Stock Level Tracking
Stock tracking in Products & Services is driven by item type. Material items carry a running quantity, a reorder point, and a stock status. Service and non-inventory items are stockless, so they track cost and usage without a quantity on hand.
How Material Stock Moves
For material items, the quantity on hand updates as work happens.
| Event | Effect on quantity |
|---|---|
| Materials used on a project or work order | Decreases automatically |
| Stock received or counted | Increases via an adjustment |
| Correction after a physical count | Set to the exact count via an adjustment |
Services and non-inventory items never change quantity; the list shows their type instead of a quantity.
Reorder Points and Status
Each material item has a single reorder point. The Items list compares the on-hand quantity to that threshold to set the item's status.
| On hand | What you see | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Above the reorder point | The quantity only | No action needed |
| At or below the reorder point | Low before the quantity | Reorder soon |
| Stockless item | No quantity | Not tracked |
Only a reorder point above zero counts. Items at or below their reorder point are in the Low stock view on the Items tab, and the tab shows how many there are. Reorder in a row's menu, or on the item's page, starts a purchase order with the quantity that clears Low, so you can turn a reorder list into purchase orders quickly. Units already on a sent purchase order count toward that quantity, and the On order view lists the materials that have units on the way.
Set the reorder point to cover your typical lead time plus a safety buffer, then adjust it over time as you learn real usage patterns.
Setting and Correcting Quantities
Use Adjust stock on an item's page for any deliberate change.
| Adjustment | Use for |
|---|---|
| Add | Receiving a shipment or adding found stock |
| Remove | Damage, waste, or shrinkage |
| Set to | Overwriting the count to match a physical count |
Every adjustment is written to the item's stock history and the transaction log. The reason is optional; an adjustment saved without one is noted as "Manual adjustment". In the dialog, Remove cannot take away more than is on hand. For quick one-off changes on a wide screen, Add stock and Remove stock in a row's menu on the Items list change the quantity without opening the item.
Negative Stock
A material can go below zero when more usage is recorded than stock received. When that happens, the item's quantity shows in red and the item is in the Below zero view on the Items tab.
| Cause | Fix |
|---|---|
| Usage logged before receiving | Record the receipt with an Add adjustment |
| A shipment was never entered | Add the actual received quantity |
| A counting error | Run a physical count and record it with Set to |
Below-zero items count as $0 in the stock value until you reconcile them. The Below zero tab shows how many there are. Click it to list only those items, with the total value of their negative quantities at the end of the tab row.
Best Practices
| Practice | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Cycle counts on key materials | Monthly or quarterly |
| Resolve negative-stock items | As they appear |
| Review reorder points | Quarterly |
| Log usage promptly | Every job |
Troubleshooting
Stock doesn't match a physical count?
- Review recent transactions for duplicate or missed entries
- Record it with Adjust stock, Set to, and a "physical count" reason
Low Stock warnings aren't appearing?
- Confirm the item is a Material (services and non-inventory are stockless)
- Check that a reorder point is set
Related Topics
- Managing Items - View and organize items
- Transactions - Record adjustments and usage
- Reporting & Exports - Value and usage analysis
- Purchase Orders - Reorder low-stock materials