Independent Contractor - Item Cost Tracking / Comparison

You'd be glad to know that QuickBooks has the feature you need, @VulpesHardware.

You'll want to subscribe to our QuickBooks Online (QBO) Plus or Advanced version. They have the feature that lets you track your items efficiently. 

You can also try it for free for 30 days to learn your ways around the system before purchasing. You can visit our Plans & Pricing page for the comparison and details.

Once you've subscribed or in a trial period, you can utilize these links for reference. These can walk you through the steps in setting up your items, contractors and invoices.

• Add inventory products in QuickBooks Online
• Set up and track your inventory in QuickBooks Online
• Export reports, lists, and other data from QuickBooks Online
• Common questions about importing data to QuickBooks Online
• Add, edit and inactivate contractors

You can also visit our QuickBooks Support page for additional reference. There, you can read some articles that can guide your way around with QBO.

In regards to which app is best for you, you can go to the Apps menu in QBO and look for an app the suits your needs. You can also check our QuickBooks App store for reference.

Let me know if you need further assistance managing your items. I'll be around ready to help you. Have a great week ahead!

@VulpesHardware 

You may start from QBO Essentials

https:// quickbooks.grsm.io/US
https:// quickbooks.grsm.io/us-promo

then consider having a construction management app or a field service management app to integrate with your QBO.

I signed up for the 30 day trial on Plus, and I do have a couple of questions.

1: Is there a way to assign MORE THAN ONE category, or FILTERING TAGS to an item, in order to better organize/categorize my inventory? I will have numerous items that are the same, but have several different finishes (Polished Chrome, Satin Nickel, Satin Brass, etc) and would like to filter them to the same SERIES of item but different Finishes.

2: Is there a way to, while adding items to an invoice, do it by the aforementioned Tags/Categories, without painstakingly entering them one at a time, one line at a time and only being able to do it by typing out a keyword and having to look through all of the items to find the one I want?

I'm pretty sure the answer to both questions is "Not in regular QB" but is there any apps that offer these features? The apps, from what I've seen, are not very good at letting you know if they offer these specific option. They just kind of gloss over the "idea" of what they do, without offering specifics to this information.

---

@Vulpes Hardware wrote:

The apps, from what I've seen, are not very good at letting you know if they offer these specific option. They just kind of gloss over the "idea" of what they do, without offering specifics to this information.

---

@Vulpes Hardware 

Which apps did you explore?

Let me add a few pieces of information, Vulpes Hardware.
 

You can only add one category per item or product. You can check this out for more information: Group your products and services into different categories.

These categories will automatically show when you add the items to the invoice. 
 

With regards to third-party apps, we're unable to recommend one. You can visit our App store and explore any apps that can help you accomplish your goal. 

If you have other concerns, feel free to get back to this thread. We're just one comment away. Take care!