Sales in QuickBooks Desktop sits on the Home Page (Customers flow), the Customers menu, and Reports ▸ Sales.
If you just opened QuickBooks Desktop and want the tools for selling, invoicing, and tracking revenue, you’ll find them in three predictable spots. The Home Page shows a visual workflow for customers and income. The top menu gives direct access to invoices, sales receipts, and sales orders. The Reports menu opens a full set of sales and revenue reports. Once you know these entry points, you can jump to any task in seconds and keep work moving without hunting through windows or tabs.
Find Sales Features In QuickBooks Desktop: Fast Paths
There are three reliable routes. First, use the Home Page. Look for the Customers area on the right side of the workflow. From there, you can click icons such as Create Invoices, Sales Orders, Receive Payments, and Sales Receipts. Second, use the top menu. Select Customers to open transactions tied to customers, or go to Lists and Item List to manage products and services that drive revenue. Third, use Reports ▸ Sales to view performance, trends, and line-item details. These paths cover daily work, month-end checks, and quick lookups for managers.
Home Page: The Visual Sales Workflow
The Home Page is the quickest way to spot core income tasks. The Customers band shows a left-to-right flow: estimate, sales order, invoice, receive payment, and deposit. You can start with any step you actually use. Service companies often go straight to invoices. Retail or counter sales may prefer sales receipts when payment is taken immediately. If the Home Page is hidden, press Home in the left shortcuts panel or open Company ▸ Home Page. If certain icons are missing, turn on the related feature in Edit ▸ Preferences or enable it during company setup so the workflow displays the tools you need.
Customers Menu: Direct Access To Sales Transactions
When you know exactly what you want to do, the top menu is faster than the Home Page. Open Customers ▸ Create Invoices to bill for services or goods. Use Customers ▸ Create Sales Receipts for paid-today sales. For orders you plan to fulfill later, use Customers ▸ Create Sales Orders. To bring in money, open Customers ▸ Receive Payments. These commands work the same whether you run Pro, Premier, or Enterprise editions, and they keep your hands on the keyboard when you’re in a data-entry groove. If you also manage estimates, statements, or finance charges, the same menu keeps those tools in one lineup.
Reports Menu: Sales Performance And Detail
To see revenue by day, month, customer, or item, head to Reports ▸ Sales. Popular picks include Sales by Item Detail for quantities and item performance, Sales by Customer Detail for who’s buying what, and Sales by Rep when you track commissionable activity. You can filter by date ranges, columns, and item lists to get a clean view. Memorize the versions you use often so they live under Reports ▸ Memorized Reports for one-click access during closings or weekly reviews. This menu also helps you reconcile sales to deposits when you need paper trails for auditors or lenders.
Core Sales Tasks And Exactly Where To Start Them
This section maps common jobs to specific screens. Use it as a quick reference when you’re training a teammate or building a repeatable process for your back office.
Create An Invoice
Open Customers ▸ Create Invoices or click Create Invoices on the Home Page. Pick a customer or job, add items, set terms, and save. If you convert from estimates, the form can pull in quantities and prices, which keeps your paperwork consistent from quote to bill. If you batch invoice similar work, memorize a template and reuse it to shorten entry time. Intuit’s step-by-step reference for this workflow is helpful when you want all the small toggles dialed in on day one. Link this phrase to the official help page here: Create invoice in QuickBooks Desktop.
Record A Paid-Today Sale
Use Customers ▸ Create Sales Receipts or the Sales Receipts icon on the Home Page when cash, card, or check is collected at the counter or in the field. This keeps receivables clean since there’s no open balance to chase. If you accept card payments through Intuit’s merchant services, deposit grouping can match your processor’s batches so bank reconciliations take minutes, not hours. When you’re done for the day, your Banking ▸ Make Deposits screen will show what’s waiting to hit the bank register.
Manage Sales Orders And Fulfillment
For companies that take orders before delivery, Customers ▸ Create Sales Orders reserves quantities and sets the stage for picking, packing, or scheduling. Later, convert the order to an invoice from the same screen using the button that pulls lines straight into a billable document. This is the clean route for partial shipments or staggered projects, since the conversion prompt lets you pick only the items you fulfilled.
Post Customer Payments
Open Customers ▸ Receive Payments to apply money against open invoices. If customers pay multiple bills in one check, you can tick several invoices at once. Watch the credits and discounts fields when you handle short pays or agreed write-downs. From there, head to Banking ▸ Make Deposits to combine today’s checks and cash into the deposit that mirrors what you bring to the bank or what your merchant processor sends as a single batch.
Run Sales Reports That Answer Real Questions
You’ll probably live in Reports ▸ Sales. Start with Sales by Item Detail when you want quantities and product mix. Use Sales by Customer Detail to see who drives revenue and which invoices make up the totals. The Profit & Loss report shows “big picture” income by period; switch columns to Months or Years to scan seasonality. For a refresher on Income workflows and report choices, see Intuit’s practical guide: Customer transaction workflows in Desktop.
Quick Ways To Reach Sales From Anywhere In The File
When you’re deep in vendor bills or payroll, it’s handy to pop back to income tools without closing everything else. Press Home in the shortcuts panel to return to the workflow. Tap Alt to reveal the classic menu bar if it’s hidden, then pick Customers or Reports. Use the Search box at the top of many forms to jump to a customer, item, or transaction number. Keep the Customer Center open on a second monitor to drag-and-drop between tasks and keep context while you build invoices or chase overdue balances.
Sales When You Think In “Customers” Instead Of “Sales”
Many users don’t look for a “Sales” button; they think in terms of customers. That’s why the Customer Center is so useful. Open it from the icon bar or Customers ▸ Customer Center. From there, you can right-click a customer to create transactions, view open balances, email statements, and pull transaction histories. If you’re training a new teammate, park the Customer Center on the left, open forms on the right, and let them work down a list of open balances in an orderly way.
Bring Back Missing Sales Icons Or Menus
If you don’t see the Customers band or a specific icon on the Home Page, it’s usually because the related feature isn’t turned on. Visit Edit ▸ Preferences ▸ Sales & Customers and check the settings for estimates, sales orders, statements, and payments. Also check Company ▸ Company Information for your industry type; some workflows display differently when you choose a retail or contractor profile during setup. If the top menu is hidden, tap Alt to toggle it. If all windows are closed and the screen looks blank, press Home in the left panel to bring the workflow back.
Save Time With Smart Navigational Habits
Memorize your favorite sales reports and pin them to the Reports ▸ Memorized Reports list. Add Create Invoices, Sales Receipts, and Receive Payments to the icon bar using View ▸ Customize Icon Bar so they’re one click away. Use the Find button on transaction forms to recall any invoice, receipt, or order by amount, number, or date range. Set up items with clear names and correct accounts; clean item catalogs cut invoicing time and reduce edits after the fact. When you need to train someone else, give them this map of screens so they learn the flow instead of memorizing one path.
Match Bank Deposits To Recorded Sales
Sales don’t end when you hit Save. The deposit step matters. After posting payments, open Banking ▸ Make Deposits. Group checks and cash to match what the bank shows. If you use card processing, your merchant service often bundles a day’s settlements; group those payments into a single deposit with the same date and total. This habit makes your bank reconciliation clean and keeps the accountant happy at month-end when every deposit lines up to the penny.
Sales Reporting That Drives Decisions
Pick reports that answer a real question. To see which products deserve shelf space, use Sales by Item Detail and sort by quantity or amount. To spot top buyers, run Sales by Customer Summary and filter to the last 12 months. If your team works on commission, Sales by Rep gives weekly scorecards. For trendlines, open Profit & Loss and switch columns to Months. If you want a list of invoices only, run Transaction List by Customer, filter by Transaction Type = Invoice, then memorize the result for next time. Small tweaks like date presets and column layouts save hours across a year.
Tie Sales To Inventory And Items
Every invoice line comes from the item list. Keep items mapped to the right income accounts so reports roll up correctly. Service items should hit service income; parts should hit product income; bundles should expand with the right costs and prices. Use item categories in newer Desktop builds to group related lines and make reports easier to scan. When you add a new product or service, test it with a one-line invoice in a sample file so you know where dollars land in both the Sales by Item report and the Profit & Loss.
Common “Where Is It?” Scenarios And Short Answers
Need to print statements? Go to Customers ▸ Create Statements. Want to see everything a client owes? Open the Customer Center and click the customer’s name for a ledger view. Need quantities sold by SKU? Use Reports ▸ Sales ▸ Sales by Item Detail. Want income totals month by month? Run Profit & Loss and switch the columns to Months. Need a list of open invoices? Use Reports ▸ Customers & Receivables ▸ Open Invoices. These quick paths solve the most common sales-panel questions without digging through unrelated menus.
Table: Quick Paths To Sales Tasks
The table below compresses the most used actions and where to open them. Bookmark this section or print it as a desk card for new staff during their first week.
| Task | Where To Open | Menu Path Or Button |
|---|---|---|
| Create an invoice | Home Page or top menu | Customers ▸ Create Invoices |
| Record a paid-today sale | Home Page or top menu | Customers ▸ Create Sales Receipts |
| Enter a sales order | Top menu | Customers ▸ Create Sales Orders |
| Apply a payment | Top menu | Customers ▸ Receive Payments |
| Deposit to bank | Top menu | Banking ▸ Make Deposits |
| Sales by item report | Reports center | Reports ▸ Sales ▸ Sales by Item Detail |
| Open invoices list | Reports center | Reports ▸ Customers & Receivables ▸ Open Invoices |
| Customer ledger | Customer Center | Open Customer Center ▸ pick customer |
If You Still Can’t Reach Sales Tools
Try these quick checks. Press Alt to show the classic menu, then choose Customers. Click Home in the left shortcuts panel to reopen the workflow. In Edit ▸ Preferences, turn on features such as estimates, sales orders, or statements so their icons appear. If a report doesn’t match what you expect, modify filters and columns, then memorize the version that works so it’s one click next time. When you need a refresher on the invoicing screen itself, Intuit’s official walkthrough linked above keeps every step in plain sight. For a broader view of customer-to-cash steps, the Desktop workflow guide linked earlier is a solid reference to keep handy during month-end.
Build A Repeatable Sales Routine
Pick a daily rhythm that saves clicks. Start the day by opening the Customer Center and the three forms you use most: invoices, sales receipts, and receive payments. Keep them docked. Run a Sales by Item report at midday to monitor volume, then a Profit & Loss at close to flag odd swings. Batch email invoices before you leave. Once a week, run Open Invoices and send statements to slow-pay customers. These habits put all your energy into serving buyers instead of searching for screens.
Wrap-Up: The Three Spots You’ll Use Daily
When someone asks where to find revenue tools, point them to the Home Page, the Customers menu, and Reports ▸ Sales. That trio covers creating documents, collecting payments, and seeing results. With those routes in muscle memory, you’ll spend less time clicking and more time shipping, serving, and getting paid.