The holiday rush can sneak up fast, especially if you sell products. One minute, your shelves are full, and the next, your bestsellers are gone. That’s why this time of year, your QuickBooks Desktop inventory reports are your best friend.
Start with the “Sales by Item Summary” Report
Go to Reports > Sales > Sales by Item Summary. This report gives you a quick look at which products are selling the fastest. Pay attention to any items showing strong recent sales, as that’s your cue to reorder before demand peaks.
Keep an Eye on Inventory Valuation
Next, open the Inventory Valuation Summary report. Reports > Inventory > Inventory Valuation Summary. This helps you see what’s still in stock and how much value is sitting on your shelves. Items with low quantities but high sales? Reorder now. Items that have been sitting for months? Consider marking them down or bundling them for the holidays.
Run These Reports Weekly
During the busy season, a quick weekly check of these two reports can help you avoid stockouts and lost sales. Even better, save your customized reports so you can pull them up instantly each week.
Staying organized with your QuickBooks Desktop reports means fewer surprises, smoother sales, and more time to focus on what really matters. Serving your customers.
When you’re trying to grow your business, not every contact is ready to become a customer. Some people just need more time, more information, or a few follow-ups before they decide. That’s where the Lead Center in QuickBooks Desktop Pro can help.
This handy feature gives you a place to keep track of potential customers without cluttering up your main customer list. It’s especially helpful for service-based businesses or any team with an active sales process.
What Is the Lead Center in QuickBooks Desktop?
The Lead Center is a built-in feature that lets you manage your prospects separately from your actual customers. Think of it as a waiting room for future clients. You can store their name, contact info, notes, and updates—without them appearing in your main Customer Center.
It’s a great way to stay organized if you get a lot of inquiries that don’t turn into immediate sales.
You’ll find the Lead Center under the “Customers” menu in QuickBooks Desktop.
Adding and Managing Leads: A Step-by-Step Guide
1. Open the Lead Center – Go to the Customers menu and select Lead Center.
2. Add a New Lead – Click the New Lead button. Fill in any basic details you have—like name, phone number, email, or company. You can always add more information later.
3. Keep Notes and Follow-Up Info – Use the Notes tab to jot down important details, such as where the lead came from, what they’re interested in, or the last time you spoke.
4. Convert to Customer When Ready – Once the lead agrees to work with you, just click Convert to Customer. All the info you entered transfers right into your Customer Center.
Best Practices for Using the Lead Center
Take good notes: Add reminders, preferences, or anything you learn during your conversations.
Review regularly: Check the Lead Center weekly or monthly to make sure you’re not missing opportunities.
Real-World Example
Imagine you run a home repair business. You get inquiries through your website, local flyers, or phone calls. Instead of writing everything down on sticky notes, you enter each inquiry into the Lead Center. When someone decides to move forward, one click turns that lead into a customer—and you’re ready to create an estimate or invoice right away.
Final Thoughts
If you’re juggling several prospects at once, the Lead Center can keep your sales process neat and manageable. It gives you one central place to track potential clients without mixing them up with active customers.
Consider giving it a try the next time someone expresses interest but isn’t quite ready to buy. A little organization today could mean more business tomorrow.
If your business handles projects, jobs, or client-specific work, you’ve probably asked yourself: “Am I actually making money on this?” That’s where job costing in QuickBooks Desktop comes in.
Job costing helps you track all the income and expenses tied to a specific job or project so you can clearly see what’s working — and what’s not. Whether you’re a contractor, consultant, or creative, understanding your job profitability can help you quote smarter, manage costs better, and grow your bottom line.
Let’s walk through how to set it up and use it in QuickBooks Desktop.
What is Job Costing in QuickBooks Desktop?
Job costing is the process of tracking income and expenses by individual jobs or projects instead of just lumping everything together. This gives you a clear view of what each job truly costs you — and how profitable it is.
Think of it like this: Instead of just knowing how much you spent on materials last month, you’ll know exactly how much you spent for Client A’s kitchen remodel. That kind of detail is what helps you stay in control and profitable.
How to Set Up Job Costing in QuickBooks Desktop
Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to getting started:
1. Turn On Job Costing Features
Go to Edit > Preferences > Jobs & Estimates.
Under the “Company Preferences” tab, make sure progress invoicing and estimates are turned on.
2. Create Customers and Jobs
Use the “Customers & Jobs” list (located in the Customer Center) to set up each client and add individual jobs underneath them.
Example:
Customer: Mike Balak
Job: Utility Shed
3. Assign Costs to Jobs
When you enter bills, checks, or expenses, use the “Customer:Job” column to link each cost to the correct job.
The same applies when recording employee time — always assign it to the job if it applies.
Tip: Keep job names short and clear so they’re easy to find in reports.
Tracking Costs Accurately
Once setup is complete, your job is to stay consistent:
Every expense — from materials to subcontractors — should be linked to the correct job.
If you track employee time, use the Weekly Timesheet or Time/Enter Single Activity window to assign hours directly to jobs.
Don’t forget to capture smaller costs like travel or job-site rentals. They add up!
Recording Income to the Right Job
Just like expenses, your income needs to be tied to the correct job to get accurate profitability reports.
When creating Invoices or Sales Receipts, always select the correct job in the “Customer:Job” field — not just the main customer.
If you’re billing for time or materials, make sure the billable items are linked to the job as well.
Using the correct job helps ensure that the income shows up on your job profitability reports and gives you a full picture of how each project is performing.
Tip: Double-check the job name before saving an invoice — it’s an easy step that makes a big difference.
Helpful Job Costing Reports in QuickBooks Desktop
Here are a few reports that give you powerful insights:
Job Profitability Summary – Shows profit margins for each job.
Job Profitability Detail – Breaks down each income and expense item.
Estimates vs. Actuals – Helps you compare what you planned versus what actually happened.
You can find these reports under:
Reports > Jobs, Time & Mileage
Spend a few minutes reviewing these reports regularly — they’ll tell you where things are on track and where adjustments are needed.
Why Job Costing Helps You Make Smarter Decisions
Once you’ve been using job costing for a while, you’ll start to notice trends:
Which jobs are the most profitable?
Where are you losing money?
Are your estimates accurate?
Which clients or job types should you pursue more often?
Once you start seeing patterns in your reports, it becomes easier to price future jobs, adjust how you work, and steer clear of unexpected issues.
Final Thoughts
Not assigning transactions to specific jobs means you could be missing some key details about your actual project costs. The good news? Job costing in QuickBooks Desktop is less about complexity and more about staying consistent with how you enter information.
Start with one active job and begin linking your income and expenses. Once you see the results in your reports, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.
Let’s be honest—QuickBooks Desktop is packed with reports. If you’ve ever scrolled through the Reports Center wondering which one to open, you’re not alone. But here’s the thing: sometimes, the standard reports don’t give you exactly what you’re looking for. That’s where custom reports come in.
They’re your chance to slice and dice your data in a way that means something to you and your business.
Why Custom Reports Are Worth It
Custom reports let you focus on the parts of your business that matter most—whether that’s tracking income by job, checking expenses by vendor, or comparing sales across departments.
Generic reports feel like one-size-fits-all. With custom reports, you get to shape the data to fit your business—kind of like choosing exactly what songs to play instead of listening to whatever’s on the radio. It’s your information, your way.
A Quick Example
Let’s say you want to keep a closer eye on how much you spend with each vendor over time. You can start with a prebuilt report like the Expenses by Vendor Summary, then tweak it:
Add a date range that aligns with your budget review period
Filter by a specific account (maybe just job materials)
Sort by Total to see where most of your money’s going
Tip: You can also customize the report’s name by selecting the Header/Footer tab in the Customize Report window.
Once you like the way it looks, memorize it.
Name it something clear (like “Monthly Vendor Spend—Job Materials”), and it’ll be right there for next time. There’s no need to start from scratch.
Prefer to Create a Report from Scratch?
In QuickBooks Desktop, go to:
Reports in the top menu
Choose Custom Reports
Select Transaction Detail or Summary to begin
You can filter, sort, group, and format from there to your heart’s content.
One Last Tip
Once you’ve built a custom report that works, don’t keep it to yourself. Share it with your team or your bookkeeper so everyone’s on the same page. You can also export it to Excel if you like working with spreadsheets outside of QuickBooks.
Final Thought
Custom reports are one of the most underrated tools in QuickBooks Desktop. They help you stop guessing and start seeing the whole picture.
Do you have a favorite report you always customize? Let me know—I’d love to hear what’s working for you.
Class tracking in QuickBooks Desktop allows users to track financial information by business segments (locations, departments, programs, events, etc.). It also allows you to keep your chart of accounts simplified as you don’t need to duplicate elements of your chart of accounts to track multiple business segments.
To begin using the class tracking feature, you’ll first need to turn the feature on.
Turning on Class Tracking
Click on the Edit menu at the top of the task bar. Select Preferences from the dropdown menu. In the Preferences window, choose Accounting from the list on the left, then select the Company Preferences tab at the top. Check the box next to Use class tracking for transactions.
If you’d like QuickBooks to remind you to assign a class every time you enter a transaction, also check Prompt to assign classes. We highly recommend turning this feature on.
Create the Class List
Go to the Lists menu at the top of the task bar and select Class List. In the new window, click on the Class button (usually in the lower left corner) and select New. Give your class a name. For example, if you’re tracking type of business, you might name your classes “New Construction,” “Remodel,” or “Overhead” Click OK to save.
Tip:The Subclass of provides an option to create a grouping of classes. This gives you the ability to organize your class data in greater detail as keeping the data easier to view when you run the class report. You will also have the ability to filter classes when running reports.
Assign Classes to Transactions
When you enter a transaction (like a bill, invoice, or check), you’ll see a field labeled Class. Select the appropriate class from the dropdown menu. You can also add a new class by typing in a new one or selecting <Add New> from the dropdown menu. You can also split the transaction to multiple classes within one transaction.
Class Reports
Once you start using classes, you can run reports to see how each class is doing. Go to the Reports menu, select Company & Financial, and then choose Profit & Loss by Class. The report provides a clear breakdown of income and expenses for each class, making it easier to review and use the information to make informed decisions.
Tip: Pay attention to the Unclassified column as these are transactions that have not been assigned to a class. Double click on the total for any account that shows a balance to see if anything needs to be assigned to a class. If you have activity that doesn’t require a class, we suggest setting up a generic class such as N/A so you don’t continue to review activity you have previously double-checked.
If you are consistent in using the class tracking feature, you’ll have a clearer picture of how different areas of your business are performing and can make decisions in a timelier manner.
