I've come to help you get it back, @kim2424.

The Top Icon Bar may have been turned off from one of the menus in QuickBooks Desktop. By going to the View menu allows you to show or hide the icons.

Therefore, I'm adding this screenshot for your visual reference.

I'm adding this article that'll help you understand and fix the error you may receive while working with QuickBooks: How to Get the Different QuickBooks Tools to Fix Problems and Errors?

If you have any other questions aside from this top icon bars concern, please let me know using the Reply option below. I'll surely be around ready to assist you. Take care and stay safe!

I have the same issue.  My view is clicked "top" and it's still not there .The whole top is a big blank.

I am having the same issue.  My view is clicked "top" however, there is nothing there.  I have a big blank across the top. 

Thanks for letting us know, Beth1107! I will like to test out something. Could you open a sample file and see if you can view the top icon bar?

This is beneficial to finding you a solution! Thanks in advance, and see you soon. 

Has this issue been resolved? I haven't done an update and now I don't have the top icon bar. If I click, "left icon bar" that one appears. When I click, "top icon bar", nothing happens.

Thanks for joining in this thread, @Bailey8. Let's go over some troubleshooting steps to ensure you can access the Top Icon Bar in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT).

In some cases, an unusual product behavior is caused by a temporary issue with the company file. To verify this, access the Top Icon Bar using a sample one and see if it appears.

If it worked on the test file, return to the original one and utilize the Verify and Rebuild tool. The verify tool identifies the most common issues in a company file, and the rebuild tool repairs them. To verify your company data:

1. Go to Window and click Close All.
2. Select File, then Utilities.
3. Click Verify Data.

Here's how to rebuild:

1. Go to File, select Utilities, then Rebuild Data.
2. Press OK when QBDT asks to make a backup. Choose where to save it and click OK.
3. Select OK when you get the message Rebuild has completed.

If the issue persists, use the QuickBooks Tool Hub. It includes a set of tools to aid with different sorts of problems.

Additionally, QBDT provides several reports that display information from your company file.

Feel free to get back to us whenever you need further assistance in viewing the menu bar in QBDT. I'll be happy to return to this thread to address your queries. Keep safe, and have a great rest of the day.

Thank you for sharing your situation, @Anonymous. I truly appreciate all the effort you've put in so far. Your experience matters, and I’m dedicated to working with you to make sure the Top Icon Bar is displayed correctly on your end.

Let's start by ensuring your QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) is fully up-to-date. It updates on its own, but doing a manual update will confirm everything's on track.

Here's how:

1. Exit your company files and close QuickBooks.
2. Next, open the Windows Start menu and look for QuickBooks Desktop.
3. Right-click the icon and choose Run as administrator.
4. When the No Company Open screen appears, navigate to the Help menu and click on Update QuickBooks Desktop.
5. In the Options tab, select Mark All and then click Save.
6. Then, go to the Update Now tab and check the Reset Update box.
7. Finally, when you're ready, click on Get Updates.

If the issue keeps happening, you'll want to use the QuickBooks Tool Hub. It contains various tools that can help with different problems you might run into. 

QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) also provides various summaries that offer detailed info from your company file. To learn more about how these can help you, check out this article: Understand reports. 

If you have any more questions or need help getting the Top Icon Bar to display correctly, please feel free to reach out to me in this thread. We're in this together, and I'm here to support you every step of the way.

This happened to me for the first time about two weeks ago (November 2025). I accidentally stumbled onto the answer.

Go into View > Customize Icon Bar, and check the box that says show Search Box in Icon Bar. For some reason that toggles the icon bar on/off.

Hope it works for all of you!