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SteveLane
June 28, 2025
Question

I wanted to export a customer list from Quickbooks, update then import aagain

  • June 28, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 7 views

Probable in the wrong place, but here goes.

 

We decided to add the first part of the customers postcode, or their webshop customer IDs to their details in the customers display name section. Without going though every customer in the list I was going to export a customers list from Quickbooks as a CSV. It would them be easy to update the relevant section in the customers details and then upload the adjusted file back in to Quickbooks. 

 

I have found out that the table that can be exported in not the same as the one that needs to be imported and some details are missing when importing, the main one being the Customers Display name.

 

My question is wh\t would be the easiest way to update the customers with the missing additional postcode part in their details if exporting and inporting is not possible.

1 reply

C
ClaireSamanthaSQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
June 29, 2025

You're correct that there are differences in the format between the exported and imported data, Steve.

 

When you export a customer list from QuickBooks, you will receive both the customer's full name and their display name. The customer display name is shown in the "Customer" column, while the full name is in the "Full Name" column:

 

 

However, when you import this data back into QuickBooks, the import function has specific limitations and there's also a specific format. Here's a screenshot for the correct format: 

 

 

During the import mapping process, you’ll notice that there is no dedicated field for the customer display name. Instead, you can see the  "Name" field:

 

 

This means that the import will not recognize the customer’s display name separately. Instead, you can only choose either the display name or the full name which will be populated into the "Full Name" field, and the original customer display names might be lost in the process.

 

While it may be time-consuming, manually updating each customer’s display name in QuickBooks would ensure that you accurately add the desired postcode or webshop customer IDs. Alternatively, you can add another column and name it postcode, then enter the associated postcode for each customer. During the mapping process, you can select this column and it will be imported accordingly. 

 

On top of that, you can consider using a third-party application or integration that allows you to manage customer data in bulk while preserving custom fields like the display name.
 

You can check out this article to learn how to send summaries of your customers invoices, payments, credits, and balances to them: Create and send customer statements in QuickBooks Online.

Let me know if you have further concerns. We'll be glad to help. 

S
SteveLaneAuthor
June 29, 2025

Currently we are manually inputting all new customer data from our website.

 

What would happen if we started exporting the correct customer data from my website and tried importing it,  in the correct format csv, into Quickbooks if there was a duplicate customer, or even a customer with the same name but different address and contact details.

 

How does Quickbooks know what to override and what to create as a new customer?

R
RCVQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
June 29, 2025
We appreciate you coming back and sharing details about exporting your customer list in QuickBooks Online (QBO), Steve.
 
When importing customer data, QBO identifies duplicate customer names from your CSV files. Imported contacts won’t overwrite existing entries, so it's important to delete any incorrect imports before re-importing to prevent duplicate records.
 
QuickBooks checks for duplicates in the name, email, phone, and address fields. You can check out this article for spreadsheet formatting: Import customers or suppliers into QuickBooks.
 
If there are already double entries on your customer lists, we can make them inactive by batch actions in the program. Here's how:
 
  1. Go to Sales and choose Customers.
  2. Select the checkbox next to each customer you want to make inactive.
  3. In the Batch actions dropdown, tap Make inactive.
  4. Press Yes to confirm.
 
For more details about this one, refer to this article: Delete customers in QuickBooks.
 
If you have created duplicate customer profiles, just merge them into a single profile. For detailed steps, follow the steps in this article: Merge duplicate customers in QuickBooks.
 
To help you create and send customer statements in the future, visit this article: Create and send customer statements in QuickBooks Online.
 
We are always available if you need further help with managing your customer data or QuickBooks-related concerns.
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