Stock Items

A stock item is anything you buy, sell, make or keep on a shelf. Everything you put on an invoice, a purchase order or a delivery note is picked from this list.

Before you start

• If you want to group your items, add your categories, types and brands first — you can also add them as you go.
• Bringing in a whole list from a spreadsheet is usually faster than typing them one by one. See Importing your existing data.

Add a stock item

1. Open Inventory›Stock List.
2. Click Add.
3. In Code, type a short code you will recognise, such as CHAIR-01. Each code can only be used once.
4. In Description, type the name your staff and your customers will see on documents.
5. Choose a Track Type if you need to record batch or serial numbers for this item. Leave it as None if you do not.
6. Open the Units & Pricing tab, click Add UOM and pick the unit you sell in — for example Each or Box. Mark the smallest one as the base unit.
7. Click Add Price and type your normal selling price.
8. Click Save. The item appears in your stock list and can now be picked on any document.

A new stock item: code and description on the Details tab, units and prices on the next.

Change a stock item

1. Open Inventory›Stock List and click the row you want.
2. Change what you need. Use the Units & Pricing tab to add another unit or update a price.
3. Click Save. Your change takes effect straight away.

Switch off or delete a stock item

Almost always you want to switch an item off rather than delete it, so your past invoices and reports stay correct.

1. Open Inventory›Stock List.
2. At the end of the row, click the toggle in the Active column. The item stays in your history but stops appearing when you pick items on a new document.

To remove an item completely, click the bin icon at the end of the row, then click Delete in the message that appears.

Other things you can do

• Add a picture. Drag an image onto the image box on the Details tab.
• Send this item to different accounts. Open the chart of accounts section on the Details tab if this item's sales, purchases or stock value should go somewhere other than your company defaults.
• See everything that has happened to an item. Open the Activity Log tab.
• Check what you have on hand. Click the stock figure on the list to see the balance outlet by outlet.

What can stop you

• If you see "This record cannot be deleted because it is referenced in transactions." it means the item has been used on at least one document. Switch it off with the Active toggle instead.
• If the code you typed is rejected as already in use, it means another item — possibly a switched-off one — already has it. Use Filters to include inactive items and find it.
• If the tracking option is greyed out, it means the item already has stock movements. Create a new item instead.
• If Inventory›Stock List shows a padlock, your plan does not include stock control yet. Needs Inventory on your plan

For the full list of reasons the system refuses a change, see Why can't I edit or delete this?