A Vendor Purchase Item Conversion alert occurs when a VPI does not have a conversion equation from the selected receive unit to the selected base unit.  You can prevent this alert from popping for VPI’s that have been tagged as “Exclude From Inventory” by selecting the “VPI Conversion Alert ignores 'Excluded From Inventory' Items” inventory setting.  For more information on this setting, see the Inventory Settings page. 


  • Vendor Purchase Item -  To search for a specific VPI, enter the VPI name into this auto-fill field. 
  • The Vendor Purchase Item Conversion Table-This table displays the following information:  Vendor Purchase Item, Code, Vendor, Location, Invoice Batch, Invoice, Posting Date, Invoice Date, Quantity, Receive Unit, Conversion Unit, Inventory Item, and Conversion Equation (Base Unit to Receive Unit). 
    • Vendor Purchase Item - If you select a VPI, you will be navigated to the Vendor Purchase Items page where information for the selected VPI will be displayed. 
    • Vendor - If you select a vendor, you will be navigated to the Vendor List page.
    • Invoice Batch - you select an invoice batch number, you will be navigated to the Invoice Batch Details page where information for the selected batch will automatically be displayed. 
    • Invoice - If you select an invoice number, you will be navigated to the Invoice Details page where information for the selected invoice will automatically be displayed. 
    • Receive Unit - If you hover your mouse over a receive unit, a message box will display receive unit information.  If you select a receive unit, you will be automatically navigated to the Receive Units page. 
    • Inventory Item - If you select an inventory item, you will be navigated to the Inventory Items page where information for the selected inventory item will be displayed. 
    • Default Taking Unit - If you hover your mouse over a taking unit, a message box will display default taking unit information.  If you select a taking unit, you will be automatically navigated to the Taking Units page. 
    • FIX - Select FIX to resolve an alert.  Upon selection, you will be able to create a conversion equation and add any pertinent notes.  Be sure to select UPDATE to commit your changes or CANCEL to negate any changes.
  • USDA Conversion Suggestions - You can view USDA conversion suggestions for an inventory item by entering the name of the inventory item into the USDA Item Name auto-fill field.  Select FIND to get the suggested conversion.  To view the entire USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, select the corresponding link.  This will navigate you to the Agricultural Research Service’s website where you can access the entire nutrient database. 


Unlike other alerts, there are multiple ways to correct this alert. 


Best Practice: Confirm that the VPI and Inventory Item are correct before applying a conversion. 


1. Review the VPI and check:

  • Inventory Item linking
  • Purchase Unit

3. Review Inventory Item Base / Taking Unit

4. If the above does not resolve the alert, click 'Fix' to apply a conversion