Purchase orders and inventory

VLWP · ‎July 22, 2024

Is it possible to use Purchase Orders without Inventory tracking?

We would like the option of creating Purchase Orders in QuickBooks but at this point are not interested in the corresponding Inventory tracking feature.

CharleneMaeF · ‎July 22, 2024

Yes, VLWP. You can create purchase orders without using the Inventory tracking feature. I'm here to assist you.

QuickBooks Desktop allows you to use non-inventory items and other types instead of inventory products when creating a purchase order.

Please note that when you turn on the Purchase Order feature, the Inventory will also turned on since both functionalities share one checkbox. You can opt out of using the Inventory tracking by not creating inventory items.

Follow these steps to turn on the feature:

From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
Select Items & Inventory, then the Company Preferences tab.
Place a checkmark beside Inventory and purchase orders are active box.
Once done, click OK.

Then, create the items you want to buy:

Go to Lists, then select Item List.
Select Item, then New.
Choose the item type you want to create (don't use Inventory Part).
Fill out the item fields.
Use Custom Fields to add your own customized fields.
Hit OK.

Once done, you can start creating a purchase order using the products you've created.

Additionally, you can go to the Reports tab and then Purchases to pull up and customize various reports to help you keep track of your recorded entries and ensure they're added accurately.

This thread is always open if you have additional questions or concerns about creating vendor transactions, paying owed amounts, and creating items. I'm ready to help you out.

View solution in original post

CharleneMaeF · ‎July 22, 2024

Yes, VLWP. You can create purchase orders without using the Inventory tracking feature. I'm here to assist you.

QuickBooks Desktop allows you to use non-inventory items and other types instead of inventory products when creating a purchase order.

Please note that when you turn on the Purchase Order feature, the Inventory will also turned on since both functionalities share one checkbox. You can opt out of using the Inventory tracking by not creating inventory items.

Follow these steps to turn on the feature:

From the Edit menu, choose Preferences.
Select Items & Inventory, then the Company Preferences tab.
Place a checkmark beside Inventory and purchase orders are active box.
Once done, click OK.

Then, create the items you want to buy:

Go to Lists, then select Item List.
Select Item, then New.
Choose the item type you want to create (don't use Inventory Part).
Fill out the item fields.
Use Custom Fields to add your own customized fields.
Hit OK.

Once done, you can start creating a purchase order using the products you've created.

Additionally, you can go to the Reports tab and then Purchases to pull up and customize various reports to help you keep track of your recorded entries and ensure they're added accurately.

This thread is always open if you have additional questions or concerns about creating vendor transactions, paying owed amounts, and creating items. I'm ready to help you out.

VLWP · ‎July 24, 2024

Thank-you!

Rasa-LilaM · ‎July 24, 2024

Welcome back to the Community, VLWP!

I'm delighted to hear that my colleague's solution worked for you and addressed your concerns about using purchase orders without inventory tracking. Feedback like yours inspires us to keep providing timely solutions for the best QuickBooks experience.

To dive deeper into tracking money owed to your vendors and paying bills without a purchase order, check out this link: A/P workflow in QuickBooks Desktop.

Feel free to bookmark these resources for future use. They contain instructions for recording bill payments automatically and manually:

Please know that you can always visit the Community for any QuickBooks concerns or questions on how to handle your accounting tasks. We're always available to provide the assistance needed.

RJALRRY · ‎November 07, 2024

We just updated to: ES, MFG and Wholesale 24

ON the Inventory Stock Status by Item sheet, the Create Auto PO option is gone, and this is how we did all of our ordering across all vendors. Is there a way to activate this?

RJALRRY · ‎November 07, 2024

We just updated to: ES, MFG and Wholesale 24

ON the Inventory Stock Status by Item sheet, the Create Auto PO option is gone, and this is how we did all of our ordering across all vendors. Is there a way to activate this?

jenop2 · ‎November 07, 2024

We have recently completed an investigation into the missing Create Auto PO button, RJALRRY. Let me jump in and help with your question about this feature.

To start, can you tell us when you upgraded to Enterprise 2024? The investigation was completed last Friday, November 1, 2024. This means that our engineering team has successfully released a permanent fix for this issue through a software patch.

To ensure you can access the Create Auto PO button, let's apply the patch using the Reset Update function. This process restores the program's default settings and applies the latest patch or bug fixes.

Here are the steps on how to apply it in your QuickBooks:

Go to the Help menu and select Update QuickBooks Desktop.
Proceed to the Update Now tab.
Check the box for Reset Update.
Click Get Update.

reset update.png

You can also read more details about installing updates here: Update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release.

After that, close and reopen QuickBooks to check if the Create Auto PO button is now visible.

Additionally, let me share a couple of articles that can provide guidance when tracking inventories and generating related reports in QuickBooks:

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need further assistance when using QuickBooks to track inventories, manufacture products, and create related transactions. Your success is important to us, and we want to ensure that your QuickBooks experience is smooth and productive.

mjholl

If a PO is created for service related tasks (non-inventory items) and is completed at several intervals, can we apply the amounts in the bills toward the open PO?

In essence, we want to track what is still owed from the company.

MoiraskyeT

Great question, mjholl. Let me provide you with some insights regarding our Purchase Order tracking.

A bill cannot be applied to an open P.O it requires an existing P.O for processing. As you will be using Interval, we suggest manually accepting the completed items in the P.O.

This allows you to apply them to the bill, ensuring that the necessary workflow is followed to track the items ordered. Please understand that the Purchase Order must be completed first, rather than doing the Entering bills against inventory.

After completing item 1 and generating an item receipt, you can temporarily add only item 1 to the bill. Then, once item 2 is completed and an item receipt is generated, you can create a separate bill for item 2.

I'll include this article for you to review and use as a guide: Accounts Payable workflows.

For inventory items, here's how to record the items you receive.

When you receive all the items listed on the purchase order, QuickBooks marks it as Received in Full. If you anticipate not receiving all the ordered items, you have the option to manually close the purchase order.

We are committed to addressing all your concerns and helping you maximize your QuickBooks experience. Your satisfaction and success are our top priorities. If you have additional needs or questions, simply hit Reply, and our dedicated team will be ready to assist you further.

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Purchase orders and inventory