How to add inventory items in QuickBooks

Making additions to inventory on QuickBooks or QuickBooks Online can be a little complicated at first.

But understanding QuickBooks’ robust inventory feature is easier with the right guide.

Beyond learning how to add inventory to QuickBooks, it’s useful to understand how your accounting software can automate tasks while providing invaluable insight into your customer base.

This blog will teach you how to add inventory to QuickBooks efficiently so you can rest assured that all your stock is monitored and accounted for.

QuickBooks inventory tracking

To get the most out of what QuickBooks offers, you must spend ample time adding inventory to QuickBooks. This is a critical step to successfully and efficiently tracking your inventory.

Let’s see how to add inventory items in QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online.

How to add inventory in QuickBooks Desktop

Before starting your journey with QuickBooks Desktop, you’ll need to ensure everything is in place for inventory management.

Follow the steps below to ensure you’re setting yourself up for success.

Turn on inventory tracking

To successfully monitor inventory items in QuickBooks, you’ll need to enable inventory tracking first.

To do this, you need to:

1. Head to the Settings tab and select Account and settings.
2. Click on the Sales menu.
3. From the Products and services drop-down menu, choose Edit.
4. On the sales forms column, enable Show Product/Service. You can also make adjustments to inventory sales prices if you have non-static pricing scales.
5. Tick both Track quantity and price and Track inventory quantity on hand.
6. Save your changes and click Done.

Add your product’s name, SKU, and category

After finishing the initial inventory setup, it’s time to input the inventory item in QuickBooks that you’ll be selling.

To do so:

1. Navigate to Get paid & pay and click on the Products and services tab from the drop-down menu.
2. Select New → Add a product or service → Inventory.
3. Input your product’s name, SKU, and category to keep track of the type of item listed.
4. Select the required unit and category from the drop-down menu.

Add your product’s quantity, reorder point, and inventory asset account

To make the most out of QuickBooks Pro’s robust inventory management feature, you need to automate the tedious task of keeping track of inventory counts.

Follow these steps to get started. 

1. Input your item’s initial inventory count and enter the start date for tracking this specific item type.
2. Add a date to the Reorder point text box so you’ll be notified when a particular item is about to run out.
3. Toggle Inventory asset in the drop-down menu. QuickBooks uses this option to track standard costs across the board.

Add your product’s sales, tax, and purchasing info

One of the things many businesses appreciate about QuickBooks is its ability to manage tax settings for all types of items.

Here’s how you can easily manage products and inventory tax rates:

1. Write a detailed sales description for everything on your items list. These descriptions and details will appear on all sales receipts and documents you send to buyers.
2. Add unit price and sales price.
3. Select which account you want to use for tracking sales transactions from the Income account drop-down list. Tick Inclusive of sales tax, if applicable.
4. In the Sales tax drop-down menu, choose the applicable purchase tax.
5. Add the cost per item. If the original cost of an item changes, you’ll be able to change it later.
6. From the Expense Account menu, choose Cost of Goods Sold to track the average cost.
7. Select the appropriate tax settings for each basic item type.
8. Add Reverse charge and select your preferred vendor.
9. Click on Advanced options and add the category or SKU for your tracking item.
10. Save your work and close QuickBooks.

If you follow the above-outlined steps, you’ll be well on your way to successfully tracking inventory items in QuickBooks Desktop.

How to change a non-inventory product to inventory

Unfortunately, converting a non-inventory item to regular inventory status isn’t possible in any QuickBooks version.

Instead, you’ll need to create a new item entry with the correct inventory status and migrate all existing product details.

Adding inventory to QuickBooks Online

If you’re working with QuickBooks Online instead of QuickBooks Desktop pro, adding inventory to QuickBooks happens slightly differently. 

Follow the steps below to ensure you’re tracking your inventory items in QuickBooks Online effectively.

Turn on inventory tracking

Before diving into inventory accounting and adding inventory to QuickBooks Online, you’ll need to do some foundational work. 

Here are a few of the settings that need tweaking:

1. Navigate to Settings → Account and settings → Sales.
2. Click Products and services and select Edit.
3. Enable Show Product/Service on sales forms.
4. Do the same with Track quantity and price/rate and Track inventory quantity on hand.
5. Click Save → Done.

Add your inventory products

Now that you’ve configured your QuickBooks Online, you’ll be able to add inventory or non-inventory items easily.

Adding inventory items to QuickBooks Online happens similarly to QuickBooks Desktop, so the guide above can help.

However, adding non-inventory items or services to track is slightly different – here’s how:

1. Navigate to Get paid & pay/Sales → Products and services → New → Non-inventory or Service.
2. Enter a name and relevant SKU.
3. From the Category drop-down menu, select the relevant tags and titles.
4. Tick the I sell this product/service to my customers box and add a description in the provided field.
5. Enter a sales price for your service and select an Income account for tracking purposes.
6. Choose the relevant taxation options and Save your work.

Keep track of what sells

After inputting all the inventory items in QuickBooks, you’ll be able to track all sales transactions.

You can do this through invoices or receipts, depending on how your customer wants to pay. 

Restock your inventory

If you’ve entered a reorder point for your inventory, you’ll be notified when it’s time to restock.

QuickBooks Online can also help you track merchandise you ordered from vendors and automatically update stock numbers on your website.

Use reports to check the status of your inventory

Once you’ve amassed a fair share of sales, receipts, and other purchase-related data, you’ll be able to generate reports on QuickBooks Online.

You’ll be able to quickly identify best-selling items, phase out slow-moving stock, and ultimately stay on top of your business’ needs.

Key takeaways

QuickBooks is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes, but mastering its full suite of features can be challenging without reliable guides and tutorials.

But with a bit of time and practice, QuickBooks can help automate the more tedious aspects of your business and free up more of your time to focus on what matters.

If you’d like to extend QuickBooks’ inventory tracking and reporting capabilities, consider integrating Method:CRM.

Watch this video to understand how Method can help you manage and automate all areas of your business.

QuickBooks inventory tracking FAQs

How do I enter my inventory in QuickBooks?

To enter your inventory into QuickBooks, navigate to the settings panel and click on Products and services. Fill out all the necessary details and choose your account and taxation information. Save your work and exit the page. 

How do I add multiple inventory items in QuickBooks?

You can add multiple inventory items on QuickBooks by selecting the Lists drop-down menu and choosing Add/Edit Multiple Items.

What is the difference between Inventory and Inventory Asset in QuickBooks?

An Inventory Asset is a unique item in QuickBooks that tracks item quantity, cost per item, and other sales-relevant details. Inventory, on the other hand, is usually automatically generated while importing external data.

Start your free trial of Method:CRM today!

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