Handle Demos, Donations, or Expired/Product Loss
To handle retail items used as demonstrators, donated products, lost, expired, or other similar business-related situations, we recommend creating one profile called Business Supplies to invoice and remove them from inventory. Invoices coded with the sale type of Business Supplies will also prompt for an expense category. Once an expense category is selected and the invoice saved, an entry will automatically be created so that your tax reports reflect the items being removed from inventory and expensed out as well.
Note: The steps below should only be used for retail items. The Inventory Purchases report tracks the amount spent on business supplies and samples (section 2).
Only one profile must be created for all business-related situations to handle all situations (demos, given to charity, lost in shipment, etc.) for multiple tax years. Each invoice can be assigned to a specific expense category and grouped separately, as well as the date. Only invoices and expense entries within the date range set will be included when running tax reports. If you do not have a contact profile created for Business Supplies, follow the steps below.
- Create a New Contact Profile named Business Supplies.
- From the toolbar, click
to open the Profile Settings screen. - In the Sales Settings slideout, under the Discount section, select Business Supplies from the options listed in the Default drop-down (this will set the Invoice Followup to 0 days, Email Invoice to No, and the Discount to 50%, which can be adjusted).
- Under the Options section, select Exclude from Dashboard (this will exclude your business supplies from being included in your Dashboard statistics).
- Click
to save and close Profile Settings. - From the profile toolbar, click
to save and close the profile.
When you invoice the business supplies profile for section 1 demos, donations, lost, damaged, or expired products, it is similar to invoicing for personal use, except that there is one additional step, adding an expense entry. This allows you to categorize the expense without double deducting it when reporting for tax purposes.
- Create a New Invoice under the Business Supplies profile (Sale type should be set as Business Supplies).
- Click
to add items that will be expensed under the same category. - Under the Details tab on the bottom of the invoice, mark the invoice paid-in-full by clicking
to the right of the Cash/Check field. - For additional information, enter a short description in the Memo field (such as Demo, Expired, or Charity).
- Click the Discount tab. Under the Discount Type section, select the appropriate category from the Expense Category drop-down options listed (use the suggestions below or seek advice from your tax professional).
- If desired, choose to either Email or Print the invoice. Invoices can also be printed or emailed from the Invoice Log.
- Click to save and close the invoice.
Suggested Categories:
For more information on categories or to create a new one, see Expense Categories.
- Supplies (COG): Retail items used as demos
- Gifts: Items where the recipient is not known
- Advertising: Items used as a giveaway to gather leads
- Charity: Items donated to a shelter or other organization
- Expired/Lost: Product that is past its prime and being thrown out (See Track Product Expiration Dates for more information). Another use for this category would be products lost or damaged in shipment to a customer.
By invoicing your business supplies situations using the steps above, all transactions will be grouped together and included on the Gross Receipts report for tax purposes. Individual invoices can also be easily accessible under the Invoice Log.
- From the sidebar navigation, click
Business Tools, then Invoice Log. - From the toolbar, click
then select Filter from the options listed to open the Filter slideout. - Under the Date Range drop-down, select a pre-defined date range from the options listed or choose Custom to enter a custom range.
- Under the Invoice Type drop-down, select Business Supplies from the options listed.
- To print the invoices show in a tabular format, from the toolbar, click
then select Print. From the print preview toolbar, click 
. - When finished, click then select Clear Filter to remove any filters set.
Tips:
- To add or remove columns, click
and select Column Chooser. Select Reset to return the view to the default layout. - Only one invoice can be printed at a time. To print an invoice, select the checkbox next to the invoice. Click , then select Print. From the print preview form, click
to print, or click 
to export and save as another file type, such as PDF.
