Discounts showing up as "Not Specified" on SALES BY PRODUCTSERVICE DETAIL report

This is what I know why there are Not Specified items in the Sales by Product/Service Detail report, Chelsea.

Not Specified shows in the report if there are line items that don't have PRODUCT/SERVICE. These items usually come from discounts and billable expenses (Markups, and Categories).

Here's how you can review the details:

1. Open the Sales by Product/Service Detail report.
2. Click the invoice under the Not Specified items.
3. In the Invoice window, click 1 linked transaction under the customer name.
4. Select the Billable expense.
5. In the Billable Expense window, click the Check or Expense hyperlink.

From there, you'll be able to determine on how you can correct them. It's also best to reach out to your accountant because they know what's best for you and your books.

Let me know if you need anything else. I'll be around to further assist you.

Hi James,

Thank you for your quick reply. All the sales receipts that are showing up as "Not Specified" are the sales that have a discount associated with them. The sold product on the receipt is specified, but the discount doesn't appear to be specified. The discount is not set up as a line item, but is applied via the Discount Value/Discount Percentage box. I am not sure how to specific the discount so that it is classified correctly.

Thanks,

Chelsea

Thanks for getting back to me, Chelsea.

Since the Discount is not set up as a line item, the system tags it as Not Specified automatically. We can pull up a separate Sales by Product/Service Detail report and filter it for the discount alone.

1. Open another Sales by Product/Service Detail report.
2. Click the Customize button and go to the Filter section.
3. Enter Discount in the Memo field.
4. Click Run report.

If you want to add the discount as a line item, we'll need to create a product/service item for it. 

1. Click the Gear icon and select Products and Services.
2. Click the New button and select Service or Non-inventory.
3. Enter Discount in the Name field and go to the Sales information section.
4. In the Income account field, enter the Discounts given account. You can also ask your accountant about this.
5. Click Save and close.

When using this item on the future invoices, you'll need to enter negative amount. If you want to have the percentage discount, you might need to calculate it manually.

For the existing invoices, here's how you can add the discount item:

1. Open the existing invoice.
2. Add the Discount item as one of the invoice line items.
3. Enter the negative amount.
4. Go to the Discount value/percent field and remove the amount.
5. Click Save and close.
6. Choose Yes to confirm the action.

Let me know if you need more assistance with this.

Hi James,

Thanks for the detailed response. That all makes sense. When I talked to my accountant and looked at my books, we decided not to add the discount as a line item with a negative amount, because then the sale and the discount weren't showing up on my books correctly. That is why we were using the Discount Value/Discount Percentage checkbox option.

What I am trying to figure out now is if there is some setting somewhere that allows me to specify the discount(s) so it doesn't show up on my Sales by Product/Detail Report as Not Specified. I'd prefer to see it there as Discount or something along those lines. That might not be possible though but perhaps you know a way.

Thanks for your help,

Chelsea

Thank you for the response! I will submit that as a functionality request.

I noticed this post is from 2019 and I am having the same issue and it is Dec 2021. Is there a resolution yet? In addition the discounts are showing as negative quantities in the amount of the total sales.

Ex. Total sales 16.00 disc applied. On the report it states quantities as neg 16.

Glitch?

Hello @PBJFARM,

I appreciate you for dropping by here in the Community. Allow me to assist you with your concern about the sales report in QuickBooks Online.

It's normal for the Sales by Product/Service Detail report to show discounts as Not Specified. The system is working as designed to reflect information for products and services only.

Since there's a specific field for discounts, QuickBooks will not be able to recognize them as items. It's programmed to only identify data based on the target sources.

Check out these screenshots for your visual reference:

Also, discounts showing in negative figures are correct. The amount decreases the subtotal charge for your customers when entering sales transactions. 

Another workaround to show Discounts in the report is by adding them as a Service or Non-inventory item. You can follow the steps shared by my colleague @JamesDuanT in the thread.

If you want to continue using the field that's specific for discounts, export the report to Excel. This way, you'll be able to personalize the data and replace Not Specified with Discount (see additional screenshot on how to export data to Excel).

I've attached an article you can visit to learn more about how to configure reports and show the data your business needs, like adding columns and filters: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online.

Feel free to hit that Reply button if you have more questions regarding sales reports or discounts. Have a great day ahead.