '#' sign includes the numbers 808, 828, 848, 868 or 888, you have Intuit Check 21 wallet checks. Traditional checks use all other available numbers.