How Do I Add Costs to an Inventory Item

Q: I am keeping records for an inventory of precious stones. From the time that the stones are received until they leave inventory, some or all of the following things happen:

• they are individually graded at a lab – this adds lab costs
• they are cut and polished – this adds cutting costs and also usually reduces the size (carats) of the stone that was received, which need to be taken out of inventory
• they are sometimes cleaned or boiled – this adds processing costs
• they are sometimes shipped to labs or cutters – is this inventory costs or G&A? How can I get Quickbooks to adjust costs and quantities (for the cut portions of stones)? Is there any way to get Quickbooks to import costs and automatically apply them to the correct stone?

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