Recording Past Sales without Affecting Current Inventory

No there is not. QBO is date sensitive, no sales of inventory can be done before you start stocking the item.  And as I remember no sales at all prior to the start of the QBO subscription.

What about if I create a sales receipt but don't put a quantity sold. Then I put the transaction details in the memo?

What about if I create a sales receipt with no quantities, then I put the transaction details as a memo?

Consider to record your real transaction data from start (e.g 1/1/2020) to avoid any confusion in the future.You may prepare your data in XLS and import them in bulk by using a 3rd party tool.

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@SMenterprises wrote:

What about if I create a sales receipt but don't put a quantity sold. Then I put the transaction details in the memo?

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You can enter past sales, as long as the date is after you started QBO, but you can not use any inventory items, you would have to use a service item.

Qty sold always defaults to one if left blank and you can not have a sale with a qty of zero

I've been selling merchandise for two years now and I have most of them written down in a notebook or on scraps of paper. I want to have them neatly in one place. Do you have any spreadsheet programs to recommend to record my past sales?

Hello there, @SMenterprises.

Since some features are not yet available, we want our customers to get the service needed. Thus, letting you utilize one of our integrated apps helps accomplish your tasks easier.

I also recommend visiting our Firm of the Future. This is where we share recent happenings and future developments, such as updates to newly added features.

Please refer to the articles below on how QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise allows you to set up multiple locations for tracking inventory. And, to fix issues arising from negative inventory.

• Multiple Inventory Sites.
• Fix negative inventory issues in QuickBooks Desktop.

Keep your posts coming if you need more help. Have a great day!

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@SMenterprises wrote:

I've been selling merchandise for two years now and I have most of them written down in a notebook or on scraps of paper. I want to have them neatly in one place. Do you have any spreadsheet programs to recommend to record my past sales?

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You may open a new company file to record past sales. Prepare the data in XLS and import them in bulk into your file.