Is it possible to stop tracking inventory once you have started? My client no longer wants any inventory record.

Greetings, canewton2018!

Thank you for posting your question here in the Community space.

You'll be glad to know that it's possible to stop tracking inventory.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Under Your Company, select Accounts and Settings.
3. Click Sales.
4. Go to Products and services.
5. Uncheck Track inventory quantity on hand.
6. Click Save and then Done.

In addition, there will be reports that are affected by this because these reports include the quantity on hand of the item, cost of goods sold of the item, and the inventory asset account values.

These reports are as follows:

• Sales by Product/Service Summary
• Sales by Product/Service Detail

Here's an article you can check to learn more about this: Impacts of Inventory Tracking on Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Reports.

Let us know if you have any questions. We're always here to assist you.

My client is the same. Is there any way of easily fixing up the balances now in inventory. For example when my client set up QB he set up product codes that tracked inventory - this has resulted in a minus inventory balance. He now just codes sales invoice directly into sales (a new misc code that has no products attached) so it is not effecting stock.  But we want to reverse what has gone in so the cost of sales figure is correct. Any suggestions on the easiest way to do this? (It seemed that even putting in the product code at a zero value ended up adjusting the stock so its a bit messy now). Thanks.

Hi there, catnonie.

Thanks for reaching out to the QuickBooks Community. Allow me to help provide some insights about tracking inventory in QuickBooks.

Entering sales without Inventory QTY will result in negative values. To correct your inventory balance, you'll need to record both the purchase and sale of items to maintain accurate stock tracking.

To record the purchase of items, here's how:

1. Select the Plus icon (+) on the Toolbar.
2. Under Suppliers, select Bill.
3. From Choose a supplier drop-down, select the supplier's name.
4. Fill in the Bill date field.
5. In the Item details section, enter the items purchased from the supplier. And also their amounts.
6. Select Save.

You can also record the purchase as an expense or check. You can check these articles below for the detailed steps:

• How to enter, edit, or delete expenses.
• How to write cheques.

Once the bill, expense, or check is saved, the quantity of the item increases. 

Now, record the sale of stock items on an invoice or a sales receipt, including quantity sold. Once done, you'll see the decrease of quantity reflected in the product's information. 

If you need further assistance with the steps, you can contact our QuickBooks Online Chat Support Team. They have additional tools to pull up your account in a secure environment and do a remote session.

Here's how you can contact our chat support:

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online company.
2. Select Help (question mark icon) at the top right.
3. Click Contact us to connect with a live support agent.

This will get you on the right track. Feel me in if you have additional questions about tracking inventory. I'm always here to help you out. Have a good one. 

I need to retrospectively change the negative COGS number produced as a result of using Inventory? how do we go back and change this in order to produce correct accounts? thank you

We had an issue with Inventory generating a negative COGS figure in the accounts. We have switched off the Inventory mode but still have an negative COGS figure ...how to be go back and fix this issue?

Hi catnonie,

This happens because the expense account assigned to your inventory item is COGS.

You can adjust the value of your COGS as well as the value inventory account via journal entry, but I would highly suggest to verify this with an accountant.

If you think that the item doesn't need to be set up as an inventory item, you might want to consider setting it as a non-inventory item instead. In this way, the correct values will not post to COGS and the inventory asset account moving forward.

Feel free to go back to this thread if you have other questions.

When you turn off inventory does it affect prior period entries?

Let me provide some information when turning off inventory, Cindy.

Yes, you'll have the option to turn off inventory or stop tracking inventory in QuickBooks Online (QBO). However, when doing so, you'll have to adjust the Quantity on Hand to zero out and make products inactive. There will also be reports that are affected once you stop tracking inventory which includes the quantity on hand of the item, cost of goods sold, and the inventory asset account values. You'll want to reach out to your accountant to guide you on what you can do with the process as this requires more accounting skills and is more or less complicated. 

Once you're able to do that, here's how you can turn it off:

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Under Your Company, select Accounts and Settings.
3. Click Sales.
4. Go to Products and services.
5. Uncheck Track inventory quantity on hand.
6. Click Save and then Done.

Furthermore, to make sure you know how inventory has specific impacts on your Balance Sheet and Profit and loss reports, read this article for more information: Impacts Of Inventory Tracking On Balance Sheet And Profit & Loss Reports.

You can always leave your reply below if you need further assistance with inventory. Remember, we're here to help and get everything covered.