Promotional Items

I got the help you need, cindymac1011.

You're in the right track for creating an expense account for your promotions/giveaways. For the Journal Entry part, here's how you do it:

1. Go to the Accountant menu.
2. Choose Make General Journal Entries.
3. Fill in the necessary information.
4. Click Save & Close.

You can refer to the information below on what accounts to use. However, I'd still suggest reaching out to your accountant for an expert advice in dealing with this situation.

On the first Line:

1. Under Account, select Sales of Product Income.
2. Under Debits, enter the amount you are writing off.
3. Under Description and Memo, type something like "To write off Promotional Sample Invoice # - [insert client name]".

On the second Line:

1. Under Account, select Cost of Goods Sold.
2. Under Credits, enter the amount that the Cost of Goods are for this product.
3. The Memo field should auto-populate.
4. Under Name, select the customer name.

On the third Line:

1. Under Account, select Accounts Receivable.
2. Under Credits, enter the same amount as the write-off.
3. The Memo field should auto-populate.
4. Under Name, select the customer name.

On the fourth Line:

1. Under Account, select Promotional/Samples.
2. The Debits amount should auto-populate.
3. The Memo field should auto-populate.
4. Under Name, select the customer name.
5. Select Save.

Here's a good reference to learn more about creating a journal entry in QuickBooks Desktop.

If you wish to review the entries, you can do so by going to the bottom pane of the Make General Journal Entries window.

By default, only entries from the last month are displayed. To change or expand the list of entries, click from the List of Selected General Journal Entries drop-down list and select which period.

Check out these articles for more details about how inventory works in QuickBooks:

• Set up Advanced Inventory.
• Turn on Advanced Inventory.

For tips on how to handle promotions or giveaways in QBDT, here's an article that you can read: 

Don't hesitate to let me know if there's anything else you need help with managing inventory. I'm here to help anytime.

Thank you for the response. I dont know who received the products so how do I handle that?

I’ll help you handle this, Cindy.

You can create a dummy customer name. This way, you can completely account for the items in your journal entry. You can leave the name blank under the first, second, and fourth lines. Just make sure you set up a name in the Accounts Receivable.

Here’s how you do it:

1. On the third line, click Add New in the Name dropdown.
2. Choose Customer in the Select Name Type window.
3. Enter a name, then select OK.
4. Press Save & Close after.

If you’d like to track your products in the future, you can bookmark this guide: How to set up inventory in QuickBooks Desktop.

Moreover, here's an article in case you need tips to customize your accounts in QuickBooks: How to organize your chart of accounts. This will allow you to quickly determine your financial health so you can make better arrangements moving forward.

Drop a comment below if you have any other questions or concerns besides tracking promotional items. We’ll be glad to answer them for you. Keep safe always!

I'd do a general entry against that expense account. You must have some kind of inventory account, even if just for value

Intuit suggested that this string would be helpful to me, but i do track inventory.

I am looking for a way to track inventory parts that we send out for recalibration. 

Right now we use an invoice/packing slip to send the parts and a zero dollar PO to bring them back in. The problem with this is the cost is expensed when we ship the parts and the new cost becomes $0.00 when we bring them back in.  

How can I accomplish this without changing the cost?

Hello, Beth. I know a method to track inventory parts you sent out for recalibration without changing their cost. I'll guide you throughout the process below.

You can process a negative inventory quantity adjustment when you send out the parts for recalibration. Once the parts are returned, create a positive inventory quantity adjustment. By doing so, you're able to track the decrease or increase of your inventory product quantity not because of a sale or purchase.

If you haven't already, you can start by creating a separate account in your chart of accounts to track your adjustments. Here's how:

1. Go to Company and then Chart of Accounts.
2. Select the Account ▼ dropdown, then New.
3. From the Other Account Types ▼ dropdown, select Cost of Goods Sold.
4. Name this account “Inventory Adjustments”, and then Save and Close.

Once you're done, adjust the quantity of your product (inventory part). For detailed instructions, please refer to Step 3 in the article: Adjust your inventory quantity or value in QuickBooks Desktop.

Additionally, entering bills against your inventory is a standard part of your Accounts Payable (A/P) workflow. There are two workflows available in QBDT. If you want more information about each workflow, please refer to the article: Accounts Payable workflows in QuickBooks Desktop.

Let me know if you need more help managing your inventory parts in QBDT. I'm always here to assist. Have a great rest of the day!

@beth1026 

Are you trying to add the cost of calibration to the inventory item's cost?  Out of curiosity, why does your inventory need to be calibrated?  Calibration sounds like something you would do to a fixed asset (equipment) rather than inventory for resale.    

We sell items that are need calibration, but calibration of these items expire after 1 year. If it has been in our inventory for a while, then it must be recalibrated so that we aren't selling something that will be out of calibration in 2-3 months.

Adding the calibration costs might be a nice thing also.

@beth1026 

What version of QB are you using - Desktop Pro/Premier, Enterprise, or Online?

Desktop Enterprise

@beth1026 

Have you tried just using an inventory adjustment when the item is sent to the calibration company?  That sounds like the easiest way IMO.  First, set up a separate Other Current Asset account called 'Inventory Out for Calibration' or something similar and transfer the cost of the item to that account when you send it to the calibration company using 'Adjust Quantity/Value on Hand'.  Choose 'Quantity' as the Adjustment Type and 'Inventory Out for Calibration' as the Adjustment Account.  Enter the New Quantity after sending the item(s) out.  That will remove the item(s) from inventory and assign the value to the Inventory Out for Calibration account.  When you receive the item(s) back, enter the New Quantity and choose the same Inventory Out for Calibration account under Adjustment Account.  That will zero out the Inventory Out for Calibration account and put the item(s) and its cost back into inventory.

Not sure if this is what you're asking but, if you want/need to add the cost of calibration to the item's cost, use the landed cost functionality of Enterprise.  That way, you can assign the cost of the calibration entered on a bill to the specific item that was calibrated.  If the calibration cost is immaterial to your overall inventory, then just enter a bill for the calibration expense and pay it.