Job costing for inventory items

Welcome to the Community, @LexiBuckmeier 

Currently, QuickBooks Online does not natively support the direct transfer of inventory items to a project without creating an invoice.

The processes of inventory management and project allocation are typically tied to the financial exchange of goods or services. By requiring invoices, QuickBooks ensures that business transactions are thoroughly documented, improving financial accuracy, compliance, and reporting. This design choice prioritizes comprehensive record-keeping and reconciliation, which adhere to accounting best practices.

Therefore, I'd recommend consulting an accountant for expert and professional advice about business workflows to ensure the process suits your business structure.

Furthermore, you can check these articles about inventory tracking and report status:
 

• Set up and track your inventory.
• Use reports to see your sales and inventory status.
• Adjust inventory quantity on hand in QuickBooks Online.

Please know that I'm just a reply away if you need any further assistance with managing your inventory or any QuickBooks-related concerns. Have a good one, and keep safe!

@LexiBuckmeier 

"When we purchase materials, it is easy to allocate the expense to a particular job,"

"Before I go through the process of setting all of that up, I want to make sure that there is a way to transfer inventory items to a particular project without having to create an invoice for them and what the correct process to follow for that is."

Can you clarify your question?  You mentioned allocating expenses but then your question is about transferring inventory items.  When you purchase materials for Project A, are you recording those as expenses and your goal is to reduce the expenses for Project A and transfer those expenses to Project B?  Or, are you recording the materials purchased for Project A as inventory items and you just want to allocate those inventory items to Project B?    

QuickBooks is great but also very limited in inventory functions as it's really made for direct to consumer over the counter sales even though they offer a construction version.  We are also in construction and had the same problem.  

Rather than create an invoice to "sell the products" from inventory, we use a sales receipt and just type $0 for the price for each line item as we enter them on there.  Then continue to invoice your client as you normally would against the lump sum estimate of the total job price.  The sales receipt is the "documentation" of tracking the transfer of the material to the job from your inventory, and there is no monetary exchange with the client as the sales receipt is for $0.  The cost of the item into inventory is charged against the job while no revenue is recorded.  

QuickBooks is great but also very limited in inventory functions as it's really made for direct to consumer over the counter sales even though they offer a construction version.  We are also in construction and had the same problem.  

Rather than create an invoice to "sell the products" from inventory, we use a sales receipt and just type $0 for the price for each line item as we enter them on there.  Then continue to invoice your client as you normally would against the lump sum estimate of the total job price.  The sales receipt is the "documentation" of tracking the transfer of the material to the job from your inventory, and there is no monetary exchange with the client as the sales receipt is for $0.  The cost of the item into inventory is charged against the job while no revenue is recorded.  

In QuickBooks Online, you can track inventory for job costing without creating an invoice. The typical workflow contractors use is:

1. Set up inventory items in QBO with proper cost tracking.

2. When materials are purchased for a job, assign them directly to that job via the Expense or Bill.

3. If leftover materials remain, keep them in inventory. When you use them on another job, use a “transfer” or “inventory adjustment” to move the cost from inventory to the new job. This doesn’t require creating a sales invoice—it just allocates the cost correctly for job costing.

This way, your job P&L reflects actual material usage, including scraps and leftovers, without affecting invoicing.

Many contractors, including those we work with at Ledger Labs, follow this approach to maintain accurate job costing and inventory records in QBO.