Particular case buy tones of painting and sell mixing paint

You can either use "group" or "inventory assembly" items. With either, you create a "formula" or "bill of material" of what goes into the final product. The two types of items work differently.

With a "group" item, you can easily modify the components of what you sell at the time you invoice. But your sales reports won't show you how many of a final product you sold, just how much of the individual components you sold.

With an "assembly" item, you can track the finished items you sold, but it is harder to make changes for each customer. And you have to do a separate "build" transaction in addition to the invoice.

QuickBooks doesn't handle your specific situation as well as it should, in my opinion.

Take a look at these articles, they may help you - then if you have more questions, come back and ask.

http://qbblog.ccrsoftware.info/2008/06/groups-vs-assemblies/...

http://qbblog.ccrsoftware.info/2008/06/groups-for-custom-manufacturers/...

Thank you for your answer.

I think that "group" or "inventory assembly" items are not my case

I work my manual system in a following way:

I buy tones of paints from my supplier in "quart" and "gallon" around 50 or 60

between X01..... X10...... X20..... X30...... X40..... X50....... X60

Me colors for sales have been classified in the following way:

Color with "C1" price paints >>>> $ xx.xx

Color with "C1" prices quarto >>>> $ xx.xx

Color with "C1" prices gallon >>>> $ xx.xx

Color with "C2" price paints >>>> $ xx.xx

Color with "C2" prices quarto >>>> $ xx.xx

Color with "C2" prices gallon >>>> $ xx.xx

and this way until c3, c4 and c5

Each "Color" with "C1" for example has hundred of combinations between X1 and X60

And I am going to realize that lack one when a tone can is empty.

How can I pass from me manual system to a system in QB.

That it permit me to control:

How many "tones" I am buying and how many "colors" I am selling.

Do you keep the toner in a machine like you see in Home Depot and you just turn the thing and then inject x-amount of each toner in the base until you have the correct amounts and then shake the can to mix it?

You have four basic options as I see it. Rustler may come up with some others.

1. You manually adjust your inventory as you use the various amounts of your items. This is VERY tedious and difficult.

2. You don't track the inventory amounts of the colors, etc, and just periodically look at what you have, and purchase more when you are low. This is very simple, but you don't have any way of tracking what you have as you go along. Very inaccurate.

3. You just add each item that you use to your invoice, which consumes the part. Simple, consumes inventory.

4. You find some way to automate things. You are, essentially, creating custom "assembly" each time, so assembly items aren't a good fit. The second article I referred you to above talks about "custom" assembling with group items. You can set up a generic item for mixed paint (I don't know the details of your business so I'll be a bit vague). For example, create a group item called "paint" for one gallon of paint, and have two generic component parts, a "base" paint and a color. Make them a "generic" part that you don't really use, OR make them the most common items you use. Then, when you invoice someone, you add the group "paint" item to the invoice. When on the screen you can modify the group - you can add more color items, you can drop some, you can change one to another. This tracks the quantity of each item you use. To get the most out of this you would probably set up several standard units with typical "formulas", but you don't have to create each combination individually.

Hello! Rustler and CCRussell

Thank for yours answer.

Exactly, " I keep the toner in a machine like you see in Home Depot and I just turn the thing and then inject x-amount of each toner in the base until I have the correct amounts and then shake the can to mix it ". And sorry for me vague explanation.

I have a software in my computer and this gives me the formula and the quantity of each toner to use. And also I have a scale.

For example: if you need 2 quarts of "Silver" the sofware tells me

Customer: Jorge

Quantity: 2 quart

Description: Silver

According to the formula is going to use:

X01 x-quantity

X12 x-quantity

X30 x-quantity

X43 x-quantity

And I am going to sell this color

Color with "C1" prices quarto >>>> $ xx.xx

Hello! CCRussell

I am analyzing your answer..... and also I am sending more information.

I would assume that you have a can of toner in the machine, and one on the shelf as back up. If that is the case, then I would use inventory adjust when you take a can off the shelf and put it in the machine. Adjust the qty of the can of toner down by one can and send the cost to COGS.

In other words for the books you would consider the can "used" when you open it and put it in the machine.

Then just sell paint by the quart, gallon, whatever.

http://rustler.freeblogit.com > Rustler's QB tips

Thank Rustler to answer me

I have been making the following exercise. I have created the following Items in "Items & service"

"Toner" like "Inventory Part"

X01 / description / inventory part / price / cost

X10...

X11...

and

"Mixing Paint" like "Inventory Part"

MIXPint.C1.PT / description / inventory part / price / cost

MIXPint.C1.Q...

MIXPint.C1.G...

OK

I am going to purchase "Toners" from my "Vendors"

Purchase Orders --- Receive Inventory --- Pay Bills

According my can of toner is empty. Adjust each can "used" and send COGS account.

My "Journal" shows me the following:

for the purchase of 2 toner

Bill--05/23/2009--Supplier--Accounts Payable--$238.60 "Credit"

Supplier--Toner--Inventory Asset--$238.60 "Debit"

Inventory Adjust--05/23/2009-- 1"can used" --Cost of Goods Sold--$119.30 "Debit"

--Toner--Inventory Adjust--Inventory Asset--119.30 "Credit"

for the sell of 1 Quart of Mixing Paint

Invoice -- 05/23/2009 -- Customer --- Accounts Receivable -- $19.68 "Debit"

-- Customer --- Mixing Paint -- Sales -- $18.18 "Credit"

-- Customer --- Mixing Paint -- Inventory Asset -- $11.36 "Credit"

-- Customer --- Mixing Paint -- COGS -- $11.36 "Debit"

-- State Board -- Sales Taxes -- Sales Tax Payable -- $1.50 "Cradit"

When I am going to "Items & service"

1.- I can see that the "toners" have right adjustment.

2.- I can see that the "Mixing Paint" sold "MIXPint.C1.PT" is in negative "-1".

The questions are:

1.- Am I doing the right procedure?

1.- If I am doing the right procedure. How can I adjust this negative?

3.- I do not have a "vendor" for these "mixing paint".

4.- How can I create these "mixing paints" into the inventory?.

Thank you in advance.

I wouldn't use the mixing paint aspect.

As I understand the process, you buy cans of base, then to get a color you add various toners and shake.

So you have toners as inventory items, and cans of base as inventory items, light base, dark base.

When a customer comes in and wants a color that uses a light base, pull the can of light base, add the toner and shake. Sell the can of light base. On the sales receipt you can put the mix in the description block by typing it in.

When you put a can of toner in the machine use inventory adjust to lower the qty of toner cans on hand.

http://rustler.freeblogit.com > Rustler's QB tips

Thank Rustler to answer me.

Sorry again for the details of my business and a bit vague.

I think that we have been speaking of different business.

In fact I have a small business where I sell mixing paint for car.

I have my "vendor" that they supply me; your "product for a vehicle body" and I call "toners".

I do not sell "toners". Just the "toners" are going to be used in preparation, and properly blending.

When a customer comes in and wants a color for your car. I am going to ask the following:

1. Manufacturer

2. Brand Code

3. Year of manufacturer

after that. I am going to do the following:

1. I have a software small (Color System) that it is installed in a computer. I use it to identify a color that best matches the actual color of the customer’s vehicle.

2. This software permit to find the formula, and the "toners" to use, and to be mixed with the scale.

3. And also will be printed a label, and stuck it on the (pint, quart, or gallon) can.

Label

Customer: Jorge

Manufacture: Jaguar

Description: Liquid Silver

Makes: 2 Quarts

X01 x-quantity or amount (toner) -- these are minimum quantities.

X12 x-quantity

X30 x-quantity

X43 x-quantity

Is truth that I have a can of "toner" in the machine (it batter the paint in the morning every day), and one on the shelf as back up.

I do not buy cans of base. I only buy "toners" and box of empty cans (pint, quart, and gallon).

Is truth that have toners as inventory items. But, I do not know. How can I sell the mixing paint.

This is the reason that my "vendor" to give me prices by pint, quart, and gallon, and type of colors.

Ok I think I see how it works now. I was thinking that you used a can of base paint and just tinted it like they do in home depot.

I think in this situation I would use groups. In your example I would create a group "Jag-Liq Silver-Qt" enter the toners in the group and the qty and of course the quart can. On the sales document select the group and the number of quarts to be mixed. Groups give you the option to have all items printed on the sales document and I would use that so the document has the mix as well as the can.

Since you can't set a price for a group, set the price for all toners to zero, and the price for the can to whatever you are selling a quart for.

The problem with using groups is that you cannot get sales reports on the paint mix and if that is important then you would have to use assemblies.

Thank Rustler to answer me.

I have some doubts regarding this segment:

Since you can't set a price for a group, set the price for all toners to zero, and the price for the can to whatever you are selling a quart for.

Could you explain to me it?.

On the inventory item screen for the quart can, set the sales price to an amount.

I imagine that a quart of Jag paint sells for more than a quart of Ford paint, that is not a problem, when you put the group on the sales document just change the sales price on the document. It is a pain to do it this way but QB does limit you.