cost of sales quickbooks essential

Cost of Sales (COS) is only recognized on the Profit and Loss (P&L) statement when a corresponding sale is made via a sales receipt or invoice. When purchasing inventory, the bill increases the inventory asset account on the Balance Sheet rather than posting directly to COS. That is why only freight and other expenses are currently appearing on the P&L.

On the other hand, if you set up operational fuel as a non-inventory item, the expense is recognized under the accrual basis as soon as the bill is entered. This will appear on the Profit and Loss statement and the Trial Balance. Under the cash basis, the expense is reported only when the bill is paid. You can verify this by following these steps:
 

1. Go to the Reports menu, then Standard Reports.
2. Search Profit and Loss/ Trial Balance.
3. Click Accrual under Accounting method.

Just a heads up, QuickBooks Online Essentials does not support inventory tracking. Since you're able to do one on the bill, I recommend double-checking the client's subscription tier to see if they are actually on Plus or Advanced. Here's how:
 

1. Navigate to the Gear icon.
2. Select Subscriptions and Billing.
3. Check their current plan.

If you have any other questions, feel free to let us know. We're here to help.