Change the account for a default product/service item

Hey there, @jenniha.

I'm here to help you change the account for a product/service item.

Follow the steps below to change it in just a few clicks and ensure your company has an accurate record of your transactions.

Change the income account for your items

1. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Products and Services.
2. In the Action column of the item, select Edit.
3. From the Income account ▼ drop-down, choose the account you want to use. Can't see the account? Make sure the account's detail type is Sales of Product Income.

To check:

1. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Chart of Accounts.
2. From the Action drop-down of the account, select Edit.
3. Change the detail type to Sales of Product Income if necessary.
4. Select Save and close.

Note: You can only change the account for an item one at a time.

That's all there is to it! If you have any other questions, I'm only a reply away.

I am not asking how to change the account on an existing item, which is what your answer covers.

I want to know if I can set the default expense account on new items when they are created to be anything other than "purchases" or if I can merge the "purchases" account.

I appreciate you for coming back for additional support, @jenniha. 

Thanks for adding more information about what you want to achieve when creating new items in your inventory. I've also read through your previous post, and I understand you mentioned you can't merge purchases with GL (which you have created). 

To clarify, you can only merge two accounts when they have the same information (Account type, detail type, and name). 

Should you consider making your GL (expense) account as the parent account of Purchases (expense account) instead, that would set it as your default expense account when adding a new item in your inventory.  Here's how: 

1. Go to the Accounting tab on the left menu. 
2. Select Chart of Accounts. 
3. Locate the Purchases account in the lists. 
4. Under Action column, click the View Register drop-down arrow, then click Edit. 
5. In the Account window, put a checkmark on the box for Is sub-account. 
6. Select your GL account as the parent account. 
7. Click Save and Close. 

Once done, your GL account is now the default expense account every time you add a new item in your inventory.  Check out this help article for more information: How to change the type of an existing parent account or sub-account. 

For future reference, read through this article: Reorder inventory or supplies from vendors. It helps you learn about how to prioritize what you need the most in your inventory. 

Keep me posted if you have more questions about QuickBooks. We're always around here to guide you in the right direction. Have a great day. 

Unfortunately, this does not change the default COGS account when adding a new Item.  it only changes the name of the "Purchases" account, and it remains the default account.  I can't understand why default COGS account cannot be chosen by the user.  Makes no sense at all.  Many users will bring over historic data from their prior accounting system and will already have their chart of accounts structured.  

Please share if there is a way to change the default COGS account when creating a new "Product" in the Products and Services list.  

Welcome to the Community, rsteph.

I can see how beneficial how this option(change the default COGS account not only in the "Purchases" account) would be beneficial to your business. I'll be sure to take note of your feedback and pass this along with our developers. 

We take into consideration our customers’ ideas when enhancing the product’s features. This would be helpful in identifying our customers want for future enhancements.

I encourage you to visit our QuickBooks Online blog regularly. From there, you'll be updated with the features and enhancements that our developers are currently working on.

You can also check this article about changing product and service item types in QBO for your guide.

If you have any other QuickBooks related concerns, you can post them anytime here.

I agree that you should be able to change the default expense account for products and services.  It is cumbersome to have to scroll down to the bottom to change the Expense account from purchases to  another custom acct created by a user every time a new product or service is created.

Can it be done? Put another default product or service. 

Hello, @pintoguille.

If you’re referring to changing the default account for purchase/expenses, it is not possible since there is a default account for income or expense. 

On the other hand, if you wanted to add a default product or services when creating a transaction, you can create an unscheduled recurring template/transaction.

Here’s how.

1. Go to the Settings icon.
2. Under Lists, select Recurring Transactions.
3. Select New.
4. Select the type of transaction to create, and then select OK.
5. Enter a Template name.
6. Choose a Type: Scheduled, Unscheduled, or Reminder. Type. What it does. Scheduled.

If you wanted to know how to edit or customize your recurring template, you can check out this article. Edit a recurring template.

Feel free to leave your comment below if you have any other questions. Have a nice day!

Are there any updates that allow you change the default account?  I have others that enter items and are constantly using the wrong account.  Then I have to spend an evening or Saturday correcting it because you change the account  unless you are in single user mode

Hi there, sam1968.

Changing the default expense account when adding a new product or service is still not available in QuickBooks Online. This goes the same for the Desktop version since you mentioned that you need to be in a single user mode when making the changes. 

For now, you'll need to manually go to the Expense account field (QBO) or COGS Account field to assign the correct account. You can also visit these sites to keep informed of the latest updates and new features that are added in QBO and QuickBooks Desktop:

• The QuickBooks Blog
• Product Updates

The Community is always here to help if you need anything else. Thanks!

I also agree.  This set up is completely inefficient.    I have the same issue and spend a half a day a month update GL CODES because it over-writes with what QBE "thinks" should be the default.   Very frustrating.

I agree, I don't understand why it can't be changed so we can set COGS as the default.  I've noticed since changing to QB online there are multiple what I would think are simple things that I just can't do.  When we called they have told us they will pass it on.  I've never seen any changes yet and I know we can't be the only two people who need this done.  

I agree with everyone. This is an ongoing issue with my employees and I'm constantly having to correct multiple items before EOY reporting. I don't understand why it is so hard for QBO to allow us to change the default for Income and Expense accounts when adding new products or services...please make this an option!

Hi, thanks- I was doing that daily for a couple of parts.  Now the list is different and the drop down is gone.

Can you help me reconfigure your new output so that G/Ls are visible again??  I can see  that there is no longer a column, nor a place to add the column.

Hi there, @TownlineMachine.

Let me provide you with some helpful tips on how to locate the list, dropdown, and reconfigure new output to make your G/Ls visible again in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

To assist you efficiently, could you please provide me with specific information about the list you are referring to or trying to locate? any additional details would be greatly appreciated as this will help us provide you with a solution.

Furthermore, when reconfiguring your new output to make G/Ls visible, you can configure the account items in the Products/Services tab. Here's how:

1. Go to Settings and then select Products & services.
2. Find the non-inventory or service item you want to change.
3. Select Edit in the Action column.
4. Under the Inventory asset account, you can select which account to use by choosing in the dropdown arrow or add a new account.
5. When you're done modifying the item, select Save and Close.

However, if you still can't view the column, it might be due to an outdated cache that can cause conflict with the syncing process. To resolve this, I recommend opening your account in an incognito window. Here are some keyboard shortcuts you can follow:

• For Google Chrome browser: Ctrl + Shift + N
• For Mozilla Firefox browser: Ctrl + Shift + P
• For Safari browser: Command + Shift + N

Once resolved, you can return to your regular browser and clear its cache or utilize another supported one.

For future reference, I've included these resources to change the item type for a product or service. You can also scan the article if you need to use a different income account for your product or service item in QuickBooks:

• Change product and service item types in QuickBooks Online
• Change the account for a product or service item in QuickBooks Online

You can always get back to me if you want to add more or want some clarifications regarding reconfiguring your new output in QuickBooks Online. Just leave a comment below and I'll be glad to provide the information that you need. Take care and have a good one, @TownlineMachine!

This is not a helpful reply. This is the same solution that an earlier answer gave and the problem is not how to change one item. We want to know how to change the default expense (and income) accounts so that we don't have to change individual items. I have 1200 items and our team has had to manually change the income and expense account on all of them. It's a terrible flaw and time suck. It frequently creates errors as items are miscategorized. I can't understand why this functionality isn't available.

This is terrible.  Every month I have to get everyone out of Quickbooks, go into single user mode to fix the errors.  

Hi there, @jp666.

Currently, in QuickBooks Online (QBO), there is no direct setting to globally change default expense and income accounts across all items at once through the UI (without editing each item individually). However, there's a workaround that could help streamline this process and minimize errors. I'll show you how to improve your workflow for changing default accounts for multiple items in bulk or automatically.

Since you're working with a large number of items, one of the most effective ways to make bulk changes would be to use the QuickBooks Online API. With this, you could automate the process of updating the default accounts for Income and Expense accounts for all your items. The API allows you to query the existing items and programmatically update the Income Account and Expense Account for all the items. However, you’d need some technical expertise (or a developer) to help with this process. 

Additionally, I also recommend sending feedback directly to our product engineers. This can help us improve our services for every QuickBooks user. Here's how:

1. Select the Gear icon and choose Feedback.
2. Fill in your suggestions in the Feedback field.
3. Click Next to send it.

If you have some time, feel free to check out this article to learn how to assign account numbers in your chart of accounts: Use account numbers in your chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work towards a more seamless solution. If you have any further questions besides changing default expense and income accounts, please don't hesitate to comment them below. We're here to help you make the most out of QuickBooks Online.

I use the desktop version not the online version.