QuickBooks 2013 For Dummies

Time for a Reality Check

QuickBooks does a pretty good job of tracking inventory, but you’re still going to have to make that complete annual inventory of what you have in stock. What I’m saying here is that you’re going to have to go over everything and count it by hand. Sorry. You just can’t avoid that chore.

QuickBooks will produce a handy physical inventory worksheet that you and your minions can use to count inventory. To produce this report, choose Vendors⇒Inventory Activities⇒Physical Inventory Worksheet. Then, after QuickBooks produces an onscreen version of this worksheet report, click the Print button to print hard copies of the worksheet. You can use the printed worksheet to record actual physical counts of the inventory items you hold.

After you make your count, what happens if your inventory figures differ from those QuickBooks has? First, you have to decide who’s right: you or a computer program. You’re right, probably. Products get dropped. They break. And that means that you have to adjust the QuickBooks inventory numbers.

Choose Vendors⇒Inventory Activities⇒Adjust Quantity/Value on Hand. Or click the Adjust Quantity on Hand icon in the Company section of the Home screen. The Adjust Quantity/Value on Hand window appears, as shown in Figure 7-8.

The first thing to ...