Convert inventory part to assembly

Hi there, @javaBucks. I'll share some details about converting an inventory part to assembly in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT).

Although converting an Inventory Part to Inventory Assembly seems like the easiest way to handle this, there are things you need to consider before doing it. In QuickBooks, you can convert your inventory part to inventory assembly. However, when doing this, you can no longer change the item type once you've done it.

Instead of doing it that way, you can consider creating an Inventory Assembly item and then, later on, adding the existing inventory parts to it. This way, you can still retain and use the parts numbers without affecting the in-progress sales orders, quotes, and invoices. I'll gladly input the steps below so you can proceed. To begin, here's how:

1. Access your QuickBooks Desktop company.
2. Go to the Lists menu, and then select Item List.
3. Below the list of items, click the dropdown arrow in the Item button and then choose New.
4. Input the necessary information of the item.
5. Once done, press OK.

Now, to add your existing, inventory parts. Access the Inventory Assembly item that you've created. Here's how:

1. On the Lists menu, select Item List.
2. Locate the item you created, and then click on it.
3. Go to the Bill of Materials section, and then add the inventory parts.
4. Once done, click the OK button.

For more information, please see this article: Add, edit, and delete items.

In addition, I've got you this article to help you manage payments in QBDT: Take and process payments in QuickBooks Desktop.

You can also visit this page to learn how to modify a report and add other details on it: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop.

Thanks for dropping by here in the Community, @javaBucks. Know that you can always get back to me if you need further assistance or if you have any additional QuickBooks-related concerns. I'll be here, ready to serve you. Take care!

Thank you @Kurt_M so much for the quick reply. I have some questions about your suggestion. 

You said this:
Instead of doing it that way, you can consider creating an Inventory Assembly item and then, later on, adding the existing inventory parts to it. This way, you can still retain and use the parts numbers without affecting the in-progress sales orders, quotes, and invoices

I probably wasn't clear enough in my original question. The assemblies will REPLACE the parts currently defined as inventory parts. These parts should have been defined as assemblies from the very start, but were not due to lack of proper QB knowledge. The existing inventory parts will not be part of the BOM of the new assemblies.

The reason why we want to convert them to assemblies is to track ALL the parts used to manufacture these parts for sale. The BOM for these new assemblies will include minor parts that are not exposed for sale individually (wires, terminals, connectors, etc.) so QB can help us track the inventory of these minor parts and reflect the proper cost of goods sold for each unit sold. 

We want to continue to use the same part number / part name on the assemblies that we have used all along on the inventory parts. Since existing orders and new orders will continue to reference the same part number, it seems like the only recourse I have is to convert the existing individual parts to assemblies.

Hi there, @javaBucks.

The option to change an item from inventory parts to an inventory assembly is unavailable. Yes, the suggestion discussed by my colleague above could have been taken as a workaround to handle this matter.

Since it is not working for you, I suggest getting in touch and letting our product developers know about your request by sending feedback. I'll show you how.

1. Go to Help.
2. Select Send Feedback Online.
3. Click Product Suggestion.
4. Under Product Area, choose Inventory.
5. Enter a few words describing how you wanted to convert inventory items in QuickBooks Desktop.
6. Select Send Feedback.
7. Click Close Window.

On that note, I'm including our QuickBooks Product Updates page to get the latest updates from us. Updates such as how the recent product enhancements made are helping our business owners, like you.

It'll always be my pleasure to help if you've got other questions aside from working with your inventory items in QuickBooks. Take care always!