# What Does Advanced Inventory Add in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, and How Do You Turn It On?

> Advanced Inventory adds sites, bins, serial or lot numbers, FIFO and barcodes to QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Platinum and Diamond. How to turn it on.

- URL: https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/advanced-inventory-quickbooks-enterprise/
- Section: QuickBooks Desktop Guides, Inventory
- Applies to: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
- Steps checked against: Intuit's QuickBooks Desktop help articles, updated August 2026
- Updated: 2026-10-18

**Short answer:** Advanced Inventory adds warehouse sites, bins, serial or lot numbers, FIFO costing, barcodes and Site Operations to QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, and you turn it on in Items & Inventory preferences. The full path is Edit > Preferences > Items & Inventory > Company Preferences > Advanced Inventory Settings. Site Operations handles sales order picking. Intuit includes Advanced Inventory in the Enterprise Platinum and Diamond subscriptions.

## Before you start

- You need QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Platinum or Diamond. Intuit's pricing page lists Advanced Inventory for those two, not Gold.
- Inventory has to be on: Edit > Preferences > Items & Inventory > Company Preferences, then Inventory and purchase orders are active.
- Switch to single-user mode (File > Switch to Single-user Mode) before you turn on multiple sites.
- Make a backup first. Turning on FIFO recalculates inventory transactions from the start date you pick.
- Talk to your accountant before you change the costing method.

For what each subscription costs, see [QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise pricing](https://logistify.ai/compare/quickbooks-desktop-enterprise-pricing/).

## What Advanced Inventory adds

| Feature | What it does | Where you turn it on |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Multiple inventory sites | Tracks stock by warehouse, truck or other location, with transfers between them | Multiple Inventory Locations: Multiple Inventory Sites is enabled |
| Bin locations | Tracks rows, shelves or bins inside a site | Track Bin Locations within Inventory Sites |
| Serial or lot numbers | Tracks unique serial numbers or lots on purchases and sales; you pick one | Serial/Lot Numbers tab |
| FIFO costing | Values stock first in, first out instead of average cost | FIFO tab: Use FIFO starting on |
| Barcodes | Scans items onto sales orders, invoices, purchase orders, bills and transfers | Barcodes tab: Enable Barcode |
| Site Operations | Sends picklists from sales orders to warehouse pickers and mobile scanners | Site Operations tab |
| Landed cost | Adds freight, duties and insurance to the cost of inventory | Landed Cost tab |

*All of these live under Edit > Preferences > Items & Inventory > Company Preferences > Advanced Inventory Settings.*

## Step 1: Turn on Advanced Inventory

1. Go to File > Switch to Single-user Mode.
2. Go to Edit > Preferences.
3. Select Items & Inventory, then the Company Preferences tab.
4. Make sure Inventory and purchase orders are active is selected.
5. Select Advanced Inventory Settings.
6. Turn on the features you need on each tab, then select OK in both windows.

If Advanced Inventory Settings is grayed out after you bought it, QuickBooks hasn't picked up your license. Go to Help > Manage My License > Sync License Data Online, then close and reopen QuickBooks.

## Step 2: Switch from average cost to FIFO (optional)

QuickBooks Desktop values inventory at average cost unless you turn on FIFO. Under FIFO, each sale is costed from the oldest stock you received.

1. In Advanced Inventory Settings, open the FIFO tab.
2. Select Use FIFO starting on and enter the start date.
3. Select OK, then OK again to close Preferences.

Switching is not a small change. QuickBooks recalculates every inventory transaction from the start date. That changes inventory valuation reports, the Balance Sheet, and cost of goods sold on the Profit and Loss. Pick the date with your accountant, and avoid dates inside a period you have already reported. To go back, clear Use FIFO starting on and QuickBooks returns to average cost.

## Step 3: Turn on serial or lot numbers (optional)

1. In Advanced Inventory Settings, open Serial/Lot Numbers. It may be labeled Serial/Lot Number & Expiration Dates.
2. Select Activate Lot or Serial Numbers, then choose Serial Numbers or Lot Numbers. You can only use one.
3. Under Show serial or lot number in, pick the transactions that should show the field.
4. To require a number, select Make serial or lot number mandatory for the selected transactions.
5. Select OK.

Assign numbers to stock you already have with an adjustment: choose Serial Number or Lot Number as the Adjustment Type. See [How to adjust inventory quantity and value](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/adjust-inventory-quantity-value/). Intuit lists expiration dates for Enterprise Platinum and Diamond, versions 2023 and 2024. They come with an Inventory Expiration Status report under Reports > Inventory.

## Step 4: Turn on barcodes (optional)

1. In Advanced Inventory Settings, open the Barcodes tab.
2. Select Enable Barcode, then Open Barcode Wizard.
3. Choose the item field to use as the barcode. Pick one that is unique for every item, such as Item Name or Part Number.
4. Choose the item types that need barcodes, then select Next and Finish.

A USB scanner works if it reads EAN-13 and Code-128 barcodes and ends each scan with a single carriage return. Serial port scanners don't work. The warehouse mobile app and the Sales Order Fulfillment Worksheet need a different type of scanner.

## Step 5: Set up sites and bins

Multiple sites need the most setup: a site list, opening transfers, and site reorder points. We walk through it in [How to track inventory by site](https://logistify.ai/guides/quickbooks-desktop/track-inventory-by-site/).

## Turning features off later

- You can turn off one feature and keep the rest. To turn off Advanced Inventory completely, turn off every feature you use.
- Turning off multiple sites keeps the site data but hides it, and new transactions no longer get a site.
- If you turn sites back on, you assign a temporary site to everything entered in between. Then you transfer that stock to the real sites.
- Turning off barcodes keeps the barcodes in the file. They come back if you turn the feature on again.

## Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you

- Advanced Inventory tracks stock only. It doesn't split income and expenses by location, so you still need class tracking for that.
- With mandatory serial or lot numbers, each transaction type you selected needs one before it saves.
- Changing the costing method restates inventory and cost of goods sold from the start date.
- Picklists and cycle counts still need people in the warehouse to pick, scan and count.
- Every site, bin and serial number has to be right on each transaction, or the reports are wrong.

If you are weighing a move off Desktop, check how the new system handles costing, sites and lot tracking first. We cover the trade-offs in [QuickBooks Desktop vs QuickBooks Online for manufacturers and distributors](https://logistify.ai/compare/quickbooks-desktop-vs-quickbooks-online-manufacturers-distributors/), and in [our guide to the QuickBooks Desktop discontinuation](https://logistify.ai/blog/quickbooks-desktop-discontinuation-manufacturers-distributors/).

## How Logistify helps around Advanced Inventory

Logistify doesn't configure Advanced Inventory. Site Operations and picklists start from sales orders. The [Sales Order Service](https://logistify.ai/agents/sales-order/) enters orders from email, PDF, WhatsApp, SMS, voicemail or paper into QuickBooks Desktop as sales orders. A person reviews the exceptions. The [Procurement Service](https://logistify.ai/agents/procurement/) follows up with suppliers on open purchase orders and captures confirmed dates and quantities.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Which QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise subscription includes Advanced Inventory?

Platinum and Diamond. Intuit's Enterprise pricing page doesn't list it for Gold.

### Can I track serial numbers and lot numbers at the same time?

No. QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise asks you to choose serial numbers or lot numbers, not both.

### Does switching to FIFO change my past reports?

Yes, from the start date you choose. QuickBooks recalculates inventory transactions from that date, which changes inventory valuation, the Balance Sheet and cost of goods sold.

### Why is Advanced Inventory Settings grayed out?

If you've bought Advanced Inventory, QuickBooks may not have picked up your license. Go to Help > Manage My License > Sync License Data Online, then restart QuickBooks.

## Sources

- [Intuit: Turn on Advanced Inventory](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/feature-preferences/turn-advanced-inventory/L6nkAoZzK_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Set up advanced inventory in QuickBooks Enterprise](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/feature-preferences/set-advanced-inventory/L2IZIdPVM_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: FIFO Options in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/product-preferences/fifo-options-quickbooks-desktop-enterprise/L3kDpI5Aj_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Use Serial or Lot Numbers and Expiration Date](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/product-preferences/use-serial-lot-numbers/L7pICcele_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Set up and use barcode scanning in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/barcode-scanner/set-use-barcode-scanning-quickbooks-desktop/L16Pqrtov_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Turn off Advanced Inventory in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/inventory-management/turn-advanced-inventory-quickbooks-desktop/L7GEWZXxD_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: Setup and use the Warehouse Manager in QuickBooks Desktop mobile](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/install-products/setup-use-warehouse-manager-quickbooks-desktop/L4bHcI3mp_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: How to set up landed cost in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/set-inventory-lists/set-landed-cost-quickbooks-enterprise-services/L64AiQG6p_US_en_US)
- [Intuit: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise pricing](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/desktop/enterprise/pricing/)
- [Intuit: Desktop Enterprise Support Directory](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/priority-circle/enterprise-support-directory/)
- [Intuit: How to manage multiple inventory locations with Advanced Inventory](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/accountant-advice/how-to-manage-multiple-inventory-locations-with-advanced-inventory/)