How to Add Inventory Items in QuickBooks

If you need to track inventory for your business, you can also use the item list to add inventory items. However, before you can add inventory items, you must first activate the QuickBooks inventory feature. When you activate the feature, QuickBooks adds the accounts needed for inventory to your chart of accounts. The following explains how to activate the inventory feature and add inventory items.

Activating the Inventory Feature

1. From the menu, select Edit > Preferences.
2. In the left pane of the Preferences dialog box, highlight Items & Inventory, then select the Company Preferences tab.
3. Mark the Inventory and purchases orders are active checkbox.
4. Click OK. QuickBooks notifies you that it needs to close its open windows.
5. Click OK.

Adding an Inventory Item

1. On the Home page, click the Items & Services icon.
2. In the Item List dialog box, click Item and select New.
3. In the New Item dialog box, from the Type drop-down list, select "Inventory Part".
4. In the Item Name/Number field, type an identifier for the item.
5. In the Income Account field, select or add the income account to use to track income for the item.
6. Complete other fields as needed.
7. When finished, click OK.