Adding Items
Adding items to Products & Services builds the catalog that powers usage tracking, project costing, and purchase orders. Only a name is required, so you can start small and fill in detail over time.
Quick Start: Add an Item
- Select Products & Services in the sidebar
- Click Add Item at the top right
- Enter a Name (required) and choose a Type
- Add a category, unit, unit cost, and SKU as needed
- For materials, set a starting quantity and reorder point
- Click Create item
Choosing an Item Type
The item type determines whether the item tracks stock.
| Type | Tracks quantity? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Yes | 6" PVC casing, bentonite, well caps |
| Service | No | Drilling, pump installation, water testing |
| Non-inventory | No | Drop-shipped or one-off goods |
When you pick Service or Non-inventory, the quantity and reorder-point fields disappear, since those items are stockless.
Item Fields
| Field | Required? | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | The label shown throughout the system |
| Type | Yes | Material, Service, or Non-inventory |
| SKU | No | Your internal code, used for search and reordering |
| Manufacturer SKU | No | The vendor or manufacturer part number |
| Category | No | Grouping for filtering and reporting |
| Unit | No | How the item is measured (foot, bag, each, hour) |
| Unit Cost | No | Cost per unit, used for value and project costing |
| Description | No | Specs, usage notes, or vendor detail |
Picking a Category
The Category field is a list you can search.
- Click Category and pick one of the categories your company already uses.
- To make a new one, type its name and choose Add new category with your name.
- To leave the item without a category, choose None.
If you type a name that already exists with different capitals or spacing, such as "casing" when "Casing" exists, the item is filed under the existing name. You do not get a second category.
If your company has set up a category tree, the list shows the categories in your tree. To add a category to the tree, use Manage categories on the Items list. See Managing Items for categories and groups.
Common Units
| Unit | Used for |
|---|---|
| Foot | Casing, pipe, screen |
| Bag | Bentonite, grout, cement |
| Gallon | Chemicals, fuel |
| Ton | Sand, gravel |
| Each | Fittings, caps, seals |
| Hour | Labor and services |
Pricing
Unit Cost drives value and cost calculations: quantity times unit cost equals total value. Updating an item's cost applies to future calculations; past transactions keep the cost recorded at the time.
The Add item dialog also has Markup (%) and Retail price ($). Enter a unit cost and a markup, then click the button beside Retail price that shows the calculated price (for example Use $13.00) to fill in cost plus markup. When you edit an item later, the same button sits beside Retail Price on the item's page.
Stock Settings (Materials Only)
Material items can hold two stock fields at creation.
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Starting quantity | The count on hand when you create the item |
| Reorder point | At or below this quantity, the item shows Low and counts as low stock |
If you are migrating from another system, you can create items with a zero quantity first, then set opening balances with a stock adjustment noted as "Beginning inventory count" so the transaction history stays clean.
Tax and Accounting
| Setting | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Taxable | Whether tax applies when the item is billed |
| Tax category | How tax is resolved for the item on invoices |
| Income Account | The accounting income account the item maps to |
Multi-entity companies also see an Entity selector; leaving it on the default shares the item across all entities.
Setting Initial Stock After Creation
If you did not set a quantity up front, add it with a stock adjustment.
- Open the item from the list
- Click Adjust stock
- Choose Add (or Set to for an exact count)
- Enter the quantity from your physical count
- Add a reason like "Initial inventory count"
- Click Apply
Importing Many Items
To add items in bulk, click Import CSV at the top of the Products & Services list. On a narrower window it is under More. The wizard uploads a CSV, auto-maps columns, previews the result, and creates the items. Name is the only required column; SKU, category, unit, unit cost, quantity, reorder point, description, and location are optional. Imports are capped at 1,000 rows.
Troubleshooting
Can't create the item?
- Confirm the Name field is filled in
- Check that unit cost and quantity are valid numbers
Item not showing in project dropdowns?
- Refresh the page and confirm the item saved
- Check that your user has access to Products & Services
Related Topics
- Managing Items - View and edit items
- Stock Level Tracking - Reorder points and stock status
- Transactions - Log adjustments and usage
- Purchase Orders - Order materials