Set up and track inventory in QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online lets you track your inventory balances, receive notifications when replenishment is needed, and analyze what you buy and sell. You can also add non-inventory products and services to quickly insert them into sales documents.

Important: Inventory features are only available in QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced plans. If you have Simple Start or Essentials, you must either purchase the Inventory add-on or upgrade your plan.

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Prerequisites

• Plus or Advanced plan
• If you have a lower plan, upgrade your subscription first

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Step 1: Enable Inventory Tracking

1. Go to Settings (gear icon) → Account and settings.
2. Open the Sales tab.
3. In the Products and services section, click Edit.
4. Enable:
   • Show Product/Service column on sales forms
   • Track quantity and price/rate
   • Track inventory quantity on hand
5. Optionally, enable Price rules (flexible pricing).
6. Click Save, then Done.

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Step 2: Add products and services

Products to track as inventory

Add them as Inventory items. You can specify quantities for them and track balances.

Products and services that do not need to be tracked as inventory

• Service items — services (e.g., consulting, cleaning, repairs).
• Non-inventory items — products you buy or sell but don’t want (or can’t) track by quantity (e.g., consumables).
• Bundles — sets of multiple products/services (e.g., gift sets). This is convenient for avoiding having to select items one by one.

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Step 3: Sales Accounting

When an item is sold:

• Create an Invoice if payment is due later.
• Create a Sales Receipt if the customer paid immediately.

After this, QuickBooks will automatically reduce the inventory quantity.

Helpful Tip:
Hover over the item quantity in any document to see how much is currently in stock and how much is still in transit (by orders). If you’ve set a reorder point, the system will notify you when the item is running low.

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Step 4: Replenishing Inventory

QuickBooks will show you when it’s time to reorder the item.

You can:

1. Create a Purchase Order.
2. Mark the item as received.
3. The system will automatically increase the inventory balance.

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Step 5: Inventory Reports

Use reports to quickly see:

• Top-selling items
• Current inventory
• Cost of goods sold
• Overall inventory status

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You now have full inventory tracking set up in QuickBooks Online.