Labor and COGS

how do i get the cost of labor into the COGS (flow)?  i always have to do a journal entry.

 I can guide you through the steps to get the cost of labor into the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) in QuickBooks Online (QBO), Heidi.

This is useful for your business when entering or editing a single day or event at a time, such as when entering a weekly timesheet. Here's how:

1. Select + New, and then  Single time activity.
2. Enter the date the activity occurred in the Date field.
3. From the dropdown ▼, select the name of the employee or vendor.
4. For every activity type, select an activity line and choose a customer from the dropdown ▼ if you wish to change the activity to the customer or monitor expenses related to them.

Complete the following optional fields. If you don't see the fields, they are turned off. You can turn them on by going to your Account and settings.

• Service: If you use the services to enter time, choose a service that represents the activity.
  • Class
  • Location

6. Enter a description of the activity. Select the Billable checkbox if you want to bill the activity to the customer. Enter a rate per hour. Select Taxable if applicable. To turn on this option, go to Settings ⚙, then select Account and Settings, then the Time tab to turn on Allow time to be billable.

7. Enter the number of hours and minutes worked in the Time field. Select the Enter Start and End Times checkbox to enter the work started, ended, and the amount of time taken for a Break. Click Save.

Once you have completed the steps, generate an Invoice and then execute the Profit and Loss Report to analyze the Cost of Labor within the COGS.

In addition, learn more about how QBO calculates COGS through this article: Cost of goods sold: How to calculate and record COGS.

To learn more information about managing inventory and what reports are available in QuickBooks Online, check out the following articles:

• Inventory management.
• Use reports to see your sales and inventory status.

If you require further assistance or have additional questions regarding COGS, feel free to revisit this thread. I'm here to help. Wishing you a fantastic day!

I don't have QBO, i have QB's desktop.  is there a reason in the item menu, i can't put the labor cost there?  why won't it flow into COGS like the parts do?  i don't keep payroll in QB's.  

Thank you for clarifying, Heidi.

At this moment, this feature is unavailable in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). As a workaround, you can follow the steps below to make sure that you have an accurate record of your job costs. Here's how:

1. From the Customers tab, click Customer Center.
2. Select the name of the customer, then right-click Add Job.
3. Click the invoice of the customer.
4. Edit the invoice after Save & Close.

Or you can continue using Journal Entries to get the cost of labor into the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS).

If you want to learn how to set up and assign pay schedules to pay your employees, you can read this article: Set up and manage payroll schedules.

The Community is always available and ready to assist you with any further questions regarding the COGS in QBDT. Take care!