Inventory is wrong after importing into QuickBooks — causes and fixes

Inventory is the trickiest thing to move into QuickBooks, because it’s three numbers at once — quantity, value and cost of goods sold — and they all have to agree. When an import goes wrong, it usually shows up as wrong stock levels or a cost of goods number that makes no sense. Here’s how to diagnose and fix it.

The symptoms

• Quantities on hand don’t match your last valuation report.
• Items show negative quantities.
• Inventory asset value or cost of goods sold is clearly off.
• Items aren’t tracking quantity at all.

The usual causes

• Items imported without opening quantity and value. The item exists, but QuickBooks has no starting stock, so everything downstream is wrong.
• Wrong item type. An inventory part imported as a non-inventory or service item won’t track quantity or value.
• Negative stock at cutover. Selling more than was on hand in the old system carries a negative into QuickBooks, which distorts cost.
• Valuation mismatch. QuickBooks values inventory a particular way; if your source used a different method, values won’t line up without adjustment.

How to fix it

1. Confirm each stocked product is set up as an inventory item type.
2. Enter opening quantities and values through an inventory adjustment dated at the cutover, matching your valuation report exactly.
3. Resolve any negative quantities before you go live — they only get harder to untangle later.
4. Reconcile the inventory asset total to your source valuation report.