We purchase our inventory in bulk, via PO's in QBO. Historically I created an estimate and turned it into an invoice to apply the inventory used on the project. This would populate my COGS as an expense line item and add it to the actual cost of the project.About a year ago QB updated and screwed my P&L system up for projects. Now that COGS sold only shows up as an estimated cost, not an actual cost for each project.I have spent countless hours on the phone with QBO support (Case #'s 15101672653, 15101996773, 15105420633) trying to get the issue addressed with no avail. I'm hoping I can get a resolution by posting here again. To summarize:Inventory is purchased in bulk via PO from my QBO account directly to my vendor, therefor I cannot create a new expense or bill under the specific project.Estimate and Invoice are created for the client with all items used in the project. This invoice has a markdown of -100% because I bill my clients for the service of installing those items, I do not sell each individual item to the client. The intention of the estimate/invoice is to apply the materials from inventory to the project that they are used on.Total of all line items should be and were historically applied as a COGS expense.When the update rolled out not only did it stop working on new projects but retroactively removed the data from previous projects.All items are set up as COGS expenses, with the correct purchase price and no sale price. Please help!

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COGS sold shows up as estimated cost not actual cost

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
September 22, 2023
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We purchase our inventory in bulk, via PO's in QBO. Historically I created an estimate and turned it into an invoice to apply the inventory used on the project. This would populate my COGS as an expense line item and add it to the actual cost of the project.

About a year ago QB updated and screwed my P&L system up for projects. Now that COGS sold only shows up as an estimated cost, not an actual cost for each project.

I have spent countless hours on the phone with QBO support (Case #'s 15101672653, 15101996773, 15105420633) trying to get the issue addressed with no avail. I'm hoping I can get a resolution by posting here again.

To summarize:

Inventory is purchased in bulk via PO from my QBO account directly to my vendor, therefor I cannot create a new expense or bill under the specific project.
Estimate and Invoice are created for the client with all items used in the project. This invoice has a markdown of -100% because I bill my clients for the service of installing those items, I do not sell each individual item to the client. The intention of the estimate/invoice is to apply the materials from inventory to the project that they are used on.
Total of all line items should be and were historically applied as a COGS expense.

When the update rolled out not only did it stop working on new projects but retroactively removed the data from previous projects.

All items are set up as COGS expenses, with the correct purchase price and no sale price.

Please help!

QuickBooks Online

Best answer by Rainflurry

Thanks for the response and I apologize for the confusion. I should have showed more in the snip. That attached image shows the expense is actually my hourly cost that QB pulls from Tsheets. The estimated cost that will not change to an actual cost is the total purchase price for all of the line items in the invoice.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

@Derrick Roberts

Ahh, ok, got it. Are you on cash basis? If so, that will cause the issue because COGS does not post when an invoice is created on cash basis.

If you're on accrual, did you run a Transaction journal report on the invoice(s)? Do you see COGS posted on the report? If the project is selected as the customer and the expense account that is assigned to the inventory items (these are inventory items, yes?) is COGS, it should work.

Nicole_N

I completely understand your frustration Derrick, and the countless hours you've spent on the phone with QuickBooks Online support, desperately seeking a resolution for your issue. It can be incredibly disheartening when you invest so much time and effort into finding a solution, only to be left without progress.

Don't worry, I'm here to help and ensure your concerns are addressed promptly and effectively. However, in order for me to assist you better, I need additional details about the specific issue you're facing.

Following the concern you've shared above, the COGS is a realized cost after selling an item to the customer. Therefore, if you don't sell the (individual) item to the customer, QuickBooks cannot determine the COGS as an expense. If you want to use COGS for the actual cost, which includes the service fees, you need to use that account in your expense transactions. However, it's best to consult an accounting expert on this matter.

I would really appreciate it if you could give us more details on the transaction process and the accounts you want to affect. Also, can you clarify the part that you don't sell the items but bill the customer for the services they render? By providing us with more information, such as a detailed description of the problem, or any steps you've already taken to resolve the issue, we can better understand the situation and work towards finding a resolution that meets your needs.

Please feel free to share any additional details or questions you may have, and we'll be more than happy to assist you further.

D

Derrick RobertsAuthor

I appreciate you response Nicole!

Below are pics of what I am experiencing.

QBO Pics is a snip of the estimate I created for the materials used on the project. I am creating an estimate because that is the only current way that I can get QBO to calculate the COGS at all.

It will not let me attach more than 1 file so I will continue this in another reply.

D

Derrick RobertsAuthor

The next step in my process is to create an invoice from the estimate. This is where historically QBO would apply my COGS as an expense for the project. I invoice for each item sold with a zero cost to the client, since I charge for the service and not the individual items installed.

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