Invoices have the SKU but packing slips do not have the SKU

Why do invoices have the SKU field but packing slips do not? Why do you assume that our customers need to see the SKU on the invoice but our warehouse workers do not need to see it on the packing slips?

I don't know if the you guys at QBO understand the importance of SKUs so let me explain why it is a problem that the packing slips don't include the SKUs.

Warehouses store physical goods in various ways. In our warehouse, the goods are stored in bins, on shelves, hanging on hooks, stacked in a corner, etc. Each bin/shelf/hook/stack is labeled. Even most of the parts have labels on them.

What do we put on the labels? Well the goal of the label is to allow our people to quickly find the part they are looking for. The label should contain text that is easy to read at a moderate distance and hard to confuse with any other text. Based on those requirements, it should be something short and clear.

So instead of printing "hex head cap screw, zinc plated, 1/4-20 x 0.75" on the label, we prefer to print "CF1H". And instead of "hex head cap screw, zinc plated, 1/4-28 x 0.75" we prefer to print "CF2H".

This achieves two main objectives: 1. we can use a nice big font and still fit the short SKU on the label, making it more readable at a distance, and 2. we only have to read 4 characters to figure out which item is which instead of reading a long part name and trying to do a word search to see what is different between two very similar part names.

QBO always responds the same way: "just add the SKU to your part name in the QBO database." I understand that this would technically work but it isn't a very professional way of doing things. Storing the same piece of data in two different places (like storing the SKU in the part name field and in the SKU field) can lead to problems down the road. If a SKU has to be changed, we have to make sure to change it in the part name field and the SKU field or else issues could arise later on.

The only solution we have at this time is to print the invoice instead of the packing slip. The invoice has more information than we need and often takes two pages where a packing slip takes just one. It isn't the right way to operate but because you guys won't/can't add a single column to the packing slip, we don't have a choice.