LoginWhat Is An Item in QuickBooks?
QuickBooks is a pretty intricate program, so there are new things to learn around every corner, no matter how many times you have used the program. Think of it as an adventure in accounting!
This week’s adventure is figuring out what the heck an item in QuickBooks is, what it does, and how you can use it. What is an item in QuickBooks?
An item in QuickBooks can reflect a product your company sells, a product in your inventory, a service you provide (such as a consultation fee), a miscellaneous fee (such as a delivery fee), or a payment that has been made to you. By using items, you have an easy way to record these types of transactions to your Chart of Accounts.
Let’s talk about how to set up Items. Right in the home screen of QuickBooks, there’s an icon for “Items and Services.”
That’s the one you need. Click on it, and then click on Items > New to set up an item.
Now, let’s have a quick chat about expense Items in QuickBooks. Let’s say you Write a Check. You’ll notice two tabs: expenses and items. If you’re writing this check because you bought a chair to sit in and more comfortably file expenses, you’ll use the “expenses” tab. However, if you bought a computer program which you will re-sell to a client as part of your services, you’ll use the ‘Items’ tab. The difference is what ends up happening to the thing you bought – if the thing stays with you, and is for general use, it’s an expense. If the thing is going anywhere else, to a client or to a job you’re working on, it’s an item.
Now you’re going to create an invoice to send to your client. Keeping with the last example, you enter in the computer program in the Items tab by opening the ‘Item Code’ drop-down menu and finding the item. You also charge a delivery fee. You set this item up earlier, so all you have to do is, again, open the ‘Item Code’ drop-down menu and find the item you need.
An item in QuickBooks can seem confusing at first, but once you start using them I promise you’ll get the hang of it. If you really are confused, though, you should contact a ProAdvisor for help.
Did you know: ProOnGo syncs with the items from your own company file, along with your customer:jobs, accounts, and more! Check out how ProOnGo syncs to QuickBooks.
