Tracking item quantities and values

I'm wondering if there is a way to track the quantity of items in a category or department over a history of time, including the total value of those categories or departments at that specific time. For example, I tried a report on Reports > Items > Value List and was able to get extended quantities and extended cost for the current time, but I am unable to change the time in the filter. I have also tried Reports > Items > Item Movement History and changed the range to Year to Date. This includes the change in quantity, but not the change in extended cost. It seems like there should be a way to do this, as the data is saved in the database.