How do you categorize Items into Service, Product, Discount, Discount %, Other Charge, Other Charge % - intuit-partner-platform

Question

In Quickbooks desktop each item is categorized as a product, service, or discount etc. In Quickbooks online I need to download the list of items and have noticed they are no longer categorized.
The code I'm using is like this:
list = commonService.FindAll(new Intuit.Ipp.Data.Qbo.Item(), currentPage, itemListPageSize) as IEnumerable;
When I download this list from Quickbooks Online, I need to know if it's a product/service/discount so that I can import it into our system like we did for QB Desktop.
How do I go about getting the category of this item?

Answer 1

QuickBooks Online does not have multiple different item types. It's a different product which works significantly differently from QuickBooks for Windows/Mac.
The Intuit Anywhere/IDS APIs do not support any concept of inventory for QuickBooks Online right now, though QuickBooks Online itself does support the concept.
QuickBooks Online does not have a concept of a "discount" item at all (discounts are just another rate/amount field on an invoice, vs. a line item like in QuickBooks for Windows).
Here's a screenshot of the QuickBooks Online interface:
Notice that I have added a 10% discount, but that 10% discount does not show up as a normal line item. It's just a field on the invoice that accepts a discount amount. Because it's not a line item, it doesn't require an item type at all.
This is reflected in the APIs as well.
Here's a qbXML example (notice: it's not a line item, and doesn't refer to an item type at all):
<DiscountLineAdd> <!-- optional -->
<!-- BEGIN OR -->
<Amount >AMTTYPE</Amount> <!-- optional -->
<!-- OR -->
<RatePercent >PERCENTTYPE</RatePercent> <!-- optional -->
<!-- END OR -->
<IsTaxable >BOOLTYPE</IsTaxable> <!-- optional -->
<AccountRef> <!-- optional -->
<ListID >IDTYPE</ListID> <!-- optional -->
<FullName >STRTYPE</FullName> <!-- optional -->
</AccountRef>
</DiscountLineAdd>
Here's an IPP example (again, notice isn't not a line item, and doesn't refer to an item type at all):
<Header>
<DocNumber>00010</DocNumber>
<TxnDate>2010-08-07-07:00</TxnDate>
<Msg>No Black Ink Pens</Msg>
<Note>Blue Ink pens only</Note>
<CustomerId>5</CustomerId>
<SalesTaxCodeId idDomain="QBO">1</SalesTaxCodeId>
<SalesTaxCodeName>IS_TAXABLE</SalesTaxCodeName>
<SubTotalAmt>200.00</SubTotalAmt>
<TaxAmt>100.00</TaxAmt>
<TotalAmt>298.75</TotalAmt>
<DueDate>2010-08-16-07:00</DueDate>
<BillEmail>john_doe#digitalinsight.com</BillEmail>
<DiscountAmt>-1.25</DiscountAmt>
</Header>