How do you set up inventory for an intangible sales item such as an ebook? How do you determine the starting inventory and value?

Let me help you record intangible assets in QuickBooks Online to ensure your entries stay accurate.

If you are referring to Intangible assets, these are assets that do not have a physical form and are not readily identifiable. It includes intellectual property, along with goodwill and brand awareness. On the other hand, tangible assets include things like land, buildings, machinery, and other types of physical property.

When your business spends money on an intangible asset such as a patent or trademark, we'll need to set up accounts in QuickBooks. Then, create a fixed asset, accumulated amortization, and amortization expense accounts for intangibles. In this case, I suggest consulting an accountant before performing the process below. They can provide detailed information on how to properly handle accounts for any intangible transactions, especially with the categories to use for debit and credit.

Here's how to create each account:

1. Go to the Gear icon on the top menu.
2. Select Chart of accounts.
3. Click the New button. 
4. Choose a particular category name and enter a description.
5. Fill in the other necessary field and press Save.

Once done, create an Intangible Asset transaction like recording a check and expenses in QuickBooks to process amortization. Once done, we can create a journal entry to handle the amortization of the intangible asset. You normally have an expense account set up to track amortization, along with a sub-account attached to your intangibles asset account for the tracking of the accumulated amortization. Let me guide you how: 

1. Click the + New button and choose Journal Entry.
2. Enter the Journal date to the date you want to reflect the amortization.
3. On the first line under Account, select the amortization expense account you created. Type the amount of the amortization in the Debit column.
4. Select the accumulated amortization account you created. Type the same amount in the Credit column.
5. From the Name dropdown menu, select a customer.
6. Fill in the other needed fields.
7. Press Save and close.

Lastly, you may refer to this article to view details on how various accounts on the Chart of Accounts page track your transactions or categorize your entries on everything from sales forms to reports to tax forms: Learn about the chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online. To track your inventory in QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced, check out this article: Set up and track your inventory in QuickBooks Online. This helps you determine the starting inventory and value of the sales items you created. 

Feel free to go back to this post if there's anything else that you need further assistance with intangible assets. I'm just around the corner to help. You have a good one.