Sometimes, you might find a QuickBooks Desktop invoice missing message at the top. This isn’t very common, but it can happen more often than you might expect it to.
QuickBooks gives you access to customize messages on both the invoice templates and before you send the invoice. However, sometimes you can’t see the details in certain sections, for instance, the Message to Customer section, even though the templates have these details. In this blog, we will try to understand why the message is missing in the QuickBooks invoice and how to resolve that.
Are you stuck with an issue with QuickBooks invoices? Don’t worry! Our experts are just a call away, dial +1(855)-738-0359. They are available to serve you 24/7.
Why is QuickBooks Invoice Missing Messages?
Let’s see why this is happening. The invoice messages in QuickBooks might go missing due to various reasons, which you can scroll through below:

- The basic reason for the invoices missing messages is the issue with the custom form template in QB.
- QuickBooks Display Settings may also cause this error to pop up if there are any underlying discrepancies.
- A glitch in the software is another reason for QuickBooks Desktop invoice missing messages at the top or in another section.
- Sometimes, QuickBooks has some damaged or corrupted company data files, which can become the reason behind this issue.
- Incorrect invoice preferences set up in QuickBooks may also result in the invoice missing message appearing at the top of your computer screen.
So, this is all about the reasons why the QuickBooks invoice is missing messages at the top or in another area. Now, it’s time to learn about the solutions that can help us resolve the issue. Read more to find out.
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Troubleshooting QuickBooks Desktop Invoice Missing Message at the Top Problem
Addressing the missing message problem in QuickBooks is a multi-step process that can be easily followed. Take a look at the overview of the steps below, followed by a detailed explanation of each step.
- Ensure that you check and update the Invoice Preferences.
- Change the Display Settings in QuickBooks
- Adjust View Preferences
- Repair the QuickBooks Data File
Once you follow the steps mentioned above, your QBDT invoice missing message issue may likely get resolved. However, if you need further information, keep reading the blog to find answers to your queries.
1. Ensure that you check and update the Invoice Preferences
In the QuickBooks Desktop, the custom template may lead to some display issues. In order to fix that, updating the invoice templates is crucial. The series of steps is to be followed to fix the issues you are facing:
- To open QBDT/QBO, navigate to the Lists menu and select the Templates option.
- Next, you need to locate your invoice template and click on the Edit Template option.
- Once that is done, check and make sure that you see the message field in the layout of the template.
- Additionally, you should try switching to a default template to see if the issue is still there.
You have checked and updated the invoice preferences to fix the missing message problem in the QB application. Yet, if the templates are fine, you can proceed further with the other steps.
2. Change the Display Settings in QuickBooks
This particular step involves changing your display settings in QuickBooks to find a resolution for the missing message issue with the QB Desktop:
- To begin with, launch the Start menu by pressing the Windows button on your keyboard.
- Look for the QB Desktop option on the menu or search for it. Click on the QB icon, and then select Open File Location.
- After this step, right-click the QuickBooks.exe file and click on Properties in that folder.
- Once you do that, you will see the Compatibility tab, and within it, you need to select ‘Disable Display Scaling on High DPI Settings’. Here, changing and overriding the DPI settings is also done.
- Apply the selected settings after reviewing.
This is the step through which you can open QuickBooks Desktop and check for the missing message issue. Check out the next step for further information.
Related Post: How to Void an Invoice in QuickBooks – Desktop and Online
3. Adjust View Preferences
The view preferences or the display settings might be the reason why you find the QuickBooks Desktop invoice missing message at the top. Therefore, you will need to tweak them:

- Once the above steps are done, you need to go to the Edit tab menu in QuickBooks and click on Preferences.
- Once that is done, click on the Desktop View option present in the list and then click on My Preferences.
- Afterwards, select the One Window option in the View section and press the OK button there.
- When verifying, you need to close and then reopen QuickBooks. Then, check for the QBDT invoice missing message displayed at the top.
But if you face the issue, you should modify the Windows display settings. One should keep a resolution of 1920 X 1080, but you can change it to 1024 X 768 if that is more suitable in your case. This will result in a change in the landscape of your desktop display.
4. Repair the QuickBooks Data File
To get this issue properly fixed, you need to verify and rebuild the data file. The steps mentioned below will help you fix that:
- Firstly, you need to open your QBDT and then click on the File button.
- Secondly, move to the Utilities tab from the apparent list.
- From this, you will need to find the ‘Verify Data Utility‘ option and click on it.
- Thirdly, let the tool run the scan for data issues.
- After that, you need to launch the Rebuild Data tool from the Utilities tab in order to correct the errors detected in the files.
- Once that is done, you can then refer to the QBWIN.LOG to search for any of the remaining errors.
- If you are still able to find some errors, you will have to manually resolve these errors and then finally save the changes.
- Even after that, to get this issue fixed on your system, you might also need to restart QuickBooks.
So, here are the four major steps in detail through which you can resolve the issue of QuickBooks Desktop Invoice Missing Message at the Top.
A Quickview Table – Missing Invoice Messages
To sum up all the content for you, we have created the table given below, which includes all the information in a more concise manner.
Cause | Solutions |
Invoice Preferences – Issues being caused by the custom template | Check and update the invoice preferences |
Display Settings – Incompatibility issue | Adjust compatibility by changing the Display Settings |
Adjusting View Preferences – Issues are caused by wrong settings in the Desktop view options from the Preferences tab. | 1920 X 1080 is the recommended display resolution |
Repairing QuickBooks Data File – Issues being caused by the corruption of the Data file in the QuickBooks Desktop | Make use of the Verify Data Tool in QuickBooks |
This information, presented in tabular format, can serve as a guide for future references as well.
Conclusion
Make sure you properly understand the problem causing the missing message in your QuickBooks. Once you know the issue, it will be easier for you to resolve it through the process mentioned in the blog. The quick overview table will come in handy if you want to get all the info in a simpler format.
You can also contact us for more information by dialing +1(855)-738-0359. The QuickBooks experts will be right with you and help you resolve the issue in real time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You might come across the problem of the QuickBooks Desktop invoice missing message at the top. This might be because of data corruption and incompatible display settings. Therefore, adjust the display settings.
Invoices might not show up in the web version of the QB application because of cached data in your browser. The cache and cookies stored in your browser can prevent QuickBooks from functioning correctly. You should consider clearing the browsing data to fix this issue.
Finding a missing invoice in QuickBooks can be done by performing a review of the Audit Log reports. After that, you can then run reports in the desktop version. This will help you in finding missing invoices in QuickBooks.
The obsolete data in your web browser and the deletion of any invoice accidentally may be the cause. Apart from that, corruption in company files or data can also lead to missing invoices in QuickBooks Desktop.
An invoice missing in QuickBooks can disturb your financial records. This will further cause more time than required to match the outstanding and billing accounts.

Kate is a certified public accountant (CPA) with expertise in various accounting software. She is technically inclined and finds passion in helping businesses and self-employed people carry out bookkeeping, payroll, and taxation without worrying about errors. Every once in a while, Kate loves to travel to far-off places and relax in the lap of nature.