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Add product and service items to QuickBooks

by Intuit•50• Updated 5 days ago

Learn how to add and manage the products and services you sell or buy in QuickBooks Online, including non-stock items and services you don’t track as stock.

Note: This article applies to QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Sole Trader. If you want to track stock quantities, use the stock item feature instead.

Before you begin

Setting up your products and services in QuickBooks helps you speed up invoicing, track sales and expenses more accurately, and run more detailed reports. You only need to add each item once, and you can use them on invoices, estimates, sales receipts, and expenses whenever needed.

  • Service: Services you offer to customers (e.g. repairs or consulting).
  • Bundle: A group of products/services sold together as one (e.g. gift basket).
  • (Sole Trader only) Product: Products you create or resell (e.g. ebooks or paint).
  • (Sole Trader only) Service: Services you offer (e.g. landscaping).

Add a new product or service item

To save time on future transactions, set up your products and services once so they’re ready to use in sales forms.

Note: If you have a spreadsheet of products/services, you can import them all at once instead of adding them manually.

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  1. QuickBooks Online: Go to Sales and select Products & services.
    Sole Trader: Go to Get paid and select Products and services.
  2. Select New.
  3. QuickBooks Online: Select Non-stock or Service.
    Sole Trader: Select Product or Service.
  4. Enter a Name and, if applicable, an Item/Service code.
  5. From the Category ▼ dropdown, choose the most relevant category. Find out more about item categories.
  6. Tick the I sell this product/service to my customers checkbox. Leave it unticked if not applicable.
  7. If you ticked the checkbox:
    Enter a description (shown on sales forms).
    Add a sales price/rate. Leave it blank for variable pricing.
  8. QuickBooks Online only: From the Income account ▼ dropdown, select the income account to track this sale. Choose a default account or select Add new to create one.
  9. QuickBooks Online only: If needed, select the correct VAT rate from the VAT ▼ dropdown. Note: If the dropdown is missing, you may need to set up VAT first.
  10. Select Save and close.

Now you can add the product and service to your invoices, sales receipts, expenses, and other sales forms. You can also track it on your financial reports.


Add purchasing details for a product or service

Note: This feature is only available in QuickBooks Online.

You can track how much you spend on a product or service by filling out the purchase fields in QuickBooks Online.

You can track how much you spend on a product or service by filling out the purchase fields.

  1. Go to Sales, then Products & services.
  2. Find the item and select Edit from the Action column.
  3. Tick I purchase this product/service from a supplier.
  4. Add a description that appears on supplier forms.
  5. Enter the Cost. You can change this when creating bills or purchase orders.
  6. From the Expense account ▼ dropdown, select the account to track these costs.
  7. If needed, select a Purchase tax from the ▼ dropdown.
  8. Choose your Preferred supplier.
  9. Select Save and close.

Track and manage your products and services

Once you’re all set up, you can easily track what you buy or sell. Here's how to get started:

Update an existing item’s details, such as its name, description, or price.

  1. QuickBooks Online: Go to Sales and select Products & services.
    Sole Trader: Go to Get paid and select Products and services.
  2. Find the item and select Edit from the Action column.
  3. Make your changes.
  4. Select Save and close.

You can make items inactive to hide them from forms and reports without deleting them.

  1. QuickBooks Online: Go to Sales and select Products & services.
    Sole Trader: Go to Get paid and select Products and services.
  2. Find the item and open the ▼ menu in the Action column.
  3. Select Make inactive, then confirm with Yes.

Show hidden items and bring them back into use.

  1. QuickBooks Online: Go to Sales and select Products & services.
    Sole Trader: Go to Get paid and select Products and services.
  2. Select the Filter icon.
  3. From the Status ▼ dropdown, select All, then select Apply.
  4. Find the inactive item.
  5. In the Action column, select Make active.

If you accidentally selected the wrong item type (e.g. non-stock instead of service), you can edit it by opening the item and choosing the correct type.

Note: If you’re unable to switch item types, you may need to create a new item with the correct settings.

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