If you are using QuickBooks Pro, Premier, or Enterprise to manage and control your inventory, it’s essential to understand just what the Inventory Stock Status report can offer you.

Located by clicking Reports > Inventory > Inventory Stock Status by Item, you’ll get a report that looks similar to this one:

BREAKING DOWN THE REPORT DETAILS…

Here are some additional insights to help you understand the information found on the Inventory Stock Status report:

1. Item – this is a list of your part numbers (or as QuickBooks calls them, your item numbers). Inventory part numbers will be shown first in the report, then assembly part numbers (if any) will appear below them
2. Pref Vendor  – this is the Preferred Vendor you set when you created the part
3. Reorder Pt (Min) – this is the Reorder Point you set for the part, or the minimum amount of stock you’d like to carry. Note that this field works in conjunction with column 10, the “Order” column
4. Max – this is the maximum quantity of the item you’d like to have on the shelf
5. On Hand – this is what you’re supposed to actually have on the shelf ready for sale or use in production. The big question is – how accurate are your on-hand values?
6. On Sales Order – the quantity showing here is how many of this item are being called out on open sales orders you have in QuickBooks. Said another way, this is your unshipped quantity of the item if you are using the sales order feature of QuickBooks (only available in Premier or Enterprise). NOTE: QuickBooks does NOT do a “hard allocation” of an item when a sales order or build assembly is created – it does not reduce the on-hand of an item until the item is either invoiced or the build assembly transaction is closed
7. For Assemblies – the quantity here is how many of the part are being called out on bills of material in your open/pending build assembly transactions (assemblies only available in Premier and Enterprise)
8. Available – what you have left that is available for sale on new orders. On-Hand – On Sales Order – For Assemblies = Available
9. U/M – if you have the unit of measure feature turned on in QuickBooks, you will see the base unit of measure listed here
10. Order – if this column is checked, this is your “warning flag” that you need to review the item and likely place an order for more. Did you know that inventory you need to order also appears on your Reminders screen in QuickBooks?
11. On PO – if you have one or more open purchase orders for this item, you’ll see the total on order here
12. Reorder Qty – the amount showing here is what QuickBooks has calculated that you should order based on your mins, maxes and other pertinent information. Sorry, none of the versions of QuickBooks figures in the lead time of an item into the reorder calculation.
13. Next Deliv – this is the next delivery date based on the value you have entered on the purchase order. Be aware – this is based on the “expected date” field in the PO, not the “due date”
14. Sales/Week – this is QuickBooks way of telling you the average amount of this item sold via invoices/sales receipts per week based on the date range that was used on the report. If you expand out the date range (but be sure the end date is today so your on-hand values are correct), you can get a better feel for the average sales of the item over a wider time period.
15. Create Auto POs – this button is only found in the Enterprise version of QuickBooks. Once you click it, QuickBooks automatically scoops up all the items that need to be ordered into a very handy window to automatically launch POs to your selected vendors!

QUICKBOOKS REALLY CAN MANAGE YOUR INVENTORY!

This report can really be worth its’ weight in gold – assuming the values within it are correct that is! The value of this report is only as good as the weakest link – so, if you have bogus on-hand values, old purchase orders and sales orders that need closed, you’ll want to address those as quickly as possible.

For many small businesses, the Inventory Stock Status report is all they need to effectively manage their inventory in QuickBooks and keep their shelves stocked.

RELATED INFORMATION

• Learn more about the Advanced Inventory feature in QuickBooks Enterprise
• Can QuickBooks handle my inventory – compare over 70 features in QuickBooks Pro, Premier, Enterprise and Online in this handy guide
• QuickBooks for manufacturers – 7 things you need to know
• Build assemblies – key differences in QuickBooks Premier and Enterprise you need to know
• Inventory and other add-ons for QuickBooks
  

NEED HELP SORTING IT ALL OUT?

Having managed more than $3 million of inventory back in my CFO days, I can understand exactly where you’re at with your “inventory control” program (is that an oxymoron?) and that you may need some help. Feel free to contact me so we can review your situation and figure out how to get your inventory under control!