I have just the clarification you're looking for. When importing Products & Services into QuickBooks Online, the originals will stay and be combined with the new additions. However, there is an option to Overwrite all values for each product or service that you import with the identical name. Doing this will merge any imported Product or Service with the same name as an existing one. Here's how you can achieve this:
Importing Products and Services
From QuickBooks Online, click the Gear icon (⚙) > Import Data.
Select Products and Services. Click Browse and find the file containing your items.
Follow the on-screen instructions to map and upload your data. On the screen that lists all of the Products and Services to be imported, check the box at the bottom if you'd like to Overwrite all values for each product or service that you import with the identical name.
Once finished, click Import.
This information is also available from our awesome guide on importing products and services for your convenience. Using these steps, you can avoid getting duplicates while importing additional items. Please know you can always reach out to me here for anything you need, I'm always up to talk QuickBooks. Thanks for bringing us your question and best wishes.
Hi There, Just wanting to know if we followed the above steps and chose to overwrite all values for each product or service that was imported with the identical name-will the data ie sales history still be available?
Yes, the data won't be removed and will remain on the account. However, the system will create an automatic Inventory Adjustment if a different quantity is being imported.