Importing Lists.

Question:

Recently, we changed from QuickBooks Pro 2002 to QuickBooks Premier 2004 - Contractor Edition. We started from scratch and entered the opening balances to each account. When it came to lists, we imported the lists from the old program. Including the item list, which leads to my question. Previously, when I would choose an item (such as labor) to the timesheet and later to the invoice, the item description (such as: Field Engineer – ST) would show up on the invoice display and printed. Now, it does not automatically fill it in, the description field remains blank. Is this a problem that I encountered when I imported my lists instead of setting up items individually? Is there a way to rectify the situation? I knew that importing the lists would save allot of time, it was a “too good to be true” kind of thing. Am I paying for it now?!

Answer:

It seems that there are a lot of questions resulting from the importing of files/parts of files. It seems to me that Intuit should be looking at making this process easier. Your particular problem doesn't appear to be to difficult. I would first check to see if the item descriptions came over in you import. To do this go to your "Item List" (Lists - Item List). Find one of the items that is not displaying properly. Right click on it and select "Edit" and see what is in the "Description" field. If it is blank this is your problem. Now, you have two choices: 1. Try to re-import the list. 2. Spend some time with your computer and fill in the description field for each item. Considering the success I have seen with imports this may be your best bet.