Summary

Inventory items are created and maintained on the Item Maintenance window. Follow this process to create an inventory item.

Step by Step

1     Open the Item Selection window.

• The lower section of the Item Selection window (IC> Maintenance> Item) will display all of the inventory items created in the application.
• This list can be filtered by entering item information on the General, Location, Vendor or Attributes tabs and then clicking the Refresh icon  .
  • By selecting the General, Location, Vendor or Attributes tab, you can change how the inventory items are organized and displayed in the lower section of the window.
• Highlight an item and the item quantity and value details will update in the Detail section above if the Calculate quantities toggle is checked.
  • On the General and Attributes tabs, highlight an item and the PO Quantity, Requisition Quantity, On Hand Quantity and On Hand Value fields will display the item details. The Location tab will display these details as well as the Overstock Quantity and Value for the selected location. The WO Quantity field has not yet been implemented.
  • The Detail section is disabled when the Vendor tab is selected.
• Highlight an item and click the Delete icon or press DELETE to delete the selected item.
  • You will not be able to delete an inventory item that has on-hand inventory.
• Highlight an item and click the Modify icon or press ENTER to open an item or the Create icon   to create a new inventory item. This will open the Item Maintenance window.

2     Create a new inventory item.

• The Information section of the Item Maintenance window displays the inventory information associated with the item. As transactions accumulate on the inventory item, the Last Cost, Average Cost, On Hand Quantity and On Hand Value fields will populate.
  • The Last Cost is the inventory item cost of the last receipt or transfer.
  • The Average Cost is the average cost of the inventory on hand. Uncommitted transactions, quantities returned to stock and the cost of quantities returned to stock used will be included in this calculation.
  • The formula for the Average Cost field is:

On Hand Value field / On Hand Quantity field = Average Cost field

• The On Hand Quantity is the total quantity of items in all locations. Uncommitted transactions and quantities returned to stock will be included in this calculation.
• The On Hand Value is the total value of the items in all locations. Uncommitted transactions and quantities returned to stock will be included in this calculation.
• All of these fields will also include uncommitted manual reversals. Manual reversals are set up in the Inventory Transactions process (IC> Inventory Transactions> Enter Transactions> Generate icon). 
• Edit the Date To, Time To and Commit Status fields and click the Recalculate icon   to display inventory details at the specified point in the past.

• The Item Info section contains the General, Quantity and Value, Miscellaneous and Stack tabs. Each tab provides unique information about the item.

3     Complete the General tab. 

• Enter an item code in the Item field. The item code must be unique and can be up to 20 alphanumeric characters.
  • Once the new inventory item is saved, the Item field cannot be edited.
• Select a Status from the drop-down menu. Inventory transactions can only be performed on inventory items with an Active status.
  • You can use the New status for an item that is active but that you want to track separately for reporting.
  • The Delete status will not delete the inventory item but it will be take the item off the list of inventory items that can be used in transactions.
• Select an inventory costing method from the Costing drop-down menu.
  • Select Average to use average inventory costing.
  • Select FIFO for first-in, first-out inventory costing.
  • Select LIFO for last-in, first-out inventory costing.
  • Generally the costing method will not be changed from the default. Please contact Springbrook Support before editing the costing method on an existing inventory item.
• Enter an item description in the Description field. The description field can be up to 50 alphanumeric characters.
  • Many of the reports and processes in the IC module can filter the included inventory items by description. By including a common term in the description field across a range of related inventory items, you can track and report on all of those items. For example, a motor pool may stock many different types of spark plugs. If "spark plug" is included in all of their description fields, you will be able to filter your reports to only those that contain "spark plug" in the description field.
• Select a Unit measure from the drop-down menu.
  • Units are used to describe the type of units that are being purchased. Units are maintained in the Units Maintenance window. 
• Enter a Default Cost for the inventory item.
  • The Default Cost field will only be used as the default cost until there are transactions on the inventory item.
  • This is a required field to create an inventory item.
• Enter values in the Character fields if desired. These field labels are user defined and can be edited on the Miscellaneous Field Labels window (SS> Utilities> Miscellaneous Field Labels).

4     Add a vendor to an inventory item.

• If you order an item from multiple vendors or enter into contracts with vendors, the vendor information can be tracked with the inventory item. This allows you to compare pricing when creating an invoice for an inventory item or when you use the Reorder process in Inventory Control to create a purchase order.
• Click the Create icon drop-down menu and select New Vendor to add a vendor to the item.
  • This will create a new line in the Vendors section and open the Modify Item Vendor window.
  • Click the Vendor Number field label to select a vendor from a list.
    • Vendors are shared across the AP and IC modules. In IC, vendors are created and maintained on the Vendor Maintenance window (IC> Maintenance> Vendor).
  • While none of the remaining fields are required to attach the vendor to the inventory item, the Product Code field is generally used to track the vendor’s reference number for the IC item. The product code will populate on the line item when a requisition, purchase order or AP invoice is created using this vendor and IC item.
  • Check the Primary toggle if the vendor is the primary vendor.
  • Complete the desired fields and click the Save icon or press ENTER. This will return you to the Item Maintenance window.
• You can also click the Modify icon or the Delete icon drop-down menu to open or remove a highlighted vendor.
• Click the Save icon when complete.

5     Add an account to an inventory item.

• Click the Create icon drop-down menu and select New Account to attach an account to the inventory item.
  • This will open a new line in the Accounts section and open the Account Type Selection window.
  • Select an Account Type and click the Confirm icon. An Account Type entered in this field will overwrite the Account Types entered into the category code when there are transactions on the inventory item. Account Types are created and maintained in the Account Type Maintenance window (IC> Maintenance> Account Type). Click here for information on Account Type Maintenance.
  • This will open the Chart of Accounts Selection window. Select an account that you would like to associate with the inventory item and click the Confirm icon  .
  • Enter a percentage in the Percentage column to distribute transactions on the inventory item to multiple account types.
    • The total percentage for each account type must be between 1 and 100.
• Click the Delete icon   drop-down menu to remove a highlighted account.
• Click the Save icon   when complete.

6     Complete the Quantity and Value tab.   

• As inventory transactions on this item accumulate, the Locations section will populate with transaction information. These transactions can be displayed by clicking the Expand button next to each of the locations.
  • The Filters section on the lower right allows you to filter the transaction types displayed in the Location section. The transaction types are listed under the Action column. All the filter toggles will be checked by default.
    • Check the Show committed reversals toggle to include both committed and uncommitted reversing entries. Uncommitted reversals will not have a check in the Committed toggle.
  • Uncommitted transactions will be displayed but will not contain a green check in the Committed toggle.
• The Selected Location section allows you to view the inventory information of a location selected in the Location section.
  • Highlight a location in the Locations section. The inventory counts in the Selected Location section will update based on the selected location.
  • Click on the PO Quantity or Requisition Quantity field labels to view the transaction detail that created the quantity values. This allows you to open the purchase order or requisition that contributed to the Adjusted Quantity in that location.
  • The WO Quantity field has not yet been implemented.
  • The Adjusted Quantity field is the on hand total of the selected location plus the PO and Requisition Quantities.
  • If the number of inventory items is higher or lower than the Build To level specified for the selected location, an overstock or understock quantity will be displayed.
    • If an overstock exists, the Overstock Quantity and Overstock Value fields will reflect the number and value of the overstocked items in the Adjusted Quantity field that exceed the Build To Level specified in the selected location. The value is based on the inventory item cost per unit as determined by the costing method selected.
    • If an understock exists, the Understock Quantity field will reflect the number of understocked items in the Adjusted Quantity field that are below the Build To Level specified on the selected location. An understock value will not be provided.
  • Uncommitted manual reversals created in the Inventory Transactions process (IC> Inventory Transactions> Enter Transactions> Generate icon  ) will not be included in the calculations of these fields. They can, however, be displayed in the Locations section if the Show committed reversals toggle is checked.
• The All Locations section will display the inventory information of all the locations in the Locations section. To view a breakdown by location, highlight a location in the Location section and the Selected Location section above will update.
• Click on a location in the Locations section to change the location reordering information.
  • The Reorder Point, Qualifier and Build to Level values can be edited in the Locations section.
  • Enter a Reorder Point for the location to determine when an item should be reordered. When the inventory in this location falls below the Reorder Point the inventory item will be included in the Reorder Report (IC> Reports> Reorder Report).
  • Select a Qualifier from the drop-down menu.
    • The Qualifier value applies to the Build to Level. This allows for some flexibility when reordering. If the Build To Qualifier is set to "At Least" then the quantity generated in the Reorder process will be greater than or equal to the target quantity. If the Build To Qualifier is set to "At Most" then the quantity generated in the Reorder process will be less than or equal to the target quantity.
  • The Build To Level is the amount of inventory the reorder process will build to on reorder.
  • Check the Reorder toggle if you want inventory reordered to the selected location. If you do not reorder inventory to the selected location you can transfer inventory to the location.
    • If this toggle is not checked the Reorder Point and Build To quantities will not be used and the inventory item will not be included in the Reorder Report (IC> Reports> Reorder Report).
  • Check the Default toggle if you want this location to be the default for all new inventory items created in the Item Maintenance window. You can have only one default location.

7     Complete the Miscellaneous tab.   

• Miscellaneous fields are user-defined fields that are used to display and store information and filter reports.
• Miscellaneous field labels are created and maintained on the Miscellaneous Field Label Maintenance window (SS> Utilities> Miscellaneous Field Labels). Click here for information on Miscellaneous Field Labels.
• The Misc Attribute 1-6 fields are user-defined, table-driven attribute codes that can be associated with inventory items.
  • Click a Misc Attribute field label to select an attribute code to attach to the inventory item.
  • Misc Attributes are created and maintained on the Misc Attribute 1-6 Maintenance windows (IC> Maintenance> Misc Attribute 1-6). Click here for information on Misc Attribute 1-6 Maintenance.

8     Complete the Stack tab.   

• If you are using FIFO or LIFO costing on the inventory item, the Stack tab on the Item Maintenance window will be active.
• The Stack tab displays the sequence in which the inventory will be costed as it is issued.
  • Use the Stack Date and Stack Time fields to filter the Stack tab. This is useful if you want to process a transaction at a certain time in order to issue inventory from a certain inventory receipt.
  • Check the Locations toggles for each of the stack locations you would like to display.
  • Use the Recalculate Stacks icon   to refresh the stack information.
• Click the Save icon   to save the new inventory item.

9     Track any changes made to the IC Item.   

• Click the Audit Trail icon   to open the Audit Trail window.
• Use the Search Criteria section to sort the displayed audit trail.
• The Audit Trail History section will provide details about any changes made to the item including the date of the change, type of change made, user that made the change, and data table that was edited.
• Click here for information on the Audit Trail window.