I guess when QB started they asked someone to tell them how to do inventory and have never done anything to upgrade it since.  There are a lot of common inventory operations that QB just does not do.  There are work arounds of course, but a program that has been around this long, and is in this wide a use, should concentrate on making the common business operations happen rather than look pretty enhancements.

In my “Considering QB” there is mention of things QB just does not handle at all in regards to inventory – major things.  They are repeated here as well as other things that it should do.

—sniped from “Considering QB” –
If you need to track lot numbers, serial numbers, expiration dates, specific cost, unique items, FIFO, LIFO, volume pricing, matrix inventory,  pick lists, work flow reports, multiple warehouse locations, and custom reports- ignore QB.
—end snip—-

What QB needs to add to its’ inventory capabilities in addition to those above:

On bills for items received, there should be a way to add the shipping to the value of the inventory items ordered – the cost of shipping is part of the cost of the item.  Yes you can manually do it, but there should be a column to enter the portion of the shipping that applies to that item, and have the item cost plus the shipping as the total cost of the item.

When paying an expense like import duty, shipping, etc. separately to another vendor, there should be a way to allocate that expense to the inventory item it applies to and increase its cost basis.

Bulk sales pricing is so common yet doesn’t exist at all in QB. You should be able to set quantity limits and price breaks.

Non-inventory items, when marked as being bought for re-sale, should hold their value as an asset until sold, presently they expense right away.

Inventory reports are abysmal, there is very little customization available. In truth the entire reports section of QB is very limited.

Invoices and sales slips do not allow you see the item cost on screen, it is not an option at all, it should be.

When, IF, QB adds multiple warehouse locations, then when you enter an item for sale QB should ask what warehouse to sell it from.

QB’s automatic cost basis adjusting entries should be tied to the original entry. Presently QB makes the adjusting entry but does nothing to tell you why or for what transaction it is doing it for. This normally happens when you sell to a negative inventory level on hand.  Which in my opinion should never be done or allowed anyway.

There is no way to track back-orders unless you have the expensive versions (accountant or enterprise) – small businesses don’t have back-orders I guess in QB’s view – stupid.

You cannot attach pictures of an inventory item, nor use UPC codes without buying an add-on application.

You cannot create a report on inventory turns, what is selling and how often and what is not.

I’ll add more, there are more, I just can’t think of them off the top of my head right now.