How to set up used car dealer accounts to show expenses vs profits?

Thank you so much.  After several reps., I spoke to, the last one told me an agent that can help with my specific problem will call.  The call comes through and before the agent came on the phone, call got disconnected.  Sadly, no trying to call me back.

So by doing below, what does this do for me?  Does it help me track expenses that are later billed for a profit to a customer?  Below are some of the things I want to be cleared.

1.  Buying a car for resale - Where or which accounts do I need to create or add?  This will capture the base purchase price

2.  Non-inventory or Other charges - These will include shipping, insurance, customs clearance etc.  Do I set these up in COGS?  Should I enable CLASS or what components I need to populate?

3.  After a car purchase and all the expenses we paid, now we want to resell.  How do I know that when I send a bill to my customer, the proper accounts are being properly affected?  How can I see how much I spent and what my profit is at the end?

Thank you for your kind assistance.

One more thing, I am using Desktop Pro.  I do not see the GEAR icon.  Did you mean Edit/Preferences? 

Thank you

Hi ptautai,

I want to welcome you to the QuickBooks Community. It's fantastic to see new members reaching out. QuickBooks Desktop is a powerful program with many features. I can lead you down the right path to find some clarity.

I have some articles that I want to share with you that explain inventory and the cost of goods, and how to enter your stock: 

• Understand inventory assets and cost of goods sold tracking
• Getting started with QuickBooks Desktop

I recommend reaching out to an accountant to help you set up your accounts. They're experts in the accounting field and will be able to provide you with accurate information for your particular business. If you don't have an Accountant, you can find one familiar with QuickBooks through this link: Find an Accountant. 

If you need further assistance, let me know. I'm here to help.

Have a wonderful evening!

Thank you.  I cannot use FIND AN ACCOUNTANT feature as my location is outside of the coverage area.

I’m a dealership person and what you’re asking In part is setting up a chart of accounts I believe? 
Sale Acct

Cost if Sale

Recondition Cost of sale(it’s helpful to break this out for tracking expenses)

We Owe account to set up the payables of any cost related items In the deal not already posted to the inventory tint, paint touch up ect.

Inventory Account

Inventory payable account for purches

Floor Plan Pble acct

Contract in Transit- Receivable acct

 Down payment acct- customer rcvble

Sales Tax 

TTL payable

other income accounts for doc fees ect

typically you would charge any thing that happens to the vehicle to inventory unles its and add in a deal 

I mean just throwing this out there but you could probably find a controller with dealership experience to help you remotely pretty reasonably. I’m not a quickbooks person so can’t help much on that end and I’m too busy converting into quickbooks at my new job. Lots to learn. Good luck.