At a Glance
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- The Accounting method setting controls how your wholesale purchases post to QuickBooks — cash, accrual expense-at-receipt (periodic), or accrual capitalize-inventory (perpetual).
- Every store starts on periodic (accrual, expense at receipt). Perpetual is opt-in and changes nothing until you switch.
- Under perpetual, ShelfSpace posts balance-sheet activity only; you or your accountant book cost-of-goods-sold at month-end close from your point-of-sale.
- Perpetual requires accrual and a mapped Inventory Asset account, and only an accounting admin can switch it.
- Consignment is unaffected by this setting — it always posts as the vendor's share of what actually sold.
What the accounting method controls
The Accounting method card lives in the retailer portal under Settings → QuickBooks, on a connected and configured QuickBooks connection. It sets how your wholesale purchases post — nothing else. Consignment payouts are a separate path and are never affected by this setting.
There are three coherent choices, shown as a single selector with a plain-language explainer under each.
Cash — expense when paid
When you pay a vendor, the cost is recorded. Nothing posts when product arrives, and no accounts-payable balance builds up in between. The simplest option, and a common fit if you reconcile mostly from your bank.
In QuickBooks: at payment — debit your expense account, credit your bank. Nothing at receipt.
Accrual — expense at receipt Most self-managed stores
The moment you receive product, ShelfSpace records what you owe as a bill, and the cost lands right away. Your Accounts Payable reflects unpaid vendor bills in real time, and the cost hits your books in the period you received the product. The product is expensed immediately — it does not sit on your balance sheet as inventory. This is the default.
In QuickBooks: at receipt — debit your expense/COGS account, credit Accounts Payable. At payment — debit Accounts Payable, credit your bank.
Accrual — capitalize inventory For CPA-managed books
ShelfSpace records the bill at receipt as an inventory asset, not an expense — purchased product sits on your balance sheet until it sells. The cost stays on your balance sheet as inventory and does not hit your profit & loss when you receive it. Someone has to move it to cost-of-goods-sold at month-end close — typically your accountant, from your point-of-sale sell-through. Choose this only if a bookkeeper or CPA closes your books each month; if you do your own books and won't be booking COGS at close, pick "Accrual — expense at receipt" instead, or your P&L will understate cost. Vendor credits (returns, damage, shortages) reduce the same inventory asset account, matching the bills. Requires accrual and a mapped Inventory Asset account — that's why this option is greyed out until both are set.
In QuickBooks: at receipt — debit your Inventory Asset account, credit Accounts Payable. COGS is booked by your accountant at close.
The inventory roll-forward
Across a month, the pieces assemble into a standard roll-forward. ShelfSpace owns the balance-sheet rows; you own the two profit & loss rows at close; your point-of-sale supplies the beginning and ending counts everything ties out to.
- Beginning inventory — from your point-of-sale (balance sheet).
- + Purchases — posted by ShelfSpace as wholesale bills capitalize (balance sheet).
- − Cost of goods sold — booked by you at close (profit & loss).
- ± Credits (returns, damage) — posted by ShelfSpace against the same Inventory Asset account (balance sheet).
- ± Adjustment to tie to ending count — booked by you at close; shrinkage, moisture loss, and miscounts land here (profit & loss).
- Ending inventory — from your point-of-sale (balance sheet).
What posts, where, and when
The full posting map. "Dr" is a debit, "Cr" is a credit. Rows marked booked by you at close are the P&L entries ShelfSpace deliberately does not make.
| Event | QuickBooks entry | Accounting | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale Delivery received |
Bill — full amount | Dr Inventory Asset · Cr Accounts Payable | At receipt |
| Wholesale Credit approved |
None yet | No QuickBooks entry until the credit is applied | In ShelfSpace |
| Wholesale Credit applied |
Vendor Credit created & applied to the Bill | Dr Accounts Payable · Cr Inventory Asset — netted against the bill | When applied |
| Wholesale Vendor paid |
Bill Payment — net | Dr Accounts Payable · Cr Bank | Check / ACH sent |
| Wholesale Product sells |
No ShelfSpace entry | Dr Cost of Goods Sold · Cr Inventory Asset — booked by you at month-end close from POS | At close |
| Consignment Delivery received |
None | Not owned — stays off the balance sheet | — |
| Consignment Weekly settlement |
Bill + Bill Payment | Dr COGS · Cr A/P, then Dr A/P · Cr Bank | At settlement |
| Check clears the bank | Status only — no entry | Marked Cleared from the bank feed once it settles | On settlement |
Perpetual inventory is optional and set per store in ShelfSpace → Settings → QuickBooks. Stores that expense purchases at receipt (periodic) keep the same flow with an expense account in place of Inventory Asset; consignment is identical either way.
How to switch it
- Open Settings → QuickBooks. On a connected, configured connection, the Accounting method card appears.
- Switch the card from Basic to Advanced. Basic shows the two self-serve choices (Cash and Accrual — expense at receipt); Advanced reveals the third, Accrual — capitalize inventory.
- Choose an Inventory Asset account from your QuickBooks chart of accounts — usually the account named "Inventory Asset" (an Other Current Asset in QuickBooks).
- Select Accrual — capitalize inventory and confirm. New wholesale bills will post to your Inventory Asset account, and your open, unpaid bills re-sync to it. Paid bills, and bills covered by a live vendor credit, are left exactly as they are.
Vendor credits under perpetual
When a vendor credit (return, damage, or shortage) is applied, ShelfSpace posts a first-class Vendor Credit in QuickBooks, applied against the original bill, reducing the same Inventory Asset account the bill capitalized. The full liability and the credit against it are both on the books — nothing is hidden inside a reduced bill amount, so the audit trail is complete. If a credit is later reversed, ShelfSpace un-applies it and restores the bill's balance; the payment is never disturbed. Anything QuickBooks can't accept — a closed period, an unmatched vendor — is routed to a review queue, never posted wrong.
Why consignment is unaffected
Consignment is a different ownership arrangement: the vendor keeps title to unsold product, so you never take it onto your balance sheet. Nothing posts when consigned product arrives, and the weekly settlement always posts as the vendor's share of what actually sold. Whether your store is on periodic or perpetual, consignment behaves identically. See Consignment settlements in QuickBooks for that flow.