How to Track Inventory by Site (Warehouse) in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

Before you start

• You need Advanced Inventory, which Intuit includes in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Platinum and Diamond.
• Turning on sites needs single-user mode, so pick a time when nobody else is in the file.
• Have a current count of each item at each site. You'll need it to move opening stock.
• Use one item per product. If you kept a separate item for each warehouse, or used classes for location, clean that up first (see below).

For the other Advanced Inventory features, see What Advanced Inventory adds in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise.

Step 1: Turn on multiple inventory sites

1. 1Go to File > Switch to Single-user Mode.
2. 2Go to Edit > Preferences, then Items & Inventory and the Company Preferences tab.
3. 3Make sure Inventory and purchase orders are active is selected.
4. 4Select Advanced Inventory Settings, then select Multiple Inventory Sites is enabled.
5. 5QuickBooks asks for a starting site. Choose one and select Continue. All your current stock is placed there for now.
6. 6On the same tab, you can turn on warnings for duplicate transfer numbers and for transactions that would make stock negative.
7. 7If you'll track rows, shelves or bins, select Track Bin Locations within Inventory Sites.
8. 8Select OK.

Turning on bin tracking puts every item in an unassigned location until you create bins and transfer stock into them.

Step 2: Set up your sites

1. 1Go to Lists > Inventory Site List.
2. 2Select Inventory Site, then New.
3. 3Enter the site name and details. Set up a site for each place you hold stock, such as a warehouse, a truck or a staging area.
4. 4Repeat for every site.
5. 5For bins, add them in the same list and select is a bin within site, then choose the site.

Step 3: Move opening stock to each site

1. 1Go to Inventory > Transfer Inventory.
2. 2Enter the Date and a Reference No. Numbers like setup1, setup2 make these easy to find later.
3. 3In Transfer from, choose the starting site. In to, choose the real site.
4. 4Add items in the Item column, or select Find & Select Items, check the items and select Add Selected Items.
5. 5Enter each item's count for that site in QTY TO TRANSFER.
6. 6Add a memo such as Opening stock, then select Save & New.
7. 7Repeat for each site. Select Save & Close after the last one.

To reuse a transfer, open Transfer Inventory, select Previous until you find it, then choose Edit > Duplicate Inventory Transfer.

Step 4: Transfer stock between sites

1. 1Go to Inventory > Transfer Inventory.
2. 2Fill in Date, Reference No., Class, Transfer from and to.
3. 3To move stock between bins in one site, choose that site in both fields and set the bins on each line.
4. 4Add the items and the quantity to move.
5. 5Enter the reason in Memo, then select Save & Close.

What changes on your forms and reports

• Purchase orders: your sites appear as Ship To addresses. Each purchase order is for one site.
• Bills, checks and credit card charges: a Site column appears on the Items tab.
• Sales orders, invoices and sales receipts: a Site column appears, so each line ships from its own site.
• Assemblies: an Inventory Site Info button sets quantity and build points by site. Build Assemblies gets an Assembly Inventory Site field, and components can come from different sites.
• New items: the Inventory Site Info button lets you enter quantity on hand at each site.
• Reports > Inventory: Quantity on Hand by Site, Inventory Valuation Summary by Site, Inventory Stock Status by Site, Pending Builds by Site and Items by Bin Location.
• Reports > Sales > Inventory Sales by Site, and Reports > List > Inventory Site Listing.

Each site can have its own reorder point. See How to set reorder points.

If you tracked sites another way before

• Separate items per warehouse, such as WH1 Widget and WH2 Widget: keep one item. Adjust the others to zero and add their stock to the one you keep, using a Quantity and Total Value adjustment so the net value is zero.
• Then make the extra items inactive and remove the site from the kept item's name. Merging the extras instead loses their site history.
• Classes used as locations: stop using classes for stock. Advanced Inventory tracks stock but doesn't split income and expenses, so keep classes for that.
• Another system tracked the sites: run its report of stock by site, then use those numbers in Step 3.
• If you turn sites off later, QuickBooks keeps the site data but hides it. Turning them back on means moving everything entered in between off a temporary site.

The adjustment steps are in How to adjust inventory quantity and value.

Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you

• Every receipt, sale and transfer needs the right site. A wrong site shows stock where it isn't.
• Stock that moves physically stays at the old site in QuickBooks until someone enters the transfer.
• Site reorder points don't add up to the item's overall reorder point, so both need upkeep.
• Enterprise has no item limit, but every item at every site and bin is another number to keep right.
• Cycle counts help, but QuickBooks splits them into batches of 200 lines, and someone still has to count each one.
• Income and expenses by location still need class tracking.

How Logistify helps across sites

Logistify doesn't move stock between sites. The Sales Order Service enters customer orders from email, PDF, WhatsApp, SMS, voicemail or paper into QuickBooks Desktop as sales orders. A person reviews the exceptions. The Procurement Service follows up with suppliers on open purchase orders and captures confirmed dates and quantities.