# Fishbowl: Part cannot have a negative cost

> A part's cost field cannot be set to a negative value; check for a typo or the need for a different transaction type.

## What it means

The cost field you entered for this part is negative or contains a minus sign. Fishbowl inventory costing does not allow negative costs; cost values must always be positive and represent the amount paid for the inventory item.

## What to check

- The cost value you just entered — look for an accidental minus sign or decimal point error
- If you intended to reverse or correct a prior cost, check what transaction type Fishbowl expects (adjustment, credit memo, return, or transfer)
- The part number to confirm you're editing the correct part
- The context of what you were trying to do — sometimes the issue is the transaction type, not the number itself

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*From Israel Lopez Consulting (ILC). Custom Fishbowl Inventory integrations and software, and Fishbowl experts since 2015. Written by Israel Lopez. Questions about this topic, or want to reach the people who wrote it? Visit https://israellopezconsulting.com/contact*