Handy reference to inventory item fields

Here is a handy reference on how to fill out fields in an inventory item screen you are creating.

You might not see some of these fields in your inventory item screen depending on your choices in Company Gear icon (upper right corner). You will need to enable Quantity on Hand (QOH) inventory tracking in Company Settings.

From the home page screen: – Company Gear (upper right corner) – Settings – Company Settings – Sales – Products and Services
Show Product/Service column on sales forms	Adds a Product/Service column on sales forms so you can choose from a list of products and services to include.
Track quantity and price/rate	Adds Quantity and Rate fields to sales forms so you can track this information for products and services.
Track quantity on hand	Lets you track available stock for each product you sell and its related inventory costs.

Click on the screenshots below to enlarge them

Inventory item screen fields

Fields	Reference Guide
Name	Enter the name of the product item you are selling or Stock Keeping Unit (SKU). SKU could be manufacturer’s part name or your own unique product code.
SKU	Manufacturer’s part number or your own unique product code. Note: You cannot select SKU on sales forms at this time. However, you can search it on Products and Services page.
Upload Photo	Recommended dimensions are 120 x 120 pixels.
Is sub-product/service	If the product is a sub-item, select it from the list under parent product name. Do not use parent product name. In our example, “Tools” is the parent product name and “Pipe Wrench” is the sub product item.
Track Quantity on Hand (for inventory items) I track quantity on hand for this product. This enables inventory cost accounting.	When you select this checkbox, “Initial Quantity On Hand” and “As Of Date” fields will be displayed.
Initial Quantity On Hand	Enter a zero or actual quantity on hand. Bear in mind!! These two factors must be taken into account when computing actual quantity on hand: 1) all vendor purchased inventory items are recorded in QuickBooks (no unentered vendor bills left); 2) all sales invoices and sales receipts are shipped out (no outstanding shipments left). Make sure actual quantity you are entering is 100% accurate. QBO is not that friendly when it comes to making inventory adjustments later.
As Of Date	Enter “as of date”.
Inventory Asset Account	Use default “Inventory Asset” account. It is best not to change it.
Sales Information Description on sales forms	This is what the customer/client see on all sales forms (invoices and sales receipts).
Purchasing Information Description on purchase forms	This is what the vendor sees on purchase orders.
Price/Rate	Enter the price you will sell it for. You can also change this price when creating a sales form.
Cost	Enter actual cost if you have “initial quantity on hand”. Do not create sales form if you have zero Quantity on Hand.
Income account (Sales of Product Income)	Default is “Sales of Product Income” account. It is okay to select other product income account.
Expense account (Cost of Goods Sold)	Default is “Cost of Goods Sold” account. It is better not to change it.
Is taxable	Select “Is taxable” checkbox if the product item you are selling is taxable.