V8 - Class and department tracking

QuickBooks class and location (department) tracking helps you in financial decision making and tracking with regards to budgets, as well areas of profit and loss. 

If you have enabled class and/or location tracking in QuickBooks Online, SOS Inventory will automatically retrieve and enable them in SOS. 

Enabling class and location (department) tracking in QuickBooks Online

Although class and department (in QuickBooks, called location) tracking must be enabled in QuickBooks Online, classes and departments can be managed in SOS Inventory. They also sync to QuickBooks Online.

To set up class and/or location tracking in QuickBooks:
 

1. Go to Gear > Account and settings > Advanced.
2. Under Categories, enable Track classes and/or Track locations.
   1. For Track classes: in the Assign classes dropdown, choose One to each row in transaction.
   2. For Track locations: Choose the desired option under the Location label. (Regardless of the label chosen, in SOS Inventory, it will always be called Department.)
       

QuickBooks Online plan limits on number of classes and locations (departments)

QuickBooks now enforces plan limits on the number of departments and classes that can be created.

• Advanced plan: Unlimited
• Plus plan: A combined total of up to 40 departments and classes
• Essentials/Simple Start plan: None

For many years, QuickBooks Online allowed external systems like SOS Inventory to sync and add new departments and classes even beyond these limits. This has now ended.

• If you are already over the limit: Your existing departments and classes will continue to work with transactions, but you will no longer be able to add new ones.
• If you are close to the limit: You may soon be unable to add more.

New departments or classes can be added only if your QuickBooks Online subscription allows it. If you have questions about how QuickBooks Online's plan limits impact your business's use of classes and departments in SOS Inventory, please contact Support.
 

Adding and using classes

The Classes list is the home for all classes in SOS Inventory. To add a class, go to the Classes list (Sync menu > Classes), then select Add new. Enter a name for the class and then save. Use the Actions menu to edit or delete classes.

Once a class has been created, it is available for use on transactions. For a line item, use the dropdown in the Class column to choose the desired class. SOS will send the transaction to QuickBooks Online with the class information, so that it shows properly in QuickBooks Online.

If you plan to use sub-classes, they need to be created in QuickBooks Online. To add a sub-class:
 

1. Go to the Classes list in QuickBooks (Gear > All lists).
2. On the All lists page, select Classes.
3. On the Class list, select New.
4. Enter the name, check the Is sub-class option, then select the parent class.

Once a sub-class has been created in QuickBooks, it is available for use on transactions in SOS Inventory. For a line item, use the dropdown in the Class column to choose the desired sub-class. Sub-classes use the format master class:sub-class.

Adding and using departments

Department tracking in QuickBooks Online can be used to track different divisions, properties, or other sub-units of your business.

The Departments list houses all departments in SOS Inventory. To add a department, go to the Departments list (Sync menu > Departments), then select Add New. Enter a name for the department and then save. Use the Actions menu to edit or delete departments.

Once created, a department is available for use on transactions. Choose the desired department from the Department field dropdown. SOS will send the transaction to QuickBooks Online with the department information.

Using departments in conjunction with auto-ship options

SOS Inventory allows departments to be used in conjunction with the auto-ship options in the Sales Settings to automate shipping from specific locations. Build your locations (departments) list in QuickBooks Online to match the locations exactly in the SOS locations list. Go to Sales settings (Settings menu> Sales settings > General) and enable Auto-ship invoices and Auto-ship sales receipts. Simply create your invoices and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online, ensuring they have the appropriate location (department) listed on the transaction. Save the transaction and sync to SOS automatically or manually.

Once the transaction is received, the auto-ship creates the shipment for the respective transaction. As long as the physical location in SOS matches the department listed on the transaction, it will pull the stock from that location automatically.