It was snowing outside when the Data Detective received a call from the local 'widget-maker' who reported that "even though his Item List displays one item with Quantities on Hand, the Inventory Adjustment windows shows that item as having Zero Quantity on Hand." The widget-maker is absolutely certain that the quantity in the Item list is correct because he just added the item recently by purchasing stock directly from the supplier. The widget-maker just can't understand how the two QuickBooks windows can possibly be displaying different quantities.
Upon arrival, the first thing our old Sleuth does is make a backup copy of the widget-maker’s company (data) file. He then proceeds to look at the item history using a QuickReport created from the Item list. Immediately our Data Detective identifies the culprit, it seems that this item with the missing quantities was ‘newly added’ from the Write Check window; the item was the lone item posted on the check payable to the supplier, and the quantity received was shown on the check stub along with the appropriate cost. Our Sleuth knows that this is a little ‘glitch’ in the way things sometimes work inside QuickBooks, and even though the quantities for the item are correct in the Item list, they do not appear in the Adjust Quantity/Value on Hand fields of the Inventory adjustment window. But the Data Detective also knows that you can trick QuickBooks into correcting the glitch if you simply follow a little fix, so he goes about the steps below to resolve the issue.
- Resort the Item list by opening the list. At the bottom of the list check the box that to show inactives; then click on the Items menu at the bottom of the list and select the option for Flat View, now select the option to Re-sort list. Close the menu, then re-open it, and select the option to Re-sort list a 2nd time. Now close the item list.
- Open the Write Checks window, and fill in the Payee with any Vendor, leave the amount blank. Don’t worry we will delete this dummy check later in our repair.
- Now proceed to the Items tab of the check, from the Items drop-down, select the option to 'Add New' (in order to add a new item).
- Create a new ‘fictional’ item called “Inventory Test Part”
- Use a Quantity of 1 for this new fictional item
- Use a Value of $1.00
- Click ‘Recalculate’, QuickBooks should post $1.00 to the check amount.
- Save the Check (don’t worry we will delete this check at the end of our fix).
- Open the Item List to make sure the Quantity is 1 for the new “Inventory Test Part”
- Now re-sort the Item list using the same procedures in Step 1 above.
- Open the Adjust Quantity/Value on Hand window and all the Inventory Parts including both the previous ‘missing quantities’ part as well as the “Inventory Test Part” should now display their correct quantities.
- Open the “Dummy check” you created earlier for Inventory Test Item, select the option to Delete Check from the Edit menu.
- Open the Item List, locate the Inventory Test Item, and from the Item menu at the bottom of the list, select the option to Delete the Inventory Test Item. You must first have deleted the ‘Dummy check’ in order to delete the item.
- Now repeat the same Item list re-sort procedures outlined in Step 1 above.
After a little checking of lists and reports, the Data Detective assures the widget-maker that his Item list is ‘normalized’ and all quantities are now being displayed correctly throughout QuickBooks, including on reports.
On the way back to his flat, our Sleuth stops for a hot chocolate at a nearby bakery; of course he could not resist the warm sticky pecan rolls in the baker’s case. As he begins to butter his pecan delight he he quibbles to himself... "hum, what a simple case to resolve first thing on a snowy day, I suspect I could almost perform those steps blind-folded”. You see our old Sleuth knows when you understand the why and how of QuickBooks, for almost all small problems, the fix is “Elementary My Dear Watson.”