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How to Create Products & Services in QuickBooks Online

Last updated: October 20, 2018

How to Create Products & Services in QuickBooks Online

Products and Services (also called "Items" or "Sales Items") in QuickBooks Online are what you sell to your customers. Learn how to set them up properly so they sync correctly with ClientSynq.

What are Products & Services?

In QuickBooks Online, Products & Services represent:

  • Physical products you sell
  • Services you provide
  • Bundled packages
  • Any item that appears on invoices

Why this matters for ClientSynq: When invoices sync to your client portal, the line items (Products & Services) display exactly as they appear in QuickBooks.

Video Tutorial

QuickBooks provides an official video guide:

Step-by-Step Guide

Access Products & Services

  1. Log in to QuickBooks Online
  2. Click Settings (gear icon) in the top right
  3. Select Products and Services
  4. Click New to create an item

Choose the Right Item Type

QuickBooks offers several types:

Service (Most Common for Service Businesses)

  • Use for: Consulting, labor, hourly work, monthly fees
  • Examples: "Consulting Services", "Monthly Retainer", "Installation"
  • Tracks: Income only (no inventory)

Non-Inventory

  • Use for: Physical items you don't track quantity for
  • Examples: Office supplies purchased as needed, materials
  • Tracks: Income and optionally expenses

Inventory (QuickBooks Plus and higher)

  • Use for: Physical products you track quantity for
  • Examples: Retail products, manufactured goods
  • Tracks: Quantity, cost, income

Bundle

  • Use for: Package deals combining multiple items
  • Examples: "Startup Package", "Premium Service Bundle"
  • Tracks: Multiple items sold together

Recommendation for most users: Start with Service type - it's the simplest and most flexible.

Fill in Required Information

1. Name

  • What to enter: Clear, descriptive name your clients will see
  • Good examples:
    • "Monthly Bookkeeping Services"
    • "Website Design - Standard Package"
    • "Hourly Consulting"
  • Bad examples:
    • "SERV001" (too technical)
    • "Stuff" (too vague)

Tip: This name appears on client invoices in the portal, so make it client-friendly!

2. SKU (Optional)

  • Your internal product code
  • Not shown to clients
  • Useful for inventory management

3. Category (Optional but Recommended)

  • Organize your items into categories
  • Examples: "Consulting Services", "Products", "Recurring Services"
  • Makes reporting easier

4. Description

  • What to enter: Detailed explanation of what's included
  • Shown on: Invoices and client portal
  • Example:
    Monthly bookkeeping services including:
- Bank reconciliation
- Financial statements
- Monthly check-in call

Pro Tip: Good descriptions reduce client questions about what they're being charged for.

5. Sales Price/Rate

  • What to enter: Your standard selling price
  • Can be changed: Yes, when creating invoices
  • Best practice: Enter your most common price

For variable pricing:

  • Set to $0.00
  • Enter actual price when creating each invoice

6. Income Account

  • What to choose: The account where income is recorded
  • Common choices:
    • "Services" (for service businesses)
    • "Sales" (for product businesses)
    • "Other Income" (for miscellaneous items)

Don't see the account you want?

  1. Click the dropdown
  2. Select "Add new"
  3. Create the account you need

7. Sales Tax (If Applicable)

  • Check the box if this item is taxable
  • Leave unchecked for non-taxable services
  • QuickBooks will calculate tax automatically on invoices

Save Your Item

  1. Review all information
  2. Click Save and close (or Save and new to add another)
  3. Your item is now available for invoicing!

Best Practices

Naming Conventions

✅ Do:

  • Use clear, client-friendly names
  • Be specific about what's included
  • Use consistent naming (all items follow same pattern)

❌ Don't:

  • Use internal codes or abbreviations
  • Make names too generic
  • Use ALL CAPS (looks unprofessional)

Descriptions

✅ Do:

  • Include what's covered
  • List deliverables or scope
  • Mention timeframe if relevant

❌ Don't:

  • Leave blank (wastes opportunity to clarify)
  • Use technical jargon clients won't understand
  • Make them too long (2-3 lines is plenty)

Pricing

For Fixed Services:

  • Set your standard rate
  • Can override on individual invoices if needed

For Variable Services:

  • Set price to $0.00
  • Always enter price when invoicing

For Packages:

  • Consider creating a Bundle item
  • Or create separate line items for each component

Organization

Use Categories to organize items:

  • Consulting Services
  • Recurring Services
  • One-time Projects
  • Products
  • Expenses/Reimbursables

Benefits:

  • Easier to find items when invoicing
  • Better reporting by category
  • Cleaner appearance

Common Issues & Solutions

"I can't find my item when creating an invoice"

Possible causes:

  1. Item is inactive
  2. Item was archived
  3. Wrong item type selected

Solution:

  1. Go to Settings → Products and Services
  2. Look for the item in the list
  3. Check the "Action" column - if it says "Make active", click it
  4. Try creating the invoice again

"My item shows the wrong price"

This is normal! The price saved in Products & Services is just the default.

To change:

  1. When creating the invoice
  2. Click in the "Rate" field
  3. Enter the correct price for this invoice
  4. The saved item price doesn't change (unless you edit the item itself)

"Changes to items don't show in ClientSynq"

Solution: Items sync when invoices sync.

  1. Make sure your QuickBooks is connected in ClientSynq
  2. Go to Settings → QuickBooks
  3. Click Sync Now
  4. Wait 1-2 minutes
  5. Check the client portal

"I want to delete an item"

QuickBooks doesn't allow deleting items that have been used on transactions.

Options:

  1. Make inactive: Hides from lists but keeps history
  2. Edit the name: Change to indicate it's discontinued
  3. Leave it: If it has transaction history, just don't use it anymore

To make inactive:

  1. Settings → Products and Services
  2. Find the item
  3. Click "Make inactive" in the Action column

Advanced Tips

For Service Businesses

Create items for common billing scenarios:

  • "Hourly Consulting - Standard Rate"
  • "Hourly Consulting - Premium Rate"
  • "Monthly Retainer - Tier 1"
  • "Monthly Retainer - Tier 2"
  • "Project Management"
  • "Additional Revisions"

For Product Businesses

Use Inventory type (requires QuickBooks Plus):

  • Track quantity on hand
  • Get low stock alerts
  • See cost of goods sold automatically
  • Better inventory reports

Bundles for Package Deals

Create bundles for common package:

  1. Create individual items first
  2. Create a new "Bundle" type item
  3. Select which items are included
  4. Set the bundle price (can be different from sum of parts)

Example:

  • Bundle: "Website Package" - $5,000
    • Contains: Design ($2,000)
    • Contains: Development ($2,500)
    • Contains: Training ($500)

How This Affects ClientSynq

What Clients See

When you send an invoice through ClientSynq, clients see:

  • ✅ Item name (exactly as shown in QBO)
  • ✅ Description (if you added one)
  • ✅ Quantity
  • ✅ Rate/Price
  • ✅ Total amount

Invoice Syncing

Automatic: Invoices sync hourly

  • New invoices appear in portal within 1 hour
  • Changes to existing invoices sync hourly
  • Line items (Products & Services) sync automatically

Manual: Click "Sync Now" in Settings → QuickBooks

  • Immediate sync
  • Useful after creating new items or invoices

QuickBooks Official Resources

Still Have Questions?

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Last Updated: October 26, 2025
QuickBooks Version: QuickBooks Online (all plans)

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