If you're looking for a complete bookkeeping solution that will also
address your inventory needs, then Quickbooks Pro will work.
I copied some info from the help file and pasted it below.
You could also create a spreadsheet for inventory tracking, or find one
online.
You would want it set up as a database. You can customize it so it has
data entry screens and custom reporting. With Excel, anyway.
However, from my experience I would say it's not worth the trouble if
you've got 50 categories of products. You would have a fair amount of
time setting it up and testing/tweaking it to your specific needs. You
can buy QB Pro for $150 at Costco, and use it for all of your
accounting, most likely.
Darrel Hawes
http://www.basicaccountingforsmallbusiness.com
[begin help file]
You can use QuickBooks to track the items you keep in inventory and sell
to your customers.
Some reasons for tracking inventory in QuickBooks
If your business purchases items that are ready for resale, keeps them
in inventory, and then sells them, QuickBooks can track the current
number in stock and the value of your inventory after every purchase and
sale. QuickBooks can even keep track of products you assemble and resell
(finished goods), adding assembled units to inventory and deducting
component units from inventory when you build assembly items (QuickBooks
Premier or Enterprise editions only).
Here are the benefits of setting up inventory parts as items and using
QuickBooks inventory tracking:
When you use purchase orders to buy inventory items, QuickBooks updates
your inventory, so you know which items are on order and when they're
due to be received.
You can easily keep track of the cost to you of the items you have sold
(the cost of goods sold).
You can easily keep track of the income you receive from the resale of
inventory items.
You always know your current quantities on hand.
You always know the current value of your inventory.
Tasks you need to do to track inventory
Set up inventory tracking in QuickBooks
You'll turn inventory tracking on and add some accounts for tracking
inventory value and income from selling inventory. You'll also add
inventory items to the Item list.
Use the right purchase and sales forms to keep inventory figures
accurate
When you purchase inventory, you'll need to enter the inventory items on
a purchase form so QuickBooks can properly increase inventory
quantities. Then, when you sell inventory, you'll need to enter the
inventory items on a sales form so QuickBooks can properly decrease
inventory quantities.
What kind of forms can I use for inventory items?
You can use any of the following forms to record inventory purchases:
purchase orders, bills, credit card charges, and checks.
Note: Inventory items entered on a purchase order are not added to
inventory in QuickBooks until you create a bill or item receipt from the
purchase order.
You can use sales orders, invoices, and sales receipts to record
inventory sales.
Note: Inventory items entered on sales orders are not deducted from
inventory until you create an invoice from the sales order.
Track backorders
You may not always have enough inventory to fulfill a customer's order.
If you use sales orders, you can partially fulfill an order, and
QuickBooks tracks the backordered items on both the sales order and the
invoice. Similarly, your vendors may not always have all of the
inventory items to fulfill your order. If you use purchase orders, you
can receive a partial order from a vendor, and QuickBooks tracks the
backordered items on the purchase order.
Periodically take a physical inventory
Over time, actual inventory quantities can get "out of sync" with
inventory quantities in QuickBooks for any number of reasons, such as
breakage, theft, and entry errors. You'll want to take a physical
inventory periodically and then adjust your inventory as necessary.
Determine the value of your inventory
You'll need to know the value of your inventory from time to time to
make certain business decisions. You can run a report anytime to see the
value of your inventory.
Check the status of your inventory
At times, you'll want to know the quantity of certain items in
inventory. You can check the status of a single item or of your entire
inventory.
You can also use the Current Availability window when you're filling out
an invoice, sales order, estimate, or sales receipt to quickly check how
many inventory items are available to promise.
[end of help file]
----- Original message -----
From: "Simplest Gifts" <simplestgifts@gmail.com>
To: entrepreneursathome@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:08:13 -0600
Subject: {SPAM 07.3} [entrepreneurs] Help! Inventory Tracking?
Help! I need a way to track our inventory and sales. I don't know if
this
is the name for what I need.
We are buying about 50 individual products (mostly wholesale, by the
case
and also some in single quantities) and selling retail (in the vending
machine). We need to track them individually and by the case. We need
to
be able to mark some as a loss if they exceed their sell-by date. We
need a
good way of figuring our profit and loss.
I have a paper form I created that is working real well for on-the-site
inventory-taking. It's very easy for my son to count the 40 items in
the
machine and record what has sold.
Now, I would like to get those figures into a piece of software that
would
automate the rest of the book-keeping and ordering, and give us a good
picture of what's selling. I have to keep track of sales tax for city,
county, and state, too.
Can someone recommend something -- even Excel templates -- which would
keep
me from having to recreate the wheel?
Thanks ever so much!
Sim
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Need help? Contact Vickie at vics4us@yahoo.com .
http://www.educatingforsuccess.com .
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