I have a number of customers who are vat exempt. Is it possible to get a facility to set this up in customer detail rather than having to remember when creating invoice

I can see the benefit of being able to set up customer details who are VAT exempt in QuickBooks Online (QBO), @donal2. That's why I'm here to share further details about this matter.

Currently, there isn't a feature that can possibly set up customer's accounts who are VAT exempt in QBO. You'll have to manually exempt them through the Amounts are field when you create their invoice.

With that being said, I'd recommend submitting feedback within QBO. This way, you're able to help our engineers implement some changes and improvements to meet the needs of your growing business. Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Select Feedback.
3. Enter your comments or product suggestions, then select Next.
4. You'll be provided a list of suggested Help articles related to your comment. You can read through them or select Skip and send message.
5. From the drop-down, choose the appropriate category, then select Send message.

In the meantime, I'd recommend pulling up the appropriate VAT report (i.e., VAT Exemption Report) to effectively monitor your transactions. Just go to the Manage VAT section from the Reports menu's Standard tab to pull up the one you need.

To learn more about VAT in QBO, you can refer to this article: Set up tax. It also includes links on how to create custom tax rates, agency, and group tax.

Let me know in the comments below if you have other concerns about managing customer accounts and VAT details in QBO. I'm just around to help. Take care always.