This section of the forum is for discussing the business and finance issues of the t-shirt industry. Which business structure to use (sole proprietor, LLC, S Corp, etc), how to handle billing, where to register your business and get the proper licensing, etc.
After 5 years of using a contract screenprinter we will be manufacturing our own designs. It's been many years since college and Accounting 101 but I remember there is a different method for accounting for inventory in a production setting. It involves things like work-in-progress and finished goods? Can anyone refresh my memory?
You pretty much have it. You will have your compnents in inventory, work in progess and finished goods.
QuickBooks Wholesaler and Manufacturer version does a poor job of this but will handle it.
I've found that MYOB is much better at this and it allows for introduction of labor into the cost, as well as "landed cost" (including shipping in the cost of the goods on the shelf). And it has a much more useful inventory overview than QB.
Other, higher priced, accounting systems generally include the raw materials to finshed goods routine quite well.
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I'm still fumbling around with the new version of QB but it has good tutorials and I eventually figure it out. Does the Wholesale version have the same feature?
Does MYOB?
I guess my question is which one is more user friendly?
It's:
- Raw Materials
- Work-in-progress
- Finished Goods
Manufacturer's accounting is more complex than retailer's, you might want to consult with a professional at least ones. When you say manufacturing your own design - do you mean you'll be doing the screenprinting or you'll be making your own blanks plus the printing? if it's the first, i'm thinking you might not have to complicate your bookkeeping necessarily.
The accounting methods mentioned above are more suitable for factory type operation where you'd be manufacturing the shirts than decorating them. But if you're not doing this from scratch, you should be able to keep it simpler.
Last edited by Annushka; June 22nd, 2008 at 10:27 PM.
QB is terrible with inventory. It was added as an unwanted stepchild years ago and is really only good for accounting purposes. There is little useful information / reports for someone interested in actually managing inventory, managing "turns", etc.
MYOB is much better for this. And it also has a much easier to follow "time-line" in the raw materials, WIP, finished goods scenario.
Accounting wise, they are similar in results, but Intuit has a much greater promotional budget and they are undoubtedly one of the world's premier promoters. Marketing, not product has made them what they are.
Inventory Methods 
