Scott Gregory, QuickBooks Expert

See the current availability of an inventory item in QuickBooks

2012-01-26T10:30:00-05:00

Did you happen to notice the button at the bottom of your Item list that says "Activities"?

Take a look there and you'll see an option that will help many manufacturing, distribution and wholesale businesses that use QuickBooks - the "Current Availability" option (if you don't see this, you are likely using an older version of QuickBooks that did not contain this functionality - save 20% on your QuickBooks upgrade).

Select an inventory part or inventory assembly in your item list, then navigate to the Current Availability option to get a screen that looks like this (click the image for a larger view):

This screen is packed with critical information to help manage your inventory of that item in QuickBooks, including:

Quantity on Hand
Quantity on Sales Orders
Quantity Reserved for Assemblies
Quantity on Purchase Orders
Quantity on Pending Builds

For any of the amounts listed, you can head to the bottom of the screen and see all the details. For example, you can see all the open purchase orders, all the open sales orders, etc.

In case you are wondering, this is the same as the "Current Availability button" that appears within the various screens in QuickBooks as shown below:

RELATED INFORMATION:

Great Tool for Analyzing Inventory in QuickBooks
Average Cost and Inventory in QuickBooks
Gross Profit Wizard for QuickBooks - see your margins as you work

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Why Does My Sales by Rep Report Show "No Sales Rep"?

2012-01-24T11:00:00-05:00

This question was recently submitted, and it may be the same question many of you may be asking:

Q: Dear Scott: "How come my Sale by Rep report shows "No Sales Rep"? I know I entered the rep for each customer on the customer screens."

A: The Sales by Rep report is actually looking to your sales documents (i.e. invoices and/or sales receipts) to pull the proper information. If the rep field is not showing up on either of these documents, QuickBooks will substitute the "No Sales Rep" as the salesperson.

The fact that you have entered the sales rep on the customer screen allows QuickBooks to remember the association between that customer and that sales rep on each future transaction. However, it is essential to make sure the sales rep field is also showing up on your sales forms as shown in the example screen shot below:

Once it shows up there, it will then be included in any totals on the Sales by Rep report:

If there is no sales rep listed on the sales form, QuickBooks will default to the "no sales rep" as shown in the report above.

RELATED INFORMATION:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

QuickBooks Enterprise 2012: FIFO Inventory Costing - Right or Wrong?

2012-01-19T11:00:00-05:00

The Advanced Inventory Add-on for QuickBooks Enterprise 2012 offers the ability to use FIFO costing instead of the average cost method historically used in all versions of QuickBooks.

So I did some investigation on this new feature to see how if/how it works and I wanted to share those results with you.

RESULTS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMM.....

I used a sample QuickBooks data file for testing, as it already had some inventory parts with history associated with them.

First, I turned on the FIFO option in the Inventory Preferences (Edit > Preferences > Items and Inventory > Company Preferences > Advanced Inventory Settings). This was easy to do (under the assumption you have purchased the Advanced Inventory add-on for QuickBooks Enterprise).

Then, I ran an inventory valuation summary report right after I turned on the FIFO costing to get my baseline. Using the item called Exterior Wood Door, here is what the valuation looked like:

As of my test date (12/15/2016), we had 16 units at a cost of $308.51 each, for a total value of $4,936.10. (Note: This is the exact same as the average cost of these units just before turning on the FIFO option).

Ok, so far so good.

Then, I created a purchase order for 10 of these units at $750 each (to give us some clear distinction in costs between "old" and "new"). I dated the purchase order 12/17/2016 (which is after the "FIFO start date" in QuickBooks) and received these items into inventory on the same date.

Here is what my inventory looked like after that transaction (this is the only transaction I made):

Now I have a total of 26 items at a total cost of $12,436.10. That is the original cost of $4,936.10 + the purchase cost of $7,500 (10 units @ $750/each). Note that the cost per item which is now appearing is $478.31. To me, it looks like QuickBooks has just taken then $12,436.10 and divided it by 26 units to get an average cost of $478.31 per unit.

At this point, I'm not seeing any indication of FIFO costing just yet. But maybe I'm not understanding how Intuit is deploying this feature either.

NOW, LET' SELL SOMETHING AND SEE THINGS CHANGE AGAIN

The final part of the test was to record a sale and see how QuickBooks handles the costing of that.

So I created an invoice to sell 1 of these doors for a selling price of $599. Here is a screen shot of how the journal entry posted for that sale:

Good news: QuickBooks posted the cost of the sale as $308.51. This is exactly as expected in a FIFO environment. The first in is the first out, so the original cost from above of $308.51 is correct for the cost of goods sold.

Now, let's look at the inventory valuation one more time after this sale was made:

QuickBooks is showing we now have 25 items (which is correct), with a total value of $12,127.59 and a cost per unit of $485.10.

Not so good news: To me, it looks like QuickBooks took the total value of $12,436.10 (after the purchase but before the sale) and subtracted the $308.51 (the cost of the item sold) to get a new inventory value of $12,127.59. That looks ok to me too.

From there - the $12,127.59 was divided by the on hand count of 25, resulting in a "cost" of $485.10.

HUH?

Based on this testing, it looks like QuickBooks is calculating a "blended cost" value for purposes of the inventory valuation report. It does NOT appear to be calculating based on "buckets" of inventory and may not be valuing the inventory on a true FIFO basis.

In addition, there is no way to verify how QuickBooks is doing these calculations behinds the scenes, as there is no type of audit report that I am aware of that will show the FIFO cost tracking information.

Remember, this is a sample data file that already had transactions in it, similar to how most businesses will be approaching the use of FIFO - they will turn it on in an existing file.

CALLING THE ACCOUNTANTS

So what is your take on this new feature? Are you using it in your business?

Is the way QuickBooks is valuing the inventory asset acceptable to you? Is this standard practice when dealing with inventory on a FIFO basis?

Please drop your comments in the box below - I'd love to get your take on this issue.

For now, I am unsure about this new feature in terms of the impact on the business balance sheet. l'll be doing some additional testing on this and report it in a separate blog post soon...

RELATED POSTS:

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Is Your Bookkeeper Up to No Good With Your Checkbook?

2012-01-17T11:00:00-05:00

Have you double-paid your vendors by accident?

Is your bookkeeper up to no good with your checkbook?

Are there other potential "irregularities" in your QuickBooks financial information?

It is essential to know the answers to these questions so you can maintain financial control over your business.

SO MANY FINANCIAL CONCERNS, YET SO LITTLE TIME

You'd like to do some further investigation on these questions, but don't know where to start, right?

Enter AuditMyBooks.

YOUR OWN INTERNAL AUDIT TEAM - EFFORTLESSLY

AuditMyBooks software helps put a team of auditors and fraud investigators to work on your behalf. Not literally of course. The team goes to work digitally.

Once you connect AuditMyBooks with your QuickBooks data file, a complete scan of your financial information is performed.

A handy Excel report is created that recaps potential problems or areas for further investigation via 20 different reports as listed below:

Be sure to take a close look at the comprehensive list of reports above that AuditMyBooks provides. All of which come at the click of a mouse.

THE DASHBOARD HELPS YOU KEEP SCORE

AuditMyBooks keeps a handy dashboard front and center so you can see what is going on at all times (click the image for a larger view):

From the dashboard, you can run a scan of your QuickBooks file at any time, set a reminder for future scans, fine tune the settings and rules used by AuditMyBooks, and find answers to your questions in the support center.

As you can see, AuditMyBooks can be used as a tool to spot irregularities. In addition, it can be used as a great training tool for your accounting department - use the information it provides to help reduce mistakes and costly errors.

GET YOUR FREE TRIAL OF AUDITMYBOOKS

Want to "try before you buy"? Download your free trial copy of AuditMyBooks today so you can begin the crucial evaluation of your finances and uncover potential problems before they get out of hand.

AuditMyBooks is the recipient of the "Best New App" award from the Intuit Cloud Jam, a Sleeter Group "New Product to Watch" and other awards as well.

LIKE THE IDEA, BUT DON'T HAVE THE TIME?

I offer consulting services to businesses that see the value of putting a tool like this to work in their business, but don't have the time or manpower to get it going. Contact me and drop me a line. We can connect and figure out the details from there.

DID YOU KNOW?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Can I use non-inventory parts on my QuickBooks invoices and sales orders?

2012-01-12T11:00:00-05:00

There seems to be some confusion about this issue in QuickBooks, so here is the answer...

Yes, it is possible to use non-inventory parts on your QuickBooks invoices and sales orders. Even better, you can use non-inventory parts on quotes and purchase orders too!

A QUICK REVIEW TO HELP EXPLAIN

When working in the item list in QuickBooks, you can create the following types of items:

Service item
Inventory part
Non-inventory part
Assembly item (Premier and Enterprise only)

Here is a screen shot of the options available when you create an item in QuickBooks:

KEY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INVENTORY AND NON-INVENTORY PART

The expectation is that when you set up an item as an inventory part in QuickBooks, you are concerned with tracking and managing an on-hand quantity of that item and keeping an inventory of it on a regular basis.

Not so with a non-inventory part. While it looks and behaves very similarly to an inventory part, you won't find any reference to on hand quantities or inventory asset accounts. But that doesn't stop you from using a non-inventory part on the various QuickBooks forms - quotes, purchase orders, sales orders (Premier and Enterprise only) and invoices.

RELATED INFORMATION:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

QuickBooks Enterprise 2012/12.0 Resource Center

2012-01-10T13:00:00-05:00

Considering QuickBooks Enterprise 2012 for your business or organization?

Here is a list of helpful resources for you to have handy as you do your research...

Current pricing and promotions on QuickBooks Enterprise 12 - as a leading reseller of QuickBooks Enterprise, I welcome the opportunity to earn your business. Rest assured, I will ensure you get the most accurate pre-sales information possible to help in your decision-making.

Avoid Common Buying Mistakes - 7 critical situations When QuickBooks Enterprise is a good fit

12 Key Benefits of QuickBooks Enterprise - Plus a bonus section: What's New in QuickBooks Enterprise 2012.

FAQ About Upgrading QuickBooks - what you need to know and answers to commonly asked questions.

Key Differences Between QuickBooks Pro, Premier and Enterprise - an easy-to-read layout that highlights the different features and functionality across these versions.

QuickBooks Enterprise: Remote Access and Terminal Services - insight on how it works in this type of environment.

Compatibility of Different Network Types with QuickBooks - where is works well, and where it definitely does not.

Order Form for QuickBooks Enterprise 2012

Have a question about QuickBooks Enterprise 2012 or a resource to share? Click the Contact button below - your comments and questions are welcome!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________