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Beginning inventory problem

Can someone explain QB Pro 2006 somewhat cryptic handling of adjusting beginning inventory quantity. The register window opens up with a difference column. I had initially entered 12 items in error and needed to change it to 2, so I entered -10 in the difference column. That should have given me 2 in stock. Instead, when I saved the transaction it came up with minus 10 in stock. Through trial and error I finally discovered that the difference column is the actual amount in stock, not the difference. Why is it called a difference? Or is there a better way to correct a beginning inventory error. It can't be done with the inventory adjust because then it needs an account to charge for the adjustment, and a beginning error isn't charged to an expense or income. It's simply a mistake being corrected. A shortage over overage never existed and no inventory was ever missing.

Bob

Reply to
RobertM
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Typo, should have read "A shortage OR overage never existed"

Bob

Reply to
RobertM

It's not clear what you did, but I think you opened the Inventory Asset Register and double-clicked an entry. This doesn't open the register window - which is ALREADY open; it opens the transaction. A Beginning Inventory transaction **IS** an Inventory Adjustment transaction, the "Difference" column is your opening inventory, the difference between zero and your entry - which is why it's called "difference". You did not reduce your quantity by 10, you changed your beginning quantity from +12 to -10 - which is exactly what QuickBooks recorded. You should have changed your quantity from +12 to +2. Try again.

Reply to
!-!

Cryptic my ass. The columns are self explanatory.

The register window opens up with a

Reply to
Allan Martin

No need to try again. As I indicated in my post, I discovered through trial and error that the "difference" is actually the beginning inventory. QB help did not explain that the difference is from zero instead of from where I was the previous time. Your answer tells me what the programmers were thinking. QB seems to assume no one will ever make a mistake and that inventory will never have to be adjusted, or else the programmers simply missed the mark when they designed the help files becausde this issue is not addressed (or hidden so well that the average person can't find it). It is not at all clear how to adjust inventory when an error is made. As to which window was open, who knows? I clicked on accounts > inventory and some sort of register appeared. This is probably as good as it gets.

Bob

Reply to
RobertM

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