Quantity

Manage inventory quantity and settings in QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online offers several ways to manage your product quantities, customize how they appear on sales forms, and control who can make changes. Whether you need to adjust stock after a physical count, ensure quantity columns show up on invoices, or set user permissions, we have the tools to help.

Turn on quantity and rate columns on sales forms

If the Quantity or Rate columns are missing from your invoices or sales receipts, you can enable them in your sales settings.

1. Select the Gear icon, then Company Settings (or Account and settings).
2. Select Sales from the left menu.
3. In the Sales form content section, select the Edit (pencil) icon or the Customize look and feel button.
4. Go to the Columns or Print tab.
5. Check the boxes for Quantity and Rate.
6. Select Save, then Done.

Adjust quantity on hand for multiple products (Stock take)

If you need to update inventory quantities for many items at once, the most efficient method is to export your product list, update it in Excel, and import it back into QuickBooks.

1. Go to the Products and Services list (select Get Paid & Pay or Sales, then Products and Services).
2. Select the Export to Excel button (usually found near the top right or above the Action column).
3. Open the downloaded spreadsheet in Excel.
4. Update the Quantity on Hand and Quantity As-Of Date columns with your new counts.
5. Save your changes in Excel.
6. Back in QuickBooks Online, go to the Gear icon and select Import Data.
7. Choose Products and Services.
8. Upload your updated Excel file and follow the on-screen wizard to map your fields and update the records.

Adjust quantity or cost for individual items

For specific items that need adjustments due to data entry errors or cost changes, you can manage them directly in the product list.

• To adjust cost: If an item was created without the correct cost, the best practice is to rename the old item (for example, add “DO NOT USE” to the name) and then create a new item with the correct details. This preserves your transaction history.
• To adjust quantity: You can adjust the quantity on hand for a single item directly within the Products and Services list by editing the specific item.

Show subtotals for quantity on invoices

QuickBooks Online invoices calculate the total dollar amount automatically, but they do not provide a built-in “Total Quantity” line at the bottom of the form.

To manually indicate a total quantity:

1. Add a Subtotal item to your invoice.
2. In the Description field of that Subtotal line, type the total quantity (e.g., “Total Items: 50”).
3. The Subtotal item will continue to display the financial subtotal, while the description serves as a record of the total count.

Set user permissions for inventory

You can grant a user access to manage inventory without giving them full administrative access. This is done by creating a custom user role.

1. Select the Gear icon, then Manage Users.
2. Select Add user.
3. Choose Regular or Custom access (depending on your subscription).
4. Select Customers and Sales (or the relevant section for your version).
5. Configure the permissions to include the ability to add, edit, or delete products and inventory.
6. Follow the remaining prompts to save the user profile.

Customize invoice appearance (Shading)

If you see shading (alternating gray and white rows) on your screen when viewing invoices, this is a default interface setting to help readability. While there is no setting to remove this shading from the screen view, you can usually ensure it does not print:

• When you select to print, look for a Print Settings dialog box.
• Check for an option labeled Print shading or Background colors and ensure it is unchecked.