Adding Inventory Item

The following steps will explain in detail how to add a new Inventory Items.  This Help Topic is divided into the following Tabs: Inventory Tab, Setup Tab, Detail Tab, Fields Tab, Pricing Tab, Stock Tab, Photo Tab, and Alt. Vendors Tab.

Inventory Tab

1.From the Main Menu, click on Inventory Control, then Inventory Item. This will open up the Find form for Inventory items. Since you are adding a new Inventory Item, click on the New button in the upper left hand corner of the Find form. You will now be brought to the Inventory Items form where you may begin entering data. The cursor will be flashing at the top of the form in the Item No field.

2.You must assign a unique Item No for each inventory item. The Item No is the same thing as your inventory items part number. This is the number that will be used throughout VisionCore to reference this inventory item. When you have finished entering data for each field, press the TAB or ENTER key to move your cursor to the next field.

3.The Vendor Item No field is used to enter your vendor's part number of the inventory item.  This will be the number that prints on all your purchase transaction invoices and orders. This way you can use your Item No to create a Vendor Purchase Order but when you print that purchase order it will use the part number you entered in the Vendor Item No. field for that vendor.

4.The Vendor ID field is used to assign a vendor to the inventory item. You can select any vendor that has been previously entered in the Vendor form. Click the ellipse button next to this field to open the Vendor form where you can add, delete or edit vendors. The Vendor ID field is important to fill out if you want to let VisionCore automatically create purchase orders when you sell this inventory item and there are none in stock.

5.The Item Type field is used to assign an item type for the  selected item.  Options for this field are Inventory Item, Assembly, Kit, Non-Inventory, Service and Other Charge.  See: Inventory Form Feature (when changing Item Type).

6.The Classification field is used to classify items.  Options for this field are None, Serialized and Lot Number.

7.The Description field is used to enter a detailed description of the inventory item.  The description field is a memo field, which is capable of storing up to 64,000 characters of text.  This allows you to enter a very detailed description for each inventory item.  The description field will be used on any sales, service or purchase transactions for each item you enter in the Line Item Detail.

8.The PO Description field is used to enter a detailed purchase order description of the inventory item.  The PO Description field is a memo field, which is capable of storing up to 64,000 characters of text.  This allows you to enter a very detailed description for each inventory item.  The PO Description field will be used on any sales, service or purchase transactions for each item you enter in the Line Item Detail.

9.The Additional Info field is used to enter an additional description of up to 50 characters.  This can be used to enter short notes about the main description.  This field will be displayed on any sales, service or purchase transactions that use a two line Line Item Detail.

10.The Category grid contains two column headers: Category Name and Description. This is used  to assign one or more categories/subcategories to each inventory item.

Inventory Setup

1.The Primary Category field is used to assign a primary category to each inventory item. Click the Ellipse button next to this field to open the Inventory Categories  form where you can add, delete or modify inventory categories to be displayed in the Primary Category field.

2.The Unit Measure combo box field is used to enter the Unit Measure you want to assign a pricing level to.  You may have anywhere from one to several Unit Measures available to choose from in the combo box depending on how many were created for the selected inventory item.

3.The Status field contains a combo box where you may choose Active, Phased out, or Discontinued.  Any inventory setup as Discontinued will still show in the Inventory Items form.  Once you have depleted the items left in stock for that item, you won't see it anywhere other than the Inventory Items form.  This gives you a way to remove certain items, you no longer carry, from the Item No combo boxes in all the sales, service and purchase transaction forms.  This will make it easier to see what you really have to sell or purchase.

4.The Class Code field contains a combo box where you may choose  Special Order, Fragile, Non-Stock Item, or Service.  Click the Ellipse button next to this field to open the Inventory Class Code form where you can add, delete or modify class code to be displayed in the Class  Code combo box field.

5.The Currency field is used to assign a default currency for each inventory item.  Normally this will automatically fill in with your default Currency ID setup in the Company Preferences  form but you can change it if necessary.  If the currency you want to use is not in the list you will have to add it to the Currency Exchange Rate form.  Every time this inventory item is used on an invoice, or order, the default currency will fill in the Currency ID on that form.  You can still override the Currency ID after it fills in if you need to, but it helps speed data entry.

6.The Track Landed Cost checkbox, when enabled, is used to track Landed Cost Process

Inventory Details

1.        The Manufacturer combo box field is used to enter the manufacturer of the inventory item.  You can click the Ellipse button to open the Inventory Manufactures form where you can add, delete or modify manufactures.

2.        The Manufacturer No. field is where you enter the manufacturer's number.

3.        The Model Number field is where you enter the manufacturer's model number.

4.        The UPC Code field is where you enter the manufacturer's UPC related code to form a bar code.  The total UPC number is twelve numbers in length.  You will have to enter the six numbers the UPC Council has selected for the item plus six more numbers of your own choosing for a total, so far, of eleven numbers.

Setup Tab

Inventory Setup

1.The Lead Time field is where you enter the manufacturer's lead time.

2.The Taxable check box gives you an option to tax an item or not. If you enable this checkbox, the item will be taxed base on the customer default tax.

3.The Case Qty. field is where you enter/review the manufacturer's case quantity.

4.The Tax Exempt field is used to enter an amount that an item or service is exempt from sales tax.  Some services and items may be exempt from sales tax but only for a certain amount.  Example: Item "A" sells for 50.00 but is sales tax exempt for the first 20.00.  Enter 20.00 in the Sales Tax Exempt field and sales tax will only be figured on the difference, in this case 30.00.

Commission Detail

1.If you select to enable the Commissionable check box you will enable commission to be applied.

2.If you select 'None' in the combo box for the Special Commission field you will unable special commission to be applied.  If you select 'Yes', you will enable Special Commission to be applied.

3.If you selected Yes and enabled Special Commission to be applied, you may now enter the Special Commission Percentage you would like in the Special Commission Percent field.

Inventory History Area

The Inventory History area displays the date of the last purchase order and when it is expected.  It also shows how many times the selected inventory item has been sold.

1.The Entered field will reflect the date and time this inventory item was first input into the program.

2.The Modified Date field will reflect the date and time this inventory items file has been changed in any way.

3.The Last Ordered field will reflect the date and time of the latest Vendor Purchase Order that has not been filled or completed.

4.The Expected Date field will reflect the expected date and time of delivery of the latest Vendor Purchase Order that has not been filled or completed.

Detail Tab

You can get to the Detail page of information by clicking on the Detail tab.

Substitute Item Area

The Substitute Item area enables you to suggest substitute products.  This can be a convenient way to maximize your options.

In this area you may select Substitute Item from the combo box.  Once selected, the Description of the substitute products will appear as well.  You may delete a Substitute Item by clicking on the little delete button located to the left of the Substitute Product name you would like to delete.  The little delete button has a picture of "X" in it.

Accessory Item Area

The Accessory Item area enables you to suggest accessory products.  This can be a convenient way to maximize your options.

In this area you may select Accessory Item from the combo box.  Once selected, the Description of the accessory products will appear as well.  You may delete an Accessory Item by clicking on the little delete button located to the left of the Accessory Product name you would like to delete.  The little delete button has a picture of "X" in it.

Notes Area

The Notes field gives you space to make any special notes about the vendor that are not covered in other areas of the Inventory form. Please note, the text in this field does not conform to the settings in the Company Preferences form. It is set for Normal case because it assumes that you will be typing paragraphs rather than proper names.

Royalty Information Area

1.If the check box by the word Royalty is checked a royalty will be enabled to be applied to the Item.

2.The Property field is where you may enter the related Property.

3.The Rate is the normally filled in with the selected inventory items' royalty rate.

4.The Vendor ID combo box field is used to assign a vendor to the inventory item.  You can select any vendor that has been previously entered in the Vendor form.  Click the Ellipse button next to this field to open the Vendor form where you can add, delete or edit vendors.  The Vendor ID field is important to fill out if you want to let VisionCore automatically create purchase orders when you sell this inventory item and there are none in stock

5.The Expires field contains the date you have agreed is the date you stop giving the royalty to your vendors.  This date automatically defaults to today's date.  Click the drop down arrow next to this field to open the miniature calendar where you can graphically enter a date.

Fields Tab

Under the Field column heading, simply click on the little combo box button (the arrow head pointing down) to select the type of user field you wish. Then, type in the value (whether it be a phone number, an E-mail address, etc.) in the Value field. As you can see, you may add a number of user fields.

Pricing Tab

The Pricing Tab has four sections that will be described below: the Sell Price Area, the Purchase Cost Area, Pricing Level Area and the Special Pricing Area.
 

Sell Price Area

1.The Sales Price is the price used when creating sales and service transactions.  This price can be manually entered to any amount you wish to charge your customers or calculated by using one of the Pricing Methods described below.  The Sales Price could possibly change for certain customers based on that Customers Pricing Level or if you have setup any Inventory Pricing Levels or Inventory Special Pricing for this inventory item.  There are numerous ways throughout VisionCore to give discounts, special pricing, level pricing and individual customer pricing.

2.The Retail Price is the price charged to store customers.    

3.The MSRP or Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price is a suggested selling price for the retailer.  By default, this copies the value of the Retail Price.

4.The Pricing Method combo box can be used to assign any one of three different pricing methods to the inventory items Standard Cost field.  This can be very helpful if you are looking to add a set amount to the cost of your inventory items.  You can choose from Fixed Dollar Amount, Markup Standard Cost, Percent of Margin or None.  When you first create a new inventory item the Pricing Method field will be set to None.  This can be changed at any time to a different Pricing Method.
 
The Fixed Dollar Amount pricing method will display an Amount field to the right of the Pricing Method combo box.  In the Amount field enter the exact amount you want to add to the Standard Cost field of the inventory item.  For example if the Standard Cost is 150.00 and you enter 25.00 in the Amount field, the Sales Price will automatically change to display 175.00.
 
The Markup Standard Cost pricing method will display a Percent field to the right of the Pricing Method combo box.  In the Percent field enter the exact percent you want to use to calculate the Sales Price field of the inventory item.  The formula used to determine the Sales Price will be the Standard Cost amount plus the Percent amount you entered in the Percent field.  For example if the Standard Cost amount is 150.00 and you enter 25 in the Percent field (25%), the Sales Price will automatically change to display 187.50.  That is 150.00 plus 37.50 or (25%) equals 187.50.
 
The Percent of Margin pricing method will display a Percent field to the right of the Pricing Method combo box.  In the Percent field enter the exact percent you want to use to calculate the Sales Price field of the inventory item.  The formula used to determine the Sales Price will be the Standard Cost amount divided by 1 minus the Percent amount you entered in the Percent field.  For example if the Standard Cost amount is 150.00 and you enter 25 in the Percent field (25%), the Sales Price will automatically change to display 200.00.  That is 150.00 divided by .75 or (1 - 25% = .75) equals 200.00.
 
The None pricing method will not display any fields to the right of the Pricing Method combo box.  It also will not affect the Sales Price at all.  You will be able to manually enter the Sales Price to any amount you choose.

Purchase Cost

1.The Standard Cost field is the cost you want to assign as the inventory items standard cost.  This will be the standard or normal cost you would use for the inventory item.  It is also the cost that the Pricing Method field will use to calculated the Sales Price if you enable it.

2.The Last Cost field is used to track the most recent cost you paid for it.  The Last Cost gets updated whenever Purchase Receipt is received. This will always let you know what your latest cost is for this inventory item. Since this field constantly changes when you receive a Purchase Receipt,  the Standard Cost is provided to hold a constant cost that only changes when you change it.

3.The Average Cost field is used to track the items' average cost.  The Average Cost method, an option in the Pricing Method field in the Inventory Pricing Area of the Inventory items Pricing Tab, will calculate the cost of your inventory based on an average cost of all the amounts paid for the inventory in stock.  The Average Cost will get updated automatically every time you create and post a Bill that uses this inventory item.  This will always let you know what your latest average cost is for this inventory item.  Since this field constantly changes when you create Bills the Standard Cost is provided to hold a constant cost that only changes when you change it.  The Average Cost field will be locked after you are finished entering a new inventory item.  The ellipse button on this field can be used later to unlock the Average Cost field when you view existing inventory items.

Pricing Level tab

1.        The Level combo box field can be used to enter the level number you want to assign to the pricing level.  It will default to 1, which you can leave or change.  You can select up to 20 different pricing levels each of, which can be setup with any Minimum and Maximum quantity settings.  When you have finished entering data for each field, press the TAB or ENTER key to move your cursor to the next field.

2.        The Unit Measure combo box field is used to enter the Unit Measure you want to assign a pricing level to.  You may have anywhere from one to several Unit Measures available to choose from in the combo box depending on how many were created for the selected inventory item.

3.        The Units field will be automatically entered based on the Unit Measure you selected.  If you used the default Unit Measure of 'Each' then a 1 will appear in the Units field.  The Units field is important to pay attention to because it will multiply itself by the Unit Price to give you the Sales Price for this level.

4.        The Min field is used to enter the minimum quantity a customer has to order of the selected Item No to get the discounted sales price.

5.        The Max field is used to enter the maximum quantity a customer can order of the selected Item No to get the discounted sales price.

6.        The Pricing Method combo box field is used to pick from a preset number of pricing discounts.  There are five different Pricing Methods you can choose from and each are described below in more detail.
 
The Fixed Dollar Amount pricing method will display the $ symbol in the field to the right of the Pricing Method combo box.  In the Percent / Amount field enter the exact amount you want to add to the Standard Cost field of the inventory item.  For example, if the Standard Cost is 150.00 and you enter 25.00 in the Percent / Amount field, the Unit Price will automatically change to display 175.00.
 
The Markup Standard Cost pricing method will display the % symbol in the field to the right of the Pricing Method combo box.  In the Percent / Amount field enter the exact percent you want to use to calculate the Unit Price field.  The formula used to determine the Unit Price will be the Standard Cost amount plus the Percent amount you entered in the Percent / Amount field.  For example, if the Standard Cost amount is 150.00 and you enter 25 in the Percent / Amount field (25%), the Unit Price will automatically change to display 187.50.  That is 150.00 plus 37.50 or (25%) equals 187.50.
 
The Percent of Margin pricing method will display the % symbol in the field to the right of the Pricing Method combo box.  In the Percent / Amount field enter the exact percent you want to use to calculate the Unit Price field.  The formula used to determine the Unit Price will be the Standard Cost amount divided by (1 minus the Percent amount you entered in the Percent / Amount field).  For example, if the Standard Cost amount is 150.00 and you enter 25 in the Percent / Amount field (25%), the Unit Price will automatically change to display 200.00.  That is 150.00 divided by .75 or (1 - 25% = .75) equals 200.00.
 
The Discount Sales Price pricing method will display the % symbol in the field to the right of the Pricing Method combo box.  In the Percent / Amount field enter the exact percent you want to use to calculate the Unit Price field of the inventory item.  The formula used to determine the Unit Price will be the Sales Price amount minus the Percent amount you entered in the Percent / Amount field.  For example, if the Sales Price amount is 250.00 and you enter 10 in the Percent / Amount field (10%), the Unit Price will automatically change to display 225.00.  That is 250.00 minus 25.00 or (10%) equals 225.00.
 
The None pricing method will not display any symbols in the fields to the right of the Pricing Method combo box.  It also will not affect the Unit Price at all.  You will be able to manually enter the Unit Price to any amount you choose.  The Percent / Amount field will display zero and you will not be able to change it.

7.        The Percent / Amount field is used in conjunction with the selected Pricing field.  You either enter an amount or a percent in this field to be calculated with the Unit Price to give you the Sales Price.  You will notice a little yellow field just to the left of this field that will either display a $ or % symbol.  This will visually tell you if the number entered in this field is considered an amount or a percent.

8.        The Unit Price is the price that will be charged for the item if the customer falls into all the parameters.  You can view the selected inventory items Sales Price and Standard Cost at the top of this form.  This can give you a guide line for what you want the Unit Price to be if the customer falls within the parameters that you set.

9.        The Unit Total is the price based on the Unit Price multiplied by the Units field.  Unless you are using special Unit Measures the Unit Price and Sales Price will be the same.  The Sales Price basically becomes the add Sales Price the customer will receive if they fall into the pricing level you set.

10.        There will be a little delete button next to each line item in the Line Item Detail list.  To delete a line from the Line Item Detail  click the little delete button at the left side of the line item next to the Level field.  This will delete whichever line you click that button on.

Special Pricing Tab

1.You must select a unique Unit Measure for each inventory special price you want to assign.  If you only have one unit measure then you will only be able to enter one special price for that unit measure.  The reason you can specify a special price for each unit measure is because normally you charge different amounts for each unit measure.  When you have finished entering data for each field, press the TAB or ENTER key to move your cursor to the next field.

2.Once you select a Unit measure you will notice that all the rest of the fields on that line will automatically fill in.

3.The Units field will display the units that the Unit Price is calculated by to come up with the Special Price field.

4.The Begin Date is the date you want to start giving the special price to your customers.  This date automatically defaults to today's date when you first enter a new Unit Measure.  Click the drop down button in the Begin Date field to open the miniature calendar where you can graphically enter this date.

5.The End Date is the date you want to stop giving the special price to your customers.  This date automatically defaults to today's date when you first enter a new Unit Measure.  Click the drop down button in the End Date field to open the miniature calendar where you can graphically enter this date.

6.The Unit Price is the normally filled in with the selected inventory items sales price.  This is the amount you would change to assign the special price in the Special Price field.  The Unit Price will be multiplied by the Units field to come up with the add special price in the Special Price field.

7.The Special Price field is a calculated field and the price that the customers will get for the selected inventory item.  The special price is calculated from the Unit Price multiplied by the Units field, which is based on the unit measure field.

8.To assign additional special prices for inventory items with more than one unit measure, select the next unit measure and follow the previous steps to add a special price to it.

Stock Tab

1.The Inventory Stock area displays quantities In Stock, Committed, Back Ordered, On Order and Expected. These fields are read only and cannot be manually changed.  To add the number of inventory in stock for the selected inventory item you need to either create and post a Sales or Purchase Transaction, create an Inventory Adjustment or enter an Inventory Opening Balance.
 
The In Stock field is read only and displays the total quantity in stock.  Every time you sell or purchase this inventory item the In Stock field will change to display the add quantity in stock.
 
The Committed field is read only and displays the total quantity of that inventory item that has been ordered by a customer, but not yet invoiced/shipped.  Every time you create an order for the inventory item, the Committed field will change to display the quantity that's committed.  Committed means ordered by a customer, but yet still in stock.  Once the Order is converted to an Invoice and posted the Committed field will change to show the new quantity committed.
 
The Back Order field is read only and displays the total quantity on back order.  Every time a Back Order is created for the selected inventory item the Back Order field will change to display the add quantity on back order.
 
The On Order field is read only and displays the total quantity on order.  Every time you create a purchase order for this inventory item the On Order field will change to display the add quantity on order.
 
The Expected field is read only and displays the total quantity expected.  The Expected quantity figure comes from the related Purchase Order.

2.The Reorder Point field can be used to enter a quantity that you want to order more inventory at.  VisionCore will remind you with a message anytime this inventory item drops to that quantity or below it in any of the sales or service transaction forms.  You can also open the Reminder List  form from the Main Menu to display all the inventory that has reached or fallen below the quantity set here.

3.Clicking on the ellipse button to the left of the Warehouse ID field will bring you to the Inventory Warehouse Transaction History form where you may review every transaction that makes up the total stock for each warehouse.

Images Tab

The Images tab allows setting of three (3) base images (Primary Image, Thumbnail and Icon) along with rollover text for each.  These are the primary images that AbleCommerce uses for each item.  Then the Additional Image URL grid allows for an unlimited number of additional images. The little globe buttons are used to open a web browser to display the photo from the URL entered.  For a sample setup of this tab, see Inventory Images Tab.

Specs Tab

The Specs Tab allows you to enter the specification or additional information of a certain product.  The Specs field can be transferred to AbleCommerce as the main Html Description.  For a sample setup of this tab, see Inventory Specs Tab.

Vendors Tab

The Alternate Vendor Tab may be accessed by clicking on the Alt. Vendors tab in the Inventory Items form from Inventory Control menu.

The alternate Vendor tab is used to list all the alternate vendors where you purchase the selected inventory item in the Inventory Items form.  This tab allows you to create an unlimited number of Vendors for one Item No.  This feature is  very helpful if you often get the same product from multiple vendors.  It allows you to input the Vendor ID, their number, the lead time and cost.

The Vendor ID combo box field is used to assign a vendor to the inventory item.  You can select any vendor that has been previously entered in the Vendor form.

Clicking on the ellipse button to the left of the Alternate Vendor ID field will bring you to the Vendor form where you may review the Vendor.

There will be a little delete button next to each line item in the Line Item Detail list. To delete an Alternative Vendor from the Line Item Detail click the little delete button at the left side of the line item next to the ellipse button.  This will delete whichever line you click that button on.