Question

Classes, Items, Types Assistance

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
February 7, 2019
2 replies
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Hello,

I am just creating a company account through Quickbooks. We are a design firm that bills by phases, progress, and fixed amounts. In our Items list I have the different phases broken down. However, I keep seeing people talking about identifying something by a class.

First, what is the difference between a class and a list item? Isn't Quickbooks capable or running a report based on either a class or a list item to see Profit and Loss?

My question is: can my list items be the same as my classes? For instance:

Transportation: Design

Transportation: Project Management

Transportation: Marketing

Transportation: Construction Admin

Education: Design
Education: Project Management (and so on)

Can all of those be both a list item and a class?

Or should they be separated by class, items, and types? How do you tell the difference between which one should be?

QuickBooks Desktop

A

Anonymous

Hi, @VCOfficeManager.

Thank you for posting in the Community. I can help share some details about item lists and classes in QuickBooks Desktop.

The item lists in QuickBooks are what you sell or buy and are used on all customer transactions. It provides a quick means for data entry and shows up as a line on an invoice or other sales forms. Let me route you this article for more information: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/community/Inventory-and-projects/Add-edit-and-delete-items/td-p/201687.

Classes are used to give you a means of adding a second dimension to your data classification. A common application of classes is to track multiple locations for the same business. This will be helpful when running a financial report for your entire company since you can easily filter your report to segregate the transactions by class.

You can always use the same name for your list items and classes, however, they have a different and separate function when generating your financial reports.

To know more about class tracking in QuickBooks, you can check out this helpful blog: How to Use Class Tracking in QuickBooks.

Please keep me posted if you have other questions about items and classes. I'll be here to help in any way I can.

S

SandyH1

Can you help explain when I would choose to assign class to items or if I should choose assign class to accounts. I use classes for our 5 retail locations. I want to assign each document a class such as the sales invoice, and also the sales accounts and COGS account associated with that document.

Thank you.

AlcaeusF

Hi there, @SandyH1.

Thanks for joining this thread. Allow me to step in and share some information about how to use the class tracking feature in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT).

Turning on this feature in QBDT will let you assign a class to transactions such as an invoice. This lets you track account balances by department, business office or location, etc.

Technically, you can assign a class to either items or accounts. However, you also have the option to only assign a class to Accounts, Items, and Names depending on what you prefer. Here's how:

1. Go to the Edit menu at the top, then pick Preferences on the drop-down.
2. Select Accounting on the left pane, then Company Preferences tab.
3. Put a check mark to Use class tracking for transaction under CLASS section.
4. Check the box beside Assign classes to, then choose on the drop-down.
5. Click OK.

For your reference, you can also check out this article for more information: How to Use Class Tracking in QuickBooks.

That should point you in the right track. Please let me know how it goes or if you have any additional questions or concerns. I'm always here to answer them. Take care and have a good one!

J

jamespaul

Hello, Chuck.

I appreciate taking the time to follow-up with us on the Class tracking feature issue. I'll take it from here and share other details about the ability to assign classes to customers.

Yes, that's correct. The ability to assign classes to customers is only available in the Enterprise version.

You'll want to consider upgrading to Enterprise if customer classes are critical to your business. This article will help you with the steps and details on how to upgrade your edition: Upgrade to QuickBooks Enterprise from Desktop Pro/Premier.

If you'd like to keep your current edition, you can assign classes to your customer transactions (sales receipts, invoices, etc..).

For estimates, invoice or sales receipts, these can be assigned to the whole transaction form or by line item.

Need more help with the Class tracking feature? I'd recommend checking this article: Set up and use class tracking in QuickBooks Desktop.

If you need help checking your sales data and other financial information, you can run reports in QuickBooks. I'll add this article in case you need to familiarize yourself with the reports: Understand reports.

I'll listen to other concerns you might have regarding the features in QuickBooks Desktop. If you have any questions about recording customer transactions, reply to this thread with the details. I'll get back to you to help you out.

M

M Cramer

Is there a way to permanently add a class to an item? Our company has 3 classes. Company, Showroom and Contract. There are items that we sell that will only ever be showroom. Is there a way to have an item always show up as showroom?

Clark_B

Welcome to the Community, @M Cramer.

Currently, the option to permanently add a class to an item is unavailable.

I understand the importance of adding a class to an item permanently in QuickBooks Online (QBO). While this option is unavailable, I recommend sending feedback about it. This will give us an idea of how we may improve the functionality of QBDT to meet users' needs and enhance the working experience.

Here's how:

Select the Help option.
Select the Send Feedback Online option.
Select the Product Suggestion option. A pop-up window displays.
Enter your comments or feedback suggestions.
Click the Send Feedback button.

Additionally, you might want to check these articles to guide you in customizing any report that you want to generate and memorize it if you want the same settings as the customized reports.

Feel free to click the Reply button below if you have other questions about the class. I'm always here to help.

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