Am I able to record waste/spoilage in quickbooks and how?

Hello there, @lisa118 

You can create a non-inventory item of the wasted product and manually track their quantity.

1. Go to Sales.
2. Select Products and Services.
3. Click Add new.
4. Select Non-inventory.
5. Enter the name of your new item.
6. Select the appropriate accounts.
7. Click Save.

From here, you can manually create a journal entry if your items are about to be wasted and to track their quantity. You can also contact your account for additional assistance.

Lastly, here's a few articles you can read to help manage your products and services: Inventory management for QuickBooks Online.

Keep me posted in the comments if you have any other questions. I'll be here to help.

@lisa118 

If you are a manufacturing company, consider having a 3rd party app to deal with it. For any output of a process, you can specify the output item as waste. Based on the percentage of waste items and non-waste items, the system will calculate a yield for your process. This helps you to evaluate materials from different suppliers, for example, to determine which gives you the best outputs in your manufacturing. Waste items go into inventory like any other inventory item, so that they can be tracked and used later as needed.

@lisa118 

Waste and spoilage only applies to inventory items.  To account for that, use inventory adjust and set the adjusting account to spoilage then lower the qty.

waste and spoilage do not apply to anything else because when you purchased the item/expense the full cost was posted to the expense account you used on the purchase, so there is nothing left to expense

I am trying to figure out how to create an account for inventory adjustments that are considered "Waste". As you mentioned, when the item(s) were receipted in, they were already expense out of COGS. When I adjust item quantities, I am seeing a loss for those items. Essentially, we are not at a loss because we have already made profit from selling the item(s) that were priced for profit.

I appreciate you for joining the thread, @bettysueee.

You can create an account for the adjustments through the Chart of Accounts. I can guide you on how.

1. Open your QuickBooks Online account, then click on Chart of Accounts from the Gear icon.
2. Click on New.
3. Select the account type and detail type. 
4. Enter the account's name, then tap on the Save and Close button.

If you're hesitant about the types of accounts to use, I'd suggest seeking help from a professional accountant.

For additional tips about creating accounts in QuickBooks, you can open this article.

I also recommend reading the topics from these links for additional tips about managing inventory and adjustments in QuickBooks Online:

• Set up and track your inventory in QuickBooks Online
• Adjust inventory quantity on hand in QuickBooks Online

But which type of account? If I take it out of COGS, then it is a Sale. I do not want this.

I just opened up a restaurant and need to record food waste. How would I do that? Is there someone who can give me some steps? I appreciate any help! Thank you 

Welcome to our Community and congratulations on opening your restaurant! Rgalvis23. I’m here to provide you with some valuable insights on how to track and record food waste efficiently.

First, you can do a negative inventory adjustment of food waste, which involves tracking the amount of food wasted rather than sold. By entering food waste as negative inventory, you can adjust your stock levels accordingly.

Here's how to do it QuickBooks Online (QBO):

1. Click on +New button,
2. Select the Inventory qty adjustment option.
   
   
3. Fill in the necessary information.
4. Choose the PRODUCT/VARIANT and then select the specific food waste.
5. Under CHANGE IN QTY, enter the specific amount of food wasted as negative.
6. Lastly, click Save.
   
   

Refer to this article for more detailed information about adjusting inventory on hand in QBO.

In addition to performing a negative inventory adjustment, you may consider making a journal entry to account for food waste. However, it’s important to consult with your accountant before proceeding, as they can advise you on which accounts will be affected by this entry. 

Alternatively, you can create an expense transaction for food waste, allowing you to record spoilage directly as an expense without adjusting inventory levels. Before proceeding, consult your accountant to determine which accounts should be debited and credited based on your chart of accounts.

If you don't have a ProAdvisor, I can help you find one. Visit this page: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/find-an-accountant/.

In case you have a negative inventory along the way, we can fix this by following the recommended solution in this article: Fix negative inventory issues in QuickBooks Online.

It’s great to see your dedication to managing food waste in your restaurant. Remember that you’re not alone in this journey; our community is here to support you every step of the way. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to come back to this thread.