Inventory Valuation

Hello there, Erica.

I'd be glad to provide information for you to clear or adjust your inventory value in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Incorrect costs and initial quantities entered during setup lead to incorrect inventory asset account values. Here's how you can fix it:

1. Go to Settings and select Products and Services.
2. Highlight the item, then select Edit from the Action column.
3. Select Starting Value, and click Got it.
4. Enter the item's correct date and cost.
5. Select Save and Close.

However, it is best to consult your accountant for more accurate information or guidance on handling your accounts accurately.

I'll also add this article to guide you track your inventory items, such as your best sellers, what's on hand, and the cost of goods in the future: Use reports to see your sales and inventory status.

Let me know If you have additional questions about inventory value or handling items. I'll be here to further assist you.

All of the items have the correct starting date and cost.  

They are items that are no longer in inventory - the inventory count is 0, but the inventory value is 1 - 5 cents for some reason.  Looking to get rid of the inventory value only.

I'm afraid this will make changes in a prior year that has been closed, and all of the starting values are correct anyways.

Dealing with lingering inventory values in QuickBooks can be quite a hassle, especially when inventory shows zero quantity. It's often because of rounding errors or partial transactions hanging around in your system. I get that you wanna avoid general journal entries since these values are item-specific. A more direct approach might be to adjust item quantities or costs right through inventory adjustments.

First off, try adjusting each item's cost to zero for the current year. Head over to "inventory activities" and click on "adjust quantity/value on hand." Here, adjust the total value of the inventory item to match its zero quantity, setting its cost to zero. This way you don't mess with the balances directly with a GJE. Since the values are tiny (like under 5 cents), it shouldn’t really hit your financial statements hard.

If you've got a ton of items, doing a batch adjustment might be worth it. QuickBooks doesn’t have this built-in for all versions, but you can export your inventory summary to Excel, tweak your numbers there, then import them back in with some third-party tool. I had to do this once and it was a bit tricky, but it worked out. These steps should help clear those pesky values without making things too complicated.