Managing Items
The Items tab in Products & Services is the catalog for every material, service, and product your company tracks. It is one sortable table, with view tabs for low, below-zero, and on-order stock, a menu on each row for quick stock changes, and bulk actions.
Quick Start: Manage Items
- Select Products & Services in the sidebar
- Search, filter, or pick a view to find an item
- Click the item's row to open its page
- Edit fields, adjust stock, or review the item's stock history
Views
Tabs above the toolbar split the list into views. Each tab shows a count, and the counts follow your search and filters.
| View | Shows |
|---|---|
| All items | Every item that matches your search and filters |
| Low stock | Materials at or below a reorder point that is above zero |
| Below zero | Materials with a negative quantity |
| On order | Materials on a sent supplier purchase order that still has units to arrive |
At the end of the tab row, Stock value gives the quantity times unit cost of the materials in view. Below-zero items count as zero in it. On the Below zero view, the figure is the total value of the negative quantities instead. On a narrow screen, this figure is in the footer under the list.
When you set Type to Services or Non-inventory, the only tab is All services or All non-inventory items, and the stock value goes away, because those items carry no stock.
When you look at all items or all materials with no view, search, or filter on, the Inventory Usage chart appears below the list.
Searching and Filtering
All the list controls sit in one toolbar.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Search box | Matches item name or SKU |
| Type | All types, Materials, Services, or Non-inventory |
| Category | Show one category. If your company uses a category tree, pick any category in the tree; the list includes everything under it. |
| Group | Show one group. It appears when your company uses a category tree and has at least one group. |
| Entity | Multi-entity companies only: one entity's items plus shared items |
| Clear | Clear the search, category, group, and entity filters in one click. It shows when one of them is on. |
| Columns | Choose the table's columns. It shows on wide screens only. |
Keyboard shortcuts speed up the list: press / (or Ctrl+F) to jump to search, n to open the Add item dialog, and Escape to clear the search and the selection.
Categories and Groups
Two different ways to organize the catalog, meant to be used together.
A category says what an item is, and categories form a tree. Fittings can hold Brass Fittings, Steel Fittings, and Banjo Fittings, and an item sits at one place in that tree. A group is a label that cuts across the tree, for the things a category cannot express: a supplier, a storage container, an expense bucket, winter truck stock. An item belongs to one category and to as many groups as you like.
To build either one, click Manage categories at the top of the page. On a narrower window it is under More. The Categories and groups dialog has a Categories tab and a Groups tab, with New top-level category and New group to start.
Filtering by a category includes everything under it
Choosing a parent category shows the items filed directly under it and the items in every category beneath it. Filtering on Fittings returns the Brass, Steel, and Banjo fittings too, so you do not have to know which child an item landed in. The count beside a category follows the same rule and counts its whole branch.
Starting from the categories you already have
If you have been typing categories into the item form, Set up categories turns those into top-level categories and files your existing items under them. It only touches items you have not already filed into the tree, so running it does not disturb work you have already organized. You can run it again later after adding more items.
Two kinds of name are left out and reported back to you rather than converted: names containing a colon, and names that are too long. Items with those names keep the category text they already had and go on working as before.
Groups from the item list
Select items in the list, then pick a group from the Add to group list in the bar that replaces the toolbar. That labels all of them at once, which is usually faster than opening each item.
Categories and groups are optional. Until you create one, the catalog behaves exactly as it does now, and the category you typed on an item stays the value that reports, exports, the mobile apps, and QuickBooks read.
The Item Table
Each item is one line. Click anywhere on a row, outside its checkbox and menu, to open the item. Click the Item, Category, SKU, On hand, or Unit cost header to sort by that column.
| Column | Shows |
|---|---|
| Item | The item's name. Hover over a long name to read all of it. |
| Category | The item's category |
| SKU | Your internal code |
| Supplier | The supplier the item comes from |
| On hand | The quantity for materials. Services and non-inventory items show their type instead. |
| Reorder at | The reorder point, or a dash when there is none |
| Unit cost | Cost per unit |
| Value | Quantity times unit cost |
Item and On hand always show. The table starts with Category, Unit cost, and Value as well. Use Columns to add SKU, Supplier, or Reorder at, or to hide the optional columns. Reset to default in the same menu goes back to the starting set. This browser remembers your choice.
The footer pages the list. Choose 10, 25, 50, or 100 rows per page.
On a narrow screen, such as a phone, each item is one line with its name and quantity, and tapping the line opens the item. To select items there, tap Select, and tap Done when you are finished.
Stock Status
For materials, the On hand column says more than the number.
| Situation | What you see |
|---|---|
| Above the reorder point | The quantity only |
| At or below a reorder point above zero | Low before the quantity. The item is in the Low stock view. |
| Below zero | The quantity in red. The item is in the Below zero view. |
| Units on a sent purchase order | A +N on order link before the quantity. It opens Purchase Orders. |
| Service or non-inventory item | The type, with no quantity |
Material quantities update automatically as crews record usage on projects and work orders. Keep reorder points current so the Low stock view stays meaningful.
The Row Menu
The button at the end of each row opens its menu.
| Menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Open item | Open the item's page |
| Reorder | Start a purchase order for the item. The quantity is what it takes to clear Low, or 1. |
| Add stock | Add to the quantity from the list |
| Remove stock | Remove from the quantity from the list |
Services and non-inventory items have only Open item.
Step-by-Step: Change Stock from the List
- Open the row's menu and pick Add stock or Remove stock
- Type the amount in the box that replaces the quantity
- Click Save, or press Enter. Press Escape to cancel.
The change goes into the transaction log as Added or Removed. To set an exact count or record a reason, use Adjust stock on the item's page. On a narrow screen, make stock changes on the item's page.
The Item Page
The item page shows the name, with its type, category, and SKU under it, then a strip of key numbers.
| Figure | Shows |
|---|---|
| On hand | The quantity, with Low under it when the item is low, or when the stock last moved |
| On order | Units still to arrive on sent purchase orders, with the next PO number and its due date. Nothing coming when there are none. |
| Unit cost | Cost per unit, with the markup under it |
| Retail price | The selling price |
| Value | On hand times unit cost |
| Reorder at | The reorder point. When the item is low, it says how many to order to clear Low. |
Services and non-inventory items show Type, Unit cost, Markup, and Retail price instead.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Adjust stock | Open a dialog to Add, Remove, or Set to a quantity, with a reason |
| Reorder | Start a purchase order for the item, with the quantity that clears Low |
| Edit | Change the name, type, SKU, category, unit, cost, markup, retail price, reorder point, tax, and accounting fields |
Two tabs sit under the strip. Details lists every field of the item, including the Item ID with a button that copies it. Stock history lists the item's 50 most recent stock changes with the date, the change, the balance after it, and the note. Open the full log goes to the Transactions tab.
While you edit, a button beside Retail Price works out the price from the unit cost and the markup. Click it to fill in that price.
Bulk Actions and Export
Select rows with their checkboxes. The toolbar then changes to a bar with the number selected, Delete, Add to group when you have groups, and Clear selection. Delete asks you to confirm before it removes anything.
Use Export CSV to download every item in the current view, search, and filters, or Import CSV to add items in bulk. Valuation opens the inventory valuation report. All three sit at the top of the page beside Add Item. On a narrower window they are under More.
Troubleshooting
Can't find an item?
- Click the All items tab, then click Clear to remove filters, and search again
- Try the SKU instead of the name (or the reverse)
Stock levels look wrong?
- Review the item's Stock history for duplicate usage
- Run a physical count and record it with Adjust stock and Set to
A category is missing from the filter?
- Categories only appear once an item uses them; add an item with that category first
Related Topics
- Adding Items - Create new items
- Stock Level Tracking - Reorder points and status
- Transactions - Log usage and adjustments
- Reporting & Exports - Value and usage analysis