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Juanmata
Level 2

Organising Quickbooks to keep track of sales and purchases

Hi everyone

 

As per the title, I have just started using quickbooks and I would like a little help to get organised the right way so I have a few questions. Sorry if this is long winded.

 

To give you a brief idea, I want to know how much I am spending per month on materials but rather than all under one umbrella, I want to split it into categories, I also want to do the same for sales.

 

I'm a sign maker, the majority of my purchases are vinyl, boards, ink, paper, tape, knife blades etc. All these are expenses which I understand but to get better deals with suppliers, they always ask me how much I am spending on vinyl, boards, ink etc. If I could say to them, I spent x amount on vinyl last month that would be great and allow me to negotiate better.

 

From what I understand, I need to add each product into Chart of Accounts as an Expense but does it really matter what I choose for detail type? I'm guessing I just add these as Supplies and then give it the name to match the item, i.e. Vinyl , Boards etc. Is this right?

 

Not sure what I do about the little items such as tape (I use this to hold graphics in place), blades (to cut the graphics) etc, maybe Sundries?

 

The same goes for sales. I sell many products such as vehicle graphics, shop signs, labels, business stationery etc, as per my purchases, it would be nice to see if I could track my sales per category i.e. I sold x amount worth of vehicle graphics but only x amount of business stationery. That would help me with advertising and what I am doing right/wrong.

 

When I create an invoice or estimate, I click product/Service > Add New > Service

 

I then don't know what to choose. I'm guessing this is so I can set it up to pre fill out the invoice by selecting the service dropdown list on the invoice/estimate so it automatically fills in the description, price etc. Is this the case?

 

If so, let's say I sell 1 printed board for £25, if the buyer wanted 20, I would give the buyer a better price. Would I add a service for all options i.e. 1 fluted 600x800x4mm board printed, 20 fluted 600x800x4mm boards printed, 50 fluted 600x800x4mm boards printed or do I add it someone as a discount?

 

When adding a new service, What is Category? What is Income Account? 

 

If I was to add a new category Vehicle Graphics, Would I call the service i.e. Full Wrap vehicle graphic, Part Wrap vehicle graphic etc? or is category for something else?

 

Thanks

Solved
Best answer May 26, 2021

Accepted Solutions
AileneA
QuickBooks Team

Organising Quickbooks to keep track of sales and purchases

Hello, Juanmata. 

 

Thank you for choosing QuickBooks as your accounting software. Also, I appreciate the brief information you've provided to us. QuickBooks, allows us to enter one category for each item. However, you'll need first to set up inventory to keep track of sales and purchases.

 

Here's an article you can read to learn more about accounts created automatically if set up product and services: Learn about the chart of accounts in QuickBooks. 

 

To track the sale and purchases, you can follow step 3 in this article: Add product and service items to QuickBooks Online.

 

Additionally, to guide you on how to manage your account in QuickBooks. You can refer to this helpful article: Get started with QuickBooks Online 

 

Let me know if you have additional questions or concerns. I'm always here if you need me. Stay safe!

View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
AileneA
QuickBooks Team

Organising Quickbooks to keep track of sales and purchases

Hello, Juanmata. 

 

Thank you for choosing QuickBooks as your accounting software. Also, I appreciate the brief information you've provided to us. QuickBooks, allows us to enter one category for each item. However, you'll need first to set up inventory to keep track of sales and purchases.

 

Here's an article you can read to learn more about accounts created automatically if set up product and services: Learn about the chart of accounts in QuickBooks. 

 

To track the sale and purchases, you can follow step 3 in this article: Add product and service items to QuickBooks Online.

 

Additionally, to guide you on how to manage your account in QuickBooks. You can refer to this helpful article: Get started with QuickBooks Online 

 

Let me know if you have additional questions or concerns. I'm always here if you need me. Stay safe!

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