[themisfitkitten]

I work for a small electrical engineering/automation company that also works with computers/IT, both for commercial and residential clients. We don't really currently have a physical inventory for either division, as parts are usually ordered on a per-project basis.

For many clients, we use the same parts all the time, to the point that we actually created a checklist for our guys to use in the field. They simply note the number of, say, 1/2" x 1/4" Non-Metallic Elbow Fittings that they used, then I use the same checklist to TYPE (or copy/paste) the necessary item description(s) on EVERY invoice, and also refer to our vendor bills to check the price to mark up. Even though we do sometimes have a master Bill of Materials for something, prices can change drastically if we use a different vendor.

I've read that QB isn't appropriate to use for an actual inventory, which is okay... I just don't want to have to keep typing evvvverrrrryyyything. Ideally, I'd like to be able to pull up a Bill of Materials invoice for a client and change qty numbers from zeros to ones, then have the zero qty items disappear. Also, I'd prefer to have prices populate correctly. Right now I have to calculate item cost+markup to get the charge to the client.

I started adding these things into the QB Item List, then stopped because all that seemed to do was put a lot of messy entries into the Item list... Previously, I had memorized an invoice with all the items listed but I got away from that because things kept changing for that client's BOM; it was essentially a list of all the items at zero qty and I'd have to go through and eliminate the ones I didn't need. I may go back to this solution but it would be enormously helpful if someone had a better/easier idea.

I'm beyond my wits' end here. I never used QB prior to starting at this job and everything I've learned I've gotten maybe a half-correct piece of info from my boss, then had to research ways to make things work properly/efficiently. I still feel like I have no clue what I'm doing on a daily basis and I'm simply ready to quit and let them deal with their mess. I feel stuck because it always feels like I am doing everything completely bass-ackwards and pulling together scattered pieces of info instead of doing things right/efficiently. :(