How to Use the QuickBooks Desktop Mobile App (Warehouse Manager) for Picking, Receiving and Counts

Before you start

• You need QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise with Advanced Inventory. Intuit says Warehouse Manager works with Enterprise Advanced Inventory, which Enterprise users can buy or subscribe to.
• You need a device: a supported mobile barcode scanner, or an Android phone or other Android device.
• Intuit's articles give different Android minimums. The Warehouse Manager article says Android devices need version 4.4 or later. The QuickBooks Desktop 2024 system requirements list only scanner models, each on Android 6.0 and above, and don't mention phones.
• The two articles also list different scanner models. The Warehouse Manager article includes some the manufacturer discontinued that Intuit still supports. We suggest checking your device against both before you buy.
• An Android phone can receive picklists and send them back, but it can't scan barcodes.
• The scanner needs Wi-Fi and an internet connection to set up and use. Intuit's fixes for connection errors start with checking the internet on both the device and the computer.
• A USB scanner plugged into your computer isn't enough. Intuit's barcode article says the Warehouse Manager app and the Sales Order Fulfillment Worksheet need a different type of scanner.
• Turn on the worksheets you'll use on the Site Operations tab: the Sales Order Fulfillment Worksheet, the Purchase Order Management Worksheet, or both.

For what Advanced Inventory includes and costs, see What Advanced Inventory adds in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise and QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise pricing.

Which QuickBooks Desktop mobile app is this?

Intuit uses the name QuickBooks Desktop mobile app in two places. Its warehouse articles use it for Warehouse Manager, also called the QuickBooks Desktop Warehouse App, on supported mobile barcode scanners and Android devices. Intuit's bill upload article uses it for QuickBooks Desktop iOS and Android apps. There you tap Snap Bill to photograph a bill and upload it, then review and match it in QuickBooks Desktop.

The bill upload article doesn't mention picking, receiving or counts. Intuit's articles don't say whether the Android bill upload app and Warehouse Manager are the same app. This guide covers only Warehouse Manager.

What the app does

Step 1: Install the app

On a supported mobile barcode scanner

1. 1Connect the scanner to the internet and turn on Wi-Fi.
2. 2Set up the scanner using its own instructions, charge it fully, then turn it on.
3. 3Download and install the app's Android Application Package (APK) on the scanner.
4. 4If you see We're sorry, this file format is not supported, select Download.
5. 5Select the download complete notification to start the install. If you see Install Blocked, select Settings on the message.
6. 6Open QuickBooks Desktop Warehouse App.

On an Android phone (version 4.4 or later, per the Warehouse Manager article)

1. 1Open the app's store page, signed in with the same account the phone uses for its app store.
2. 2Select Install.
3. 3Choose the device to install it on. The app downloads and installs shortly.

Step 2: Link the device and add warehouse users

You link the device on the Site Operations tab with a passcode QuickBooks gives you, and each app user is a vendor with Vendor Type set to Warehouse user. The full steps, including the role permission that option needs, are in How to set up and use barcode scanning.

If the file has no warehouse users, or no sales orders sent for picking, the app may show There are no users assigned to this company file.

Step 3: Pick sales orders on the app

Picklists are created in QuickBooks, as covered in How to use the Sales Order Fulfillment Worksheet. On the device:

1. 1Open the app and select your name. Your picklists are under My Picklist, which you can also reach from the dashboard.
2. 2If no picklist shows, select the Sync icon at the top.
3. 3To change the order, select the SORT BY icon (two arrows) and sort by Bin, Items or Pick Status.
4. 4Scan an item's barcode to open its detail screen. Set the quantity by typing it, tapping the plus and minus icons, or scanning each piece.
5. 5For serial-numbered items, select Enter serial numbers on the item's detail page, then type or scan them. To remove one, select View List, then the Remove icon and Confirm.
6. 6Select Update to send your progress back to QuickBooks, or Complete when the pick is done.

A figure like 2/4 next to an item means two picked of four assigned. If you select Complete with items short, the Quantity Mismatch screen lists them. Select Go back to keep picking, or Continue to finish with a partial pick. In QuickBooks, an orange arrow on the Pick tab of the Sales Order Fulfillment Worksheet flags an update from the device. The manager then opens the picklist and selects Update Sales Order.

Damaged, missing or short items

• Damaged: on the item's detail screen, tap the note icon at the top right, choose Damaged, and add a note if needed.
• Not available: open the item's card and select Item not available. The note starts as Out of Stock, and you can change it.
• Short: if you pick fewer than assigned, the app asks you to pick more. Select No to mark the item partially picked. You can also choose Insufficient in the note drop-down, then save the note.
• From another bin: in Add a note, select Picked from another bin and note the bin and quantity.

Step 4: Receive purchase orders on the app

Receiving starts in QuickBooks. On the Purchase Orders tab of Inventory > Purchase Order Management Worksheet, select the purchase order and choose Send to Device. When the receiving agent sends the results back, the PO Progress tab shows what was received and any notes. You create the item receipt or bill from there. Intuit's articles don't describe the receiving screens in the app, and the worksheet isn't available once Enhanced Inventory Receiving is on. See How to use the Purchase Order Management Worksheet.

Step 5: Run a cycle count on the app

1. 1In QuickBooks, create the count at Inventory > Cycle Count and select Send to device.
2. 2On the device, open the app and select your name.
3. 3Select Cycle Count, then the counting task to work on.
4. 4Scan each item, or tap the item's name and enter the quantity counted.
5. 5Select Finish to send the counts back to the Cycle Count page in QuickBooks. Intuit's cycle count article calls this step Send to QuickBooks.
6. 6Refresh the dashboard in QuickBooks if the counts don't show yet.

An item kept in several bins becomes one count line per bin. Posting the differences is covered in How to run cycle counts in Advanced Inventory. How bins are tracked is in How to use bin locations in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise.

Switch users, check the version and update

• Switch user: on the main picklist screen, select the navigation drawer icon at the top left, then Switch User. This is how a shared scanner moves between people.
• Check the version: long-press the app icon and drag it to App info. The version shows next to the app name. You can also find the app in the device's Settings app list.
• Update: Intuit says the app tells you when an update is available.

Common errors and fixes

Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you

• The app only works on what's sent to it. Someone builds each picklist, sends each purchase order and creates each count in QuickBooks.
• Android phones can't scan, so phone users type every quantity.
• Results come back to QuickBooks, but someone still selects Update Sales Order, creates item receipts or bills, and posts count adjustments.
• Devices, passcodes, Wi-Fi and warehouse users all need looking after.
• Intuit recommends marking picked or packed statuses that sit for a long time as Complete in the Sales Order Fulfillment Worksheet, which someone does by hand.