Please tell me how to register inventory and record purchases at the same time in QuickBooks Online.

Hello, ise! Thank you for joining us in the QuickBooks Community.

Managing your inventory and recording purchases is essential for maintaining accurate financial records. I want to ensure you have the best guidance to accomplish this in QuickBooks Online (QBO). 

In QBO Plus or Advanced, you only need to set up inventory items on the Products and services page. Then, we can create a bill, expense, or check transaction to record these items you received from a vendor or supplier.

In case inventory tracking is toggled off, and you are yet to set up the inventory items, you can follow these steps:

1. Go to the Gear icon. Then, select Account and settings.
2. Select the Sales tab.
3. Select the Products and services section.
4. Toggle on the Show Product/Service column on sales forms.
5. Turn on both Track quantity and price/rate and Track inventory quantity on hand.
6. Select Save.
7. Click on the Expenses tab. Then, toggle on the Show Items table on expense and purchase forms.

Once done, add your inventory items on the Products and services page. Refer to this article for the detailed steps: Add product and service items to QuickBooks Online. 

The next step is to record your purchase. Depending on whether these items are paid on the spot or plan to pay later, you can either create an expense, check, or bill. Creating either of these transactions will increase the quantity of the inventory item you've set up. Refer to this link to learn the differences between these transactions: Learn the difference between bills, checks, and expenses in QuickBooks Online. Then, you can follow these steps to record the purchase: 

1. Click on the + New button.
2. Choose either Expense, Check, or Bill.
3. Select your Vendor.
4. Choose the Item details section.
   1. In case this section isn't visible, go
5. Enter the item under the Product/Service column, Qty, and the Rate.
6. Ensure the total amount is accurate. Then, hit Save and close.

However, if you're currently subscribed to QuickBooks Online Simple Start or Essentials, you can consider upgrading to a Plus or Advanced subscription to access enhanced inventory management features. Alternatively, you can manually track inventory if upgrading isn't an option at this time.

Should you need to get insights into the status of your inventory, let me add this article as a future reference: Use reports to see your sales and inventory status in QuickBooks Online.

Let us know if you have more questions about registering inventory when recording purchases in QBO. We're always here ready to help.

Thank you for your guidance.
I am on the "Plus" plan, and I have followed the steps you explained under "Account and settings," but the "Item details" section(Expense, Check, or Bill) does not appear.
What could be the cause of this?

We appreciate you for following the steps provided earlier, ise-xplus.

The absence of the Item details section is when the "Show Items table on expense and purchase forms" option is not enabled in your settings.I'd be glad to guide you on how to turn it on. Please follow these steps:

1. Open your QuickBooks Online account.
2. Go to the Gear icon and select Account and settings.
3. Click Expenses, then go to the Bills and expenses section.
4. Turn on the Show Items table on expense and purchase forms.
   
   
    
5. Click Save, then Done.

After completing these steps, refresh your QuickBooks Online and create a bill again. The "Item details" section should now be visible, allowing you to add inventory items. For a visual reference, see the screenshot below.

Moreover, QuickBooks offers various reports that you can generate to view your sales and inventory status. You can also customize these reports to focus on specific details.

Please let me know how these instructions work out for you, ise-xplus. If you need further assistance or have additional concerns about managing your inventory, feel free to leave a reply below. I’m here to help.