Ask the Expert - Yahoo Store and Version 2003

Q - I run a Yahoo store and have been using QB for years for my accounting needs. I recently upgraded to QuickBooks Version 2003 and all of a sudden it will not import my orders and I am getting a lot of error messages. Do you have any suggestions?

A - As you mentioned, all earlier versions will import your orders fine....even back to Version 99; however in 2003 a new glitch appeared. Below is the procedures to fix the 2003 QB problem; even though nothing on the surface has changed between versions, this is something new hard-keyed in the 2003 version. The fix is simple, even though it was very hard to find....I would like to thank Don from Yahoo and Tim from Big Red Consulting for helping track this down!

In QB2003, find the "Auto Tax" item -- It is located on your Item List, near the top. By Default it becomes a Service item, which previously caused no problems - however QB 2003 will check for that and not go any further.

So, find that item and either: 1) Delete it - if you are starting out fresh OR 2) rename it "Auto Tax Old" if its in use.

NEXT: Here is the key...... manually create a new sales tax item called "Auto Tax" ....it must be a New Sales Tax ITEM and linked to your state comptroller account, and it must be exact - Auto Tax.

Now when you import your files it will "see" your new auto tax and import the orders. It only works on this item, i.e. if you wanted to change your other items to be recognized as something different, it will not work....

If you already have orders in and go back to revise them for some reason, you may get a message saying that you have an incorrect tax type associated with it....if so, you need to go the tax box on the bottom, click the drop-down box, and select your new Auto Tax and everything will be fine. You do NOT have to update any orders that are already in unless you are making some other type of change to it.

This should take care of all conflicts and you can download your orders and import without any problems.

Roxanne Brown frequently teaches and consults on using QuickBooks to its maximum advantage. One of her premier areas of expertise in is dealing with Yahoo Stores and the interface with QuickBooks.