The Inventory Items page allows you to view, edit, or deactivate existing inventory items. This page also allows you to create new inventory items. 


Searching for an Inventory Item


  • GL Code - To search for items that fall under a specific GL Code, enter the GL Code into this auto-fill field. As with any other auto-fill field, selections that match your typed information will appear as you type. 
  • No GL Code Assigned - Select this option to search for inventory items that have not been assigned a specific GL Code. 
  • Inventory Item - To search for a specific inventory item, enter the name of the inventory item into this auto-fill field. 
  • Inventory Item Handling - Enter an inventory item handling type into this auto-fill field to search for inventory items associated with a specific handling type. 
  • Taking Unit - Enter a taking unit into this auto-fill field to search for inventory items with specific taking units. 
  • Inventory Item Name Contains - If you only know part of an inventory item name, you can enter it into this field to search for inventory items that contain your entered information. 
  • Rows per Page - Select the number of rows to display on each page of the Inventory Items table. “25” is selected by default. 
  • Show - Select whether to show active, deactivated, or all VPI’s. “Active” is selected by default. 
  • SHOW - Select SHOW to view all VPI’s that match your search criteria.


Creating/Editing an Inventory Item


Selecting NEW INVENTORY ITEM will open the “New Inventory Item” window where you can create a new inventory item. Note: this is the same window that appears when editing an inventory item. 

  • Inventory Item Name - Enter a desired name for the inventory item. 
  • Inventory Item Code - Enter a code that is to be associated with the new inventory item. GL Code Enter the GL Code that is to be associated with the inventory item into this auto-fill field. Base Unit Select the base unit of the new inventory item. Select from “Each”, “Volume”, or “Weight”. 
  • Price Cals Scheme - Identify the method by which the inventory item is priced. 
  • Exclude From Inventory - Selecting this option will prevent the inventory item from being able to be added to a storage location. This will ultimately make this item unavailable when taking inventory. 
  • Corporate Inventory Only - Selecting this option will allow only corporate-level users to set the item quantity on the Corporate Inventory page (Inventory ? Inventory Setup ? Corporate Tools ? Corporate Inventory). 
  • Taking Units - In this auto-fill field, enter the taking units that are to be associated with the new inventory item. Taking units identify the manner in which an item is measured when taking inventory on the item. Once you have identified the taking unit, select ADD. 
  • Select Default - It is possible to identify more than one taking unit for an inventory item. If you do associate more than one taking unit for an inventory item, check the box next to the taking unit you wish to be the default taking unit for the item. 
  • Prep Only - Selecting ‘Prep Only’ for a taking unit will prevent you from using the taking unit when taking inventory; however, you will still be able quantify an item with this unit in the Prep module. Note that there must be at least one taking unit that does not have this option selected. 
  • Edit Conversion - A bell icon will appear if a conversion equation is needed. Select the bell icon to create the conversion equation and add any pertinent notes. 
  • Delete - If you wish to delete a taking unit, select the red x icon. New: Select NEW to create a new receive unit to associate with the inventory item. 
  • Taking Unit Name - Enter a name for the new taking unit. Container Size: Identify a container size for the taking unit. 
  • Conversion Unit - Select the unit of measure from this drop-down field. 
  • Add Another? - Select this option before you select SAVE in order to immediately add another new taking unit. 
  • SAVE/CANCEL - Select SAVE to save the new taking unit or select CANCEL to cancel the new taking unit. For more information about taking units, see the “Taking Units” page. Minimum / Maximum Price: Identify a minimum and maximum price for the inventory item (per default taking unit). 
  • Add to Storage Location - Identify the location in which the inventory item is to be stored. Location: Select the location from the ‘Location’ drop-down field. 
  • Storage Location - Select where the item is to be stored. Select the inventory cycle for the inventory item. 
  • ADD/REMOVE - Select ADD to add a storage location or REMOVE to remove a storage location. 
  • Use Actual as Theoretical - Selecting this option will cause the actual cost to populate the theoretical cost on certain Inventory and Recipe reports. 
  • Minimum Partition - Select the minimum fraction of the item that can be shown on the prep sheet or ordered using Suggested Ordering. 
  • Handling Type - If the item needs to be handled in a certain manner, enter the handling type into this auto-fill field. If you wish to create a new handling type, select NEW. New Handling Type Enter the name of the handling type you wish to create. 
  • SAVE/CANCEL - Select SAVE to save the new handling type or CANCEL to cancel the creation of a new handling type. 
  • Shelf Life - Identify the shelf life of the item. For example, “2 days” or “3 hours”. 
  • Inventory Item Groups - Selecting the blue plus icon will allow you to assign the item to an inventory item group. Note: This option is only available when editing an inventory item. 
  • ADD - Enter the inventory item group to which you want to add the item. Select ADD to add the inventory item to that group. 
  • NEW - Select NEW if you wish to create a new inventory item group. 
  • Inventory Item Group Name - Enter the desired name of the new inventory item group. 
  • Description - Enter a description of the new inventory item group. 
  • Add Another - If this option is selected and you select SAVE, you will be able to create a new inventory item group without having to re-select NEW. 
  • SAVE/CANCEL - Select SAVE to save the new inventory item group or CANCEL to cancel the creation of a new inventory item group. If the item already belongs to one or more inventory item groups, a table will be displayed that lists all the groups to which the item belongs. If you select the name of an inventory item group, you will be navigated to the Inventory Item Groups page. If you wish to remove the item from an inventory item group, select the red x icon next to group from which you wish to remove the item. 
  • Add Another - Selecting this option and then selecting SAVE will allow you to create another new inventory item without being automatically returned to the main Inventory Items page. Note: This option is only available when creating a new inventory item. 
  • SAVE/CANCEL - Select SAVE to save the new inventory item or CANCEL to cancel the creation of a new inventory item. 
  • COPY - Select COPY to quickly recreate multiple copies of the selected inventory item. This is useful when you have multiple items have the same GL Code and have the same taking unit, such as multiple dried spices or bottles of beer or wine. Upon selecting COPY (which is only displayed when editing the inventory item), the “Copy Inventory Items” will be displayed. 
  • Number of Copies - Simply select the number of copies you would like to make and select COPY. 
  • ‘Copy Storage Locations’ - Select this option if you would like to include the copies into the storage location(s) that original copy is assigned to. 
  • COPY - Select COPY to make you copies. Upon selection, your copied inventory items will be displayed. From here you will be able to change the name of the inventory item. 
  • Save - Select SAVE to save the inventory items. UPDATE UNITS IN STORAGE LOCATIONS If you select this option (located at the top of the page next to NEW INVENTORY ITEM), the taking units for every inventory item in your database will be updated in Storage Locations (AP module ? Storage Locations). This is a good way to do a mass update if you edit the taking units for several of your inventory items. 


The Inventory Item Table


The Inventory Items table displays the following information for each inventory item: alerts, inventory item, code, GL Code, base unit, associated VPI’s, associated storage location items, recipes, conversions, taking units, whether or not the item is excluded from inventory, whether or not the item is for corporate inventory only, price scheme, minimum price, maximum price, default taking unit, handling type, associated inventory item groups, and invoices. Numerous actions can be performed on the Inventory Items table: 

  • Alert - A bell icon will appear in this column for any VPI’s that have alerts. If you select the bell icon, you will be navigated to the Inventory Alerts page for the corresponding inventory item. 
  • Inventory Item - If you select an underlined inventory item, a new window will appear where you will be able to edit the selected item’s information. For more information on using this window to edit an inventory item, please see the “Creating/Editing an Inventory Item” section above. 
  • Vendor Purchase Items - If you select an underlined number in the “Vendor Purchase Items” column, you will be navigated to the Vendor Purchase Items page where you will immediately be able to view the VPI’s for the selected inventory item. 
  • Storage Location - Selecting an underlined number in the “Storage Location Items” column will open a pop-up window that displays all the storage locations for the selected item. 
  • Taking Unit - If you select an underlined number in the “Taking Units” column, you will be navigated to Taking Units page where you will immediately be able to view information for the corresponding inventory item’s taking units. 
  • Inventory Item Group - If you select an underlined number in the “Inventory Item Groups” column, you will be navigated to a new window where you will be able to see the inventory item groups to which the item belongs or add the inventory item to a group. 
  • ADD - Enter the inventory item group to which you want to add the item. Select ADD to add the inventory item to that group. 
  • NEW - Select NEW if you wish to create a new inventory item group 
  • Inventory Item Group Name - Enter the desired name of the new inventory item group. 
  • Description - Enter a description of the new inventory item group. 
  • Add Another - If this option is selected and you select SAVE, you will be able to create a new inventory item group without having to re-select NEW. 
  • SAVE/CANCEL - Select SAVE to save the new inventory item group or CANCEL to cancel the creation of a new inventory item group. If the item already belongs to one or more inventory item groups, a table will be displayed that lists all the groups to which the item belongs. If you select the name of an inventory item group, you will be navigated to the Inventory Item Groups page. If you wish to remove the item from an inventory item group, select the red x icon next to group from which you wish to remove the item. 
  • DONE - Select DONE to return to the main Inventory Items page. 
  • View Invoices - Selecting a green arrow icon in the “Invoices” column will direct you to the Invoice Details page for the corresponding inventory item. Here, you will be able to view the last 10 invoices on which the inventory item appeared. 
  • Edit - To edit information for an inventory item, select the pencil icon. 
  • Deactivate - Select the red x icon in the second-to-last column to deactivate a particular inventory item. After selection, a pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation of deactivation. Select OK to confirm deactivation or CANCEL to negate the deactivation. 
  • Super Deactivate - Selecting the red x icon in the last column will delete and deactivate the inventory item. A warning will appear when you select this icon that lists all linked objects. Select OK to deactivate the item and all linked objects. Select CANCEL to return to the Inventory Items table. Tips You can re-sort the Inventory Items table by clicking on any of the underlined column headers. Click once to sort in ascending order. Click again to sort in descending order. 


Frequently Asked Questions 


Q: How does the “Weighted Average Last 4 Elapsed Weeks” price scheme calculate inventory item price? 

A: The “Weighted Average Last 4 Elapsed Weeks” price calculation looks at each completed fiscal week and then populates a weighted average cost for each inventory item per week for the last 4 completed fiscal weeks. Note: If there are no purchases for a week, no price is calculated (a $0 value is not recorded). Selecting this price scheme will effectively display a “missing price” for any inventory item if you have not made any purchases within 4 weeks prior to the date of inventory.