Ability Consignment Software - FAQ

Questions:

Isn’t there a workaround for handling consignment in QuickBooks that doesn’t require an add-on?

Why do I need an add-on for consignment with QuickBooks Point of Sale?

How do my suppliers get paid from QuickBooks when I sell consigned items in QuickBooks Point of Sale?

Since many of the items my suppliers consign are one time only items, can I delete them after they are sold?

Why is the consignment add-on sold on an annual subscription basis?

Will your add-on work with future versions of QuickBooks Point of Sale?

Are there other ways to process consignment items in QuickBooks Point of Sale?

Answers:

Isn’t there a workaround for handling consignment in QuickBooks that doesn’t require an add-on?

Previously, the only way to handle consignment items within QuickBooks® Point of Sale was through workarounds that were inefficient, confusing, labor intensive and often resulted in inaccurate bookkeeping. Now there is a better solution. Handling consignments with the Ability Consignment Solution not only handles the transactions necessary to properly reimburse vendors and avoids inaccurate bookkeeping, but provides the reporting that you need to provide for consignment vendors to keep them informed and happy.

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Why do I need an add-on for consignment with QuickBooks Point of Sale?

Consigned inventory is not, and normally should not be reflected in your inventory account. Also, there is no obligation to pay for sold consigned inventory until it is sold to the purchaser. This normally presents a problem for QuickBooks® and QuickBooks® Point of Sale since it reflects normal handling of inventory items and payable obligations. The Ability Consignment Solution allows you to put the inventory into QuickBooks® Point of Sale, not only designating that it is a consignment item, but indicating the payment to be made to the vendor when the item is sold. You no longer have to put consignment items into a separate department(s) from owned inventory.

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How do my suppliers get paid from QuickBooks when I sell consigned items in QuickBooks Point of Sale?

Moving sold inventory items into appropriately created bills to pay for consigned vendors is easy. You simply click on the icon to start the Ability Consignment Solution and select the sales period that you want to process³. Ability Consignment then scans the QuickBooks® Point of Sale data for the period and creates Bills to Pay in QuickBooks® Financial for sold consigned items. (Additionally, it creates Vendor Credits for returned items.) You can then print detailed reports for the vendors that can be included when you pay your bill to those vendors. And, since it is in Bills to Pay, you can select to pay these bills with all of the normal options available to you within QuickBooks®.

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Since many of the items my suppliers consign are one time only items, can I delete them after they are sold?

Inventory items may not be deleted before processing payments to those suppliers for those items has been completed. Payments are calculated on data in the inventory record at the time of processing. After you have completely processed payment to your suppliers for those items you can delete those items from your inventory. After deletion, those items can still be found on your invoice histories, but you will not be able to run consignment reports on those items.

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Why is the consignment add-on sold on an annual subscription basis?

By providing the add-on on a subscription basis we are able to keep your software updated with any changes or improvements that we make to your version and to supply you with Ability Consignment Software support. It also allows us to provide you the software you need to start or grow your business at a lower entry level price.

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Will your add-on work with future versions of QuickBooks Point of Sale?

We cannot predict what changes might be made in future versions of QuickBooks Point of Sale and therefore cannot guarantee that our add-on will work with future versions. However, we do not expect any changes that will affect our add on significantly since we use the software tools provided by Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks Point of Sale to work with key portions of data in QuickBooks and QuickBooks Point of Sale that are unlikely to change. We test new versions of QuickBooks with our add-ons as soon as they become available and we encourage you to call us, or check our website with any concerns before loading a new version.

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Are there other ways to process consignment items in QuickBooks Point of Sale?

We are glad to provide this information so that you can compare it to the ease of use of our consignment add on.

The following is an excerpt from the QuickBooks Point of Sale support knowledge base that details the steps necessary to handle the sale of consignment items. Note that this procedure does not even include all of the detail work that you would have to do to determine what consignment items were sold. “To process consignment transactions:

1. When the seller brings the item in for sale on consignment, create the seller as a Vendor in Point of Sale and create the item as an inventory item with a zero quantity and a zero cost. Use the seller in the Vendor Name field on the item.
2. Create a new purchase order and place the consignment item on it - use the seller for the Vendor field. Enter the quantity of this item and use the amount which will go to the seller upon completion of the sale as the cost.
3. Save the purchase order.
4. When the consignment item is purchased, follow this procedure:
   1. Create a new receiving voucher, choosing the purchase order that was created in step two.
   2. Enter the quantity that is being sold and the cost. If the amount the seller will receive is different than that originally placed on the purchase Order it will need to be changed on this voucher in the cost column.
   3. Enter today's date in the Bill Date field, the Invoice Due field and enter a number in the Invoice/Ref # field - this number can be fabricated as it is only needed to cause a bill to be created in QuickBooks.
   4. Record the voucher.
   5. Create a receipt to sell the item and accept payment in a normal fashion.
5. When Point of Sale updates to QuickBooks, a bill will be created showing the original seller as the vendor. This bill may be paid as needed.

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Additional Information:

¹ The description of the two workarounds suggested by Intuit includes many required steps. The description of the process spans several pages. Intuit presents two different workarounds for your choice since each can require a different amount of work and follow up. The methods will reflect different results, especially if all steps are not followed on a regular basis. ^ return to top

² Inventory values shown in QuickBooks® Point of Sale reports reflect a zero value. This causes QuickBooks® Point of Sale reports regarding margin and profitability to be inaccurate, but since this solution is provided to work with QuickBooks® Financial system, more complete and accurate figures regarding these issues are available in the Financial system. ^ return to top

³ Inventory items may not be deleted before processing has been completed. Payments are calculated on data in the inventory record at the time of processing. ^ return to top