QuickBooks 2005: The Missing Manual

Planning Your Items

Setting up items in QuickBooks is a lot like shopping at the grocery store. If you need only a few things, you can shop without a list. Similarly, if you use just a few QuickBooks items, you don't need to write it all out. But if you use dozens or even hundreds of items, planning your item list can save you from experiencing all sorts of unpleasant emotions.

If you jumped feet first into this section, now's the time to read "Should You Track Inventory with Items?" on page 77 and "The QuickBooks Item Types" on page 79. Those sections help you with your first decision: whether to use Service, Inventory Part, and Non-inventory Part items. Read on to learn the other issues you should consider before creating your items in QuickBooks.

Generic or Specific?

Conservation can be as important with QuickBooks items as it is for matter and the environment. QuickBooks Pro and premier can hold no more than 14,500 items—a problem only if you sell unique products, such as antiques, or products that change frequently, such as the current clothing style for teenagers. Once you use an item in a transaction, you can't delete that item, so your item list could fill up with items you no longer use (see page 99).

By planning up front how specific your items are, you can keep your QuickBooks list lean with generic items. For instance, a generic item such as Top can represent a girl's black Goth t-shirt in the winter of 2002 or a white poplin button-down shirt in the summer of 2003.

Generic ...