Has anyone else had the issue where doing a import of stock removes all the classes from all your products?Tried it over and over and cant find a way around this

It is working as designed in system that product classes are not included during the import process, customer. I can give you insights about importing product in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

When you reimport items, our system is configured to override existing information based on the data contained in the import template, which currently does not include classes. As a result, any previously assigned class will automatically disappear from the overridden items. To update class information, you will need to manually edit and add the class to each product after its import.

If your main requirement is to update stock levels rather than product information, you can make direct inventory adjustments instead of reimporting the entire product list. This method will allow you to update your stocks without affecting the class assignments for your products.

For a more detailed understanding of the types of information you can import into QuickBooks Online, please refer to the article: Common Questions About Importing Data to QBO.

Additionally, I've included this article that provides a helpful guide on how to categorize your products and services effectively in QBO. This will assist you in maintaining a well-organized and structured inventory: Group products and services into different categories in QBO.

We're committed to assisting you with a smooth import of your products into QBO. If you have any further questions or need additional support, please don't hesitate to respond to this message. We're here to help and will get back to you promptly.

this has a few issues though:

1: You cant do initial stock takes and initial cost this way-doesn't have the field for the initial cost
2: It requires you select the class every time, but as the class is potentially already attached to the product in products and services, why the need to select it again?

The fastest way I have seen is to run a product report by stock and then update each item there, as it doesnt refresh the screen every time as it does with products and services. A manual refresh every X products saves time between each update.

But as it stands, this is a manual process which I believe could be made simpler by just linking a few fields such as the class and saving hours of work. I have 500 odd products I need to do initial cost and stock on and it will probably take 8-16 hours to do them all at the moment. 

I appreciate your persistence in finding a workaround, Sven2. I can imagine how time-consuming it must be to manually update each product, especially considering the large number of items. I’ll ensure your insights are forwarded to our dedicated product development team to influence potential enhancements.

Your workaround using product reports is insightful, but I agree that automating these steps would be more efficient. I encourage you to communicate directly with our Product Development team using the Feedback option in your QBO account. 

Here's how you can do it:

1. Open your QBO account.
2. Go to the Gear icon located at the top-right corner of your screen.
3. Under the Profile section, select Feedback.
4. Type in your suggestions and then click on Next.

In the meantime, I suggest exploring third-party applications integrated with QuickBooks that offer more flexible importing processes. You can visit our QuickBooks App Store to discover apps that best fit your business needs. Navigate to the CATEGORIES section and select the perfect app for you.

After importing all your stocks into the program, I've provided resources to help you manage them effectively. You can learn how to add, remove, and adjust items to ensure your inventory setup aligns with your operational needs:

• Remove a product or service
• Add product and service items
• Change product and service item types

Thank you again for your detailed insights and for helping us improve our product. We look forward to hearing from you and working together to make these processes more convenient for all customers.