A recent addition to QuickBooks Online (QBO) is the ability to assign categories to products and services. This ability aids in searching for products and services, especially on forms. It adds reporting capabilities and helps analyze sales volumes.
In the sample QBO company, let’s look at setting up categories.
The above screenshot shows an existing product, Sprinkler heads, and the corresponding edit window for the item. Note the category which has been set to Irrigation Parts.
The list of categories can be accessed like any other list. If you navigate to the gear icon then to All Lists, you will find it there. Adding a category is a simple process. Categories can also be added as products and services are edited or created. Simply access the dropdown in the Category space and select “Add New.”
The above screenshot shows a new invoice being created. “Irr” was typed into the Product/Service field and QBO displayed the items in the Irrigation Parts category. Sprinkler heads and Sprinkler pipes.
Carefully organized, categories can make item selection for forms much faster.
Reports can use categories as well. Above is a Sales by Product/Service Summary report. Note that the products and services are displayed within their respective categories. These categories are totaled as well as the entire report.
The result is that all our irrigation parts items are grouped together on the report making them easy to find. This arrangement also aids in analyzing how much business we are doing in irrigation parts since the category can be viewed as a total against the other sales categories in our company.
Organizing by categories should help you gain a clearer picture of what type of products are most popular and should make finding those products easier when creating forms.
Hector Garcia, CPA
Certified Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor
7791 NW 46th St. Suite 109
Doral, FL 33166
954-414-1524
hector@garciacpa.com
