Quick Search

The Quick search box finds clients, suppliers, invoices, estimates, purchases, reports and pages from one place. Type a word and the matching records appear as you type.

Where do I find the Quick search box?

The Quick search box is at the top of the left menu. The ? icon next to it opens this article.

See Menu Customisation for how the left menu works, and the QuickFile Interface Tour for a tour of the rest of the screen.

What can I search for?

Click in the box and start typing. A list of matches appears under the box as you type. The Quick search box looks in:

Invoices and Estimates: the number and the description.
Purchase invoices: the number, the description and the supplier’s name.
Clients: the business name, the contact names and the account number.
Suppliers: the business name.
Reports and pages: the page name, for example Profit & Loss Report or Document Manager.

Each row in the list has an icon: a person for a client, a contact card for a supplier and a page for an invoice, an estimate or a purchase. Click a row to open it, or use the down arrow key to highlight a row and press Enter.

How do I find a report or a page?

Type part of the name of a report or page. For example, typing profit lists the Profit & Loss Report and the Profit & Loss Report (Segmented). Click a row to open it.

How do I search for part of a word?

The Quick search box matches whole words, and it is not case sensitive. Typing acorn finds Acorn Design Ltd, but typing aco finds nothing. A word in the middle of a name works too: plumbing lists the records with “plumbing” in the name, not only those that start with it.

To match part of a word, put an asterisk (*) at the end of it. Typing aco* finds Acorn Design Ltd.

In the example below, pack* finds the supplier Packwell Packaging Ltd and an invoice described “IT support package”.

For more about search syntax, see Enhanced Search Fields.

How do I find an invoice or estimate by its number?

Type the number in full, including any leading zeros. Typing 001 finds invoice TEST-001, but typing 1 finds nothing. Typing 000002 finds estimate 000002.

Tip: If your numbers have a prefix, such as TEST-001, type the number part on its own. Typing the prefix and number together lists every row that contains either part.

How do I narrow or widen my results?

When you type more than one word, the list shows rows that match any of the words, in any order. To control this, use AND, OR and NOT, written in capital letters:

AND shows only rows that match both words. acme AND plumbing lists the Acme records that also contain “plumbing”.
OR shows rows that match either word. acme OR acorn lists the Acme records and the Acorn records.
NOT leaves out rows that match the word after it. acme NOT plumbing lists the Acme records without the plumbing ones.

Other search guidance

Below is a list of other search related topics:

Troubleshooting

Nothing appears when I type

No list appears when nothing matches. Check that you have typed a whole word, or add * to the end of the word to match part of it. Type numbers in full, including leading zeros. Supplier contact names, supplier references and client email addresses are not searched, and searching a client’s name lists the client, not their invoices.

I can’t see the Quick search box

The Quick search box is part of the left menu, so it disappears when the left menu is hidden. Click the >> button at the top left of the page to bring the left menu back.

In a narrow browser window the left menu is hidden until you click >>. The Hide button is shown only while the left menu has no QuickLinks. See Menu Customisation for more.