Why Does QuickBooks Say a Customer Name is Already in Use When It’s Not?

By Harriet Gatter

Question: I am using QuickBooks Premier and trying to create a customer. QuickBooks keeps saying that name is already in use, but I don’t have another customer with that name. What do I do?

Answer: QuickBooks does not allow you to use the same name twice in any list. First, look at your vendor list to see if the name is there as we do sometimes have suppliers that are also customers and vice versa. If not, go to Lists > Other Names List to see if it is in the “Other Names” list. Chances are, it’s in one of those two lists.

Once you find the name in another list, you will need to edit the existing name or the one you are about to correct so they are different. You don’t need to have a large difference—the change can be as small as adding a period at the end of one. Even that will cause QuickBooks to think they are two different names.

Please email accounting questions you would like considered for the column to hgatter@accountingsupportllc.com with the subject line of "Ask the Accountant."

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Harriet Gatter, owner of Accounting Support LLC, was an ad specialty distributor for 23 years and an adjunct professor of accounting at Neumann University. She sold her ad specialty business in 2012, became certified as a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and now works exclusively with ad specialty distributors nationwide on their QuickBooks, order management and accounting needs.