Hi there!
You’re not alone — that sidebar can be a little unpredictable. The “Suggested transactions” panel (where billable time, expenses, and charges appear) will only pop up automatically under certain conditions. If it doesn’t, you can still trigger it manually.
Try this:
1. Open a new or existing invoice for the customer that has unbilled time or expenses.
2. Make sure the Customer/Project name on the invoice exactly matches the one used on the billable time entries.
3. Click Add time/costs (or Add project time/costs, depending on your version). This button appears just above the line item area and manually opens the sidebar.
If the sidebar still doesn’t appear:
- Check that the time entries are marked Billable, have the same Customer/Project, and haven’t already been invoiced.
- Make sure you’re using the Classic invoice layout (the new Modern layout sometimes hides that sidebar and shows a different workflow).
- Clear browser cache or try a private window — cached scripts sometimes block the sidebar from loading.
In short: the panel can disappear if you’re in Modern layout, or if QBO doesn’t detect matching unbilled activity. Switching back to the Classic invoice form and clicking Add time/costs usually restores it right away.
– Regina Pitts, Advanced Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor
