Estimates, Non-inventory parts, Billable expenses...?

ChuckyCheese · ‎October 06, 2020

I'm never sure how to do this correctly. From time to time I will sell a non-inventory item/part/widget/etc. to a customer. This is just a resale- I buy it for x, sell it to them for x+25%, but am unsure the best way to enter this in QB. Process is...

1. Client asks me for a quote. I create an estimate with mark-up and send it over.

2. Because it could be any of 10,000 items I can resell, I have a generic 'resale' item I use on the estimate.

3. Client places the order (phone call, email, verbal, signs and returns the estimate... doesn't matter).

4. I place the order with my supplier and pay w a CC.

5. I get the invoice from the supplier and enter as a CC charge BUT how do I put the item/charge in QB?

as an expense that I can make billable?

as an item that is not really an inventory item?

6. Then when I turn my Estimate into an Invoice, should I be billing my client for the expense of purchasing that item?

It seems there are 2 routes to take and I'm not sure which one is better or if there is a way to 'combine' the 2 routes to do this correctly. 2 routes are to either use the estimate and mark it up then use that to create the invoice. OR ignore the Estimate once I've purchased the item for resale and make the resale item Billable and put that charge on the Invoice.

Thank you! Every time I search for this I seem to get different answers.

MirriamM · ‎October 06, 2020

Welcome to the Community space, ChuckyCheese.

I appreciate you providing detailed information about your concern.

Once you receive the invoice from the supplier and enter the CC charge, you can create an expense transaction and mark it as billable. To do this, make sure that your QuickBooks preferences are set to mark expenses as billable. Here's how:

Go to Edit.
Choose Preferences.
Select Time and Expenses.
Under Company Preferences, put a checkmark on Mark all expenses as billable.
Click Ok.

As for question # 6, the answer is yes. Bill your client for the expense when purchasing the item.

For the route you'll be taking, the choice is yours. But you can ignore the estimate once you purchased the item for resale. Then, make the resale item billable so you can put the charge on the invoice.

For future reference, I'm adding this article: Add, edit, and delete items.

Keep in touch with me here if there's anything else you need. I always got your back. Thanks for reaching out, wishing you and your business the best.

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Estimates, Non-inventory parts, Billable expenses...?

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