How to Track Inventory in QuickBooks (and What to Do When It Falls Short)

If you’ve ever tried to keep your stock, spending, and sales in sync inside QuickBooks, you know the feeling.
One moment you’re organized — the next, you’re staring at Inventory_FINAL_v5.xlsx wondering why the numbers don’t agree.

QuickBooks is excellent at what it was born to do: bookkeeping.
But once you start tracking materials, batches, and in-house production, the seams start to show.

We talk to hundreds of small product-based businesses every year. The pattern’s the same:

QuickBooks almost works for me… until I try to track my materials.

You don’t need more accounting fluff. You need clarity — what’s in stock, what it really cost to make, and what’s about to run out.

Let’s walk through what QuickBooks handles well, where it struggles for makers, and how to fix the gaps without drowning in spreadsheets.

How QuickBooks Handles Inventory

QuickBooks does have inventory features — which ones you get depends on your plan and product.

QuickBooks Online (QBO)

Inventory is available on Plus and Advanced. In these plans you’ll get:

• Quantities on hand that update when you buy/sell
• Low-stock alerts
• COGS posted on sale
• FIFO costing
• Basic item/valuation/profitability reports

If you resell finished goods, that can be enough.

If you make products, the cracks appear fast:

• No bill of materials
• No production tracking
• No way to turn fabric/beads/wood into finished stock inside QBO

If your “real” stock lives in a Google Sheet while QuickBooks tracks sales, you’re not alone.

👉 Also read: QuickBooks for Etsy Sellers: Why Self-Employed Falls Short (and What to Use Instead in 2025)

QuickBooks Desktop (Pro / Premier / Enterprise)

Desktop goes further for light manufacturing:

• Build Assemblies (Premier/Enterprise) to combine components into products
• Advanced Inventory (Enterprise Platinum/Diamond) for multi-location, serial/lot, barcodes, bins — and FIFO option

Costing, simply put:

• QBO = FIFO
• Desktop = Average cost by default; FIFO available with Enterprise + Advanced Inventory
• Craftybase = Rolling average cost — a solid, maker-friendly fit for batch purchasing

No method is “right” for everyone. Pick one, understand how it affects margins/taxes, and be consistent.

QuickBooks POS (Point of Sale)

QuickBooks Desktop POS was sunset. If you relied on it for in-person stock updates, you’ll need a modern replacement going forward.

Quickbooks Plans & Pricing

Intuit runs promos constantly, but here’s the “sticker price” snapshot (USD) so you can place features:

• QBO Simple Start — $38/mo (no inventory)
• QBO Essentials — $75/mo (no inventory)
• QBO Plus — $115/mo (basic product level inventory included)
• QBO Advanced — $275/mo (inventory + more controls/automation)

Desktop Enterprise comes in Silver/Gold/Platinum/Diamond.
Advanced Inventory (multi-site, serial/lot, barcodes, bins, FIFO) is part of Platinum/Diamond. Pricing varies by users/add-ons.

Quick take: If you don’t manufacture, QBO Plus is the easiest “inventory-on” step.
If you need multi-location, lots/serials, or barcode workflows on Desktop, look at Enterprise Platinum/Diamond.

Where Makers Hit the Wall

Here’s where small manufacturers tend to get stuck with QuickBooks:

• No raw-material tracking (QBO): It sees finished goods, not rolls of fabric or jars of pigment.
• No true production costing: Labor, overhead, and batch costs are manual or missing.
• Multi-channel is messy: Etsy, Shopify, Faire all need their own sync story.
• Costing fit: FIFO (QBO) or average/FIFO (Desktop) doesn’t always mirror how makers buy/consume in small, uneven batches.

For bookkeeping, QuickBooks shines.
For day-to-day making? It’s like trying to pin a pattern while wearing oven mitts — technically possible, not ideal.

What to Do Instead (Without More Spreadsheets)

You’ve got two clean paths.

1) Keep QuickBooks for accounting. Add a maker-ready inventory layer.

Let QuickBooks do the books.
Let a purpose-built tool run materials, builds, and true COGS.

✨ That’s exactly where Craftybase fits. ✨

• Track raw materials and batches
• See real-time stock across products and components
• Get rolling average COGS automatically
• Price with confidence (hello, healthy margins)

And if you want the two to play nicely side by side, start with our first step:
QuickBooks + Craftybase integration — beginning with QuickBooks Lite (PO export) so you stop retyping purchases.

2) Upgrade (or rethink) your QuickBooks setup

Still on Self-Employed? You’ll want QBO Plus/Advanced for inventory — or Desktop Enterprise if you need heavy-duty features.

We break the decision down for Etsy sellers here:
👉 QuickBooks for Etsy Sellers: Why Self-Employed Falls Short (and What to Use Instead in 2025)

Even with those upgrades, most makers still add an inventory layer for materials, builds, and multi-channel stock.

When to Make the Switch

If your current setup involves:

• Copy-pasting between sheets
• Constant stock adjustments
• Guessing at COGS

…you’re at the integration point.
That’s when a maker-first inventory tool starts paying for itself — in time saved, cleaner books, and way less stress.

The Takeaway

QuickBooks is an amazing bookkeeping tool.
For handmade sellers and small manufacturers, it’s half the story.

Once you start tracking materials, production, and true product costs, the picture clears up fast — and the “Am I even making money on this?” spiral finally stops.

Here’s to fewer spreadsheets, clearer margins, and more time at the bench.

💡 See how Craftybase fills the gap →

QuickBooks + Inventory: Maker FAQs

Does QuickBooks Online have a real Bill of Materials (BOM) or assemblies?
Short answer: no. QBO has Bundles (groups of items sold together), but they don’t consume component inventory or roll up costs like a true BOM/assembly. BOMs live on the Desktop side.

Which QuickBooks Online plans include inventory?
Inventory starts at Plus and is also in Advanced. Simple Start and Essentials don’t include it.

What costing method does QBO use?
QBO uses FIFO for inventory valuation.
(For comparison: Desktop uses average cost by default; Desktop Enterprise with Advanced Inventory can use FIFO. Craftybase uses rolling average.)

Can QBO track raw materials and finished goods (true manufacturing)?
Not natively. You can’t convert components into finished products or absorb labor/overhead into product cost inside QBO. That’s why many makers pair QBO with a manufacturing-aware tool (like Craftybase) or use Desktop Enterprise for assemblies.

Can I track serial or lot numbers in QBO?
No. Serial/lot tracking is a Desktop Enterprise (Advanced Inventory) feature, not a QBO feature.

What about multiple locations/warehouses?
QBO doesn’t do true multi-location inventory. Desktop Enterprise’s Advanced Inventory supports multiple sites/locations.

Units of Measure (UoM): does QBO support them?
QBO doesn’t offer UoM. Desktop does (and Enterprise supports multiple UoM). In QBO, most people use descriptions or third-party apps as a workaround.

Barcode scanning — can I use it with QBO?
Not natively. Barcode scanning is part of Desktop Enterprise (Advanced Inventory). QBO requires an app if you want scanning.

Does QBO support landed cost?
Not natively. Landed cost is a Desktop Enterprise (Advanced Inventory) feature. In QBO, you’ll need an app or a manual approach.

Is QuickBooks POS still a thing?
QuickBooks Desktop Point of Sale has been discontinued. If you relied on it for in-person stock updates, you’ll need a modern POS that integrates with your accounting.

Where do Plus vs. Advanced really differ for makers?
For inventory itself, Advanced doesn’t add BOM/assemblies. You mainly get higher limits, automation, and admin/reporting perks. If you manufacture — even lightly — you’ll still want a dedicated inventory tool on top.

So what’s the practical setup for a product-based business?
Let QBO handle the books (bank feeds, invoices, taxes). Let your inventory app handle materials, builds, and true COGS. That’s why Craftybase is built to play nicely with QuickBooks — start light with QuickBooks Lite (PO export today), then layer on deeper sync as it rolls out.

Why does this matter?
Because “almost organized” still costs you time and margin. When your tools track the way you actually make things — materials in, products out — you get cleaner COGS, better pricing decisions, and your valuable time back.