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PDF attachments (invoices)

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
June 6, 2024
2 replies
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When we email invoices / credits to customers, every so often we get a response that "I can't open the file you sent me!" As far as we know, the files are a standard PDF format file. Does anyone else have the same experience, and if so, do you have any idea why this happens?

Many times, I think this is on someone's phone. I am trying to find out if it is an I-phone or Android. I saw one persons phone where the attachment showed up as a "windows.dat" file! What is that?? How does the PDF get converted to a .dat file?

Is this problem something that we need to solve as the sender of the file, or is this a problem on the receiving end of the file ... our customer's phone or computer issue.

I just got another call ... this one from a Windows 10 user, said there was "no attachment", yet if I look in the send mail folder, there is a message that shows a PDF was attached.

This is so confusing, and irritating for some of our customers. I would really like to find out how to resolve this issue.

QuickBooks Enterprise Suite

Best answer by tanyaor

Here's an update: I created a new template as was suggested, and tried sending that via "Send Forms" as the customer (member, we are a chamber of commerce) is flagged to "email later". It failed in the same way.

I then tried emailing directly ... NOT through "send forms" but via the Email link on the invoice screen ... not the "Email later" method. This one worked just fine and the member received the invoice PDF.

So I believe that there is something wrong with the "email later" option and Send Forms ... something is different between immediately emailing the invoice and emailing it "later". I am going to submit a bug report.

I have had the same problem with sending statements to customers, majority have no problems but some cannot open the attachment or the attachment is not there when sending thru "Send Forms". Last summer when this began, I was initially told it had something to do with Microsoft and QuickBooks. However if that was the case it would be all - so that was bull___ line. Then I was told it was QuickBooks and Apple products.

After playing around, I came up with a fix to be able to email the customers their statements. I remove the emails from the Send Forms list for the customers that are unable to view the attachment and then process the remaining. I then save a pdf file of all statements and pull out each statement for the other customers and email them separately.

It is a pain, but the customers are happy. It would be nice if there was a complete fix to this, especially for the amount we pay for the software.

MorganB

Good afternoon, Deadwood Al.

Thanks for bringing your question forward here in the Community. I want to make sure your customers are able to view attachments when sent from your QuickBooks Desktop account.

Based off of the description, this sounds like a potentially broken invoice template. To rule this issue out, I recommend creating a new template to test and see if the same results occur with a new one. Here's how to get this done:

1. In the File menu and select Switch to Single-User Mode.

2. Go to the Edit menu and choose Preferences.

3. Select the Send forms menu and then the Company Preferences tab.

4. From the Delivery Method Default drop-down menu, select Email.

5. In the Email Templates drop-down menu, select a transaction type. You can create multiple templates for each transaction type transaction listed.

6. Select Add Template.

7. Give your template a name.

8. Customize the subject line and body.

9. You can select Insert Field to put a dynamic data field in your email. These use real data from the form, like the customer name or due date, to fill out the field.

10. When you're done customizing, select Save. After you close the template, select OK in the Company Preferences tab to save your changes.

The following article provides additional info about creating custom email templates in QuickBooks Desktop.

Once you've completed these steps, send an invoice with an attachment to one of your customers that has run into the issue and see if they're able to view the PDF. Please don't hesitate to reach back out in the comments below if you have any other questions or concerns. I'll be here to lend a hand.

D

Deadwood AlAuthor

I will try the template change tonight when others log off ... the majority of people are receiving the emails and the attachments with no problem ... it seems to be the ones trying to read things on their phones, usually I-Phones. Not sure if the template has a problem if the majority have no issues ...???

R

rvrfrf

Thanks for following up with the Community, Deadwood Al.

After performing MorganB's troubleshooting steps, please feel welcome to update me here with your results.

To answer your other question, invoices are sent with PDF attachments from QuickBooks. They shouldn't show any other file extensions attached to their invoice emails.

Like you speculated in your original post, it's also possible this could be an issue on the recipient's end, instead of something wrong with your template. For example, their email provider could be blocking the PDF attachment for some reason. They'd want to check with their email provider about this possibility.

I'll be looking forward to your reply. Have a great Thursday!

BigRedConsulting

If you mean winmail.dat (not windows.dat), then...

This is a rather common issue when sending email using outlook or other Microsoft-based email program.

See https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/winmaildat/3cf36058-1941-4fce-bf48-901d417d4e4e

D

Deadwood AlAuthor

Not sure if this matters, but the email arrives at the phones ok ... people can read the email. It's the attachment that appears to have been sent as PDF that is the .dat file and they can't open. Would changing the format of the email make a difference in the treatment of the attachment?

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