KeithC

This is part of an off topic conversation with Reed Phillips but I felt it required it's own thread.

I currently use the qb interface and I run all of the items through inventory. I generate PO's, receive items to inventory, and relieve items from inventory by invoicing.

Reed had turned me on to a new idea (to me) that items do not have to go through inventory and that my way was more time consuming etc. He uses non-inventory items which when purchased were costed to the job thereby saving a bunch of time.

Can anyone expand on this idea and/or offer the pro's and cons of doing either method???

Thanks,
QB Newbie

Michael Hall

Yeah, interesting at first glance and on paper, but then again so was communism! (OK, unhelpful joke there; just a little homage to Blake there as it's a quote he uses about DataXChange.)

I would love to know what Susan Sipe of Abacusprime would have to say about this, but my instinct is to qoute her and say as she would, that "running everything through inventory is the only real way to achieve true Job Costing." (or something like that, forgive me Susan if I am misquoting!)

Anyway, I do what you are doing, but with Reed's method how does he account for profit realized from resale vs. wholesale prices? Or by "non-inventory" items do you/he mean true incedentals like misc. supplies. To be literal about it, I don't actually "inventory" much of anything save a few pair of in-ceiling speakers, panel mounts and wire. I would hate to just job cost everything as COGS without running it through inventory, albeit temporarily, to accurately track margins.

Also, I think that technically speaking there may be something to this if you carry "inventory insurance" for items in transport to clients' homes. i.e. You may need to show everything as inventoried that has a loss potential. I need to ask my insurance guy about that one....