
1. Use the Magnifying Glass (Recent Transactions)
The fastest way to locate a transaction you just entered is by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the top-right corner. This will show a dropdown of your most recent transactions.
Click on any item in the list to view or edit the transaction immediately.
2. Search Using Filters
Click on the Search icon, then go to “Advanced Search” (or use the filters) to enter criteria such as:
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Transaction type (e.g., invoice, expense, bill)
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Date range
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Amount
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Reference number
This method is especially helpful if you only remember partial details.
⚠️ Note: Searching by amount doesn’t always work perfectly—QBO may not match if there’s a minor discrepancy.
3. Use the Audit Log
If you want to find transactions that you, for example, entered today but relate to a previous period, you can use Audit Log .
Go to: Reports > Search for “Audit Log”
The audit log provides a detailed record of every transaction added, changed, or deleted, including:
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Who made the change (if you have multiple users)
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The type of event (edit, delete, etc.)
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When it happened
You can also filter by user, date range, or event type.
Click “View” next to any transaction for a complete history, including how many times it’s been changed.
4. Look Through Sales or Expenses Sections
Another simple option, as mentioned above is to navigate to your Sales or Expenses tabs, then use filters to narrow down your search by customer, vendor, date, or status. Alternatively, you can go to the banking download and filter your categorized transactions.
5. Run Reports
Finally, if you know the account or category used, pull up a Profit and Loss Report or Balance Sheet to see if the transaction appears there.
Since every transaction entered in QBO affects at least one of these reports, this can be a reliable tool for locating missing entries.
QuickBooks Online offers multiple ways to search and locate transactions. Since finding a lost transaction can be frustrating, it can be helpful to be able to do it quickly.