QBO was updated and my invoices lost their line item descriptions. Old invoices and e-mail attachments will have their copied descriptions from estimates erased.

Forum|Forum|2 months ago
August 6, 2026
6 replies
190 views

We build estimates with detailed and long line item descriptions which provides clarity to our customers about what specific work will be done. For example we will add a line on the estimate with a full paragraph describing services, but put the rate as $0.00.

When we turn the estimates into invoices and click “print” or e-mail the invoice, all of the descriptions are completely erased. Since this new update, we have had to take extra time adding back these descriptions making it super tedious.

Why has this been happening and is there a solution?

Best answer by cody_a

Good news: this is fixed. To get your $0.00-rate line item descriptions to carry over when converting an estimate into an invoice, turn on one setting:

Go to the Gear icon, then select Account and settings.
Select the Sales tab.
Find the Progress invoicing section.
Turn on Show completely billed products and services on the progress invoices.
Select Save, then Done.

With that setting on, line items that carry a $0.00 rate (a common setup when you want a description-only line, like a detailed scope note with no separate charge) will keep their descriptions when the estimate converts to an invoice, on printed invoices, and on emailed PDF attachments.

Once the setting is on, converting an estimate is still the same flow:

Go to Sales & Get Paid, then Sales transactions.
Find the estimate you want to convert.
In the Action column, select Convert to invoice.
Review the invoice, since this is a good moment to double check that descriptions and details look the way you want.
Select Save.

Note that the estimate needs to be marked Accepted before it can convert. If it was rejected, update its status to Pending and send it again for acceptance first.

Learn more: Convert an estimate into an invoice in QuickBooks

Z

ZackE_

Moderator

@Queenston

I can certainly understand how tedious it is to manually re-enter those detailed service descriptions on every invoice.

To make sure this is tracked properly for you, I've added your account to our ongoing investigation about line items disappearing on converted invoices. This ensures you'll receive direct email notifications from Intuit as soon as our Product Investigations team posts an update or confirms a fix.

cody_a

Community Manager

Our product team is aware of this and working on a fix so estimates with $0.00 line items convert with their descriptions intact. There's no firm release date yet, but we're hopeful it lands in the coming weeks. Your account is already linked to this investigation, so you'll get a direct notification the moment there's an update.

For more on what shows up on your estimates and invoices: Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online

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SarahCO

New Member

This is a ridiculous statement. It’s how the feature is “designed,” because you just made the change and screwed over everyone who has ever created an invoice from, an estimate. Why would you do that, and then give us an obnoxious workaround instead of just letting estimates work the way the were supposed to, and the way they should be working?

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SarahCO

New Member

I made that change, and it’s still not working for me. At least not on invoices that were previously created before this change was made. That is still showing up with none of the details for me. I have had an invoice that I’ve needed to edit for two months, but none of the details are showing up, so I don’t want to edit it and mess it up further than it’s already messed up.

How do I get the data to show up on already-existing invoices where it has disappeared?

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