Add an item
Create the product or service you buy, sell or stock. Pick goods or services, type the name, the tax code, the unit and the purchase rate, then click Add.
Quick add
- Go to Item Central › Items and add a new item. Leave Item Type on Goods, or pick Services.
- Type the Item Name. Pick a Brand if you use them.
- Type the Item HSN Number (Item SAC Number for services) and pick the UOM.
- On the Pricing tab, type the Purchase Rate. If the item is saleable, type the Sales Price too.
- Click Add.
Done. You return to the Items list. The item is Active (or In Review if your business approves new items), with the next Item ID in your series.
Full guide
Every part of the form, top to bottom. Open Fields in a section for the detail. The tables say which fields are required.
Item type and level
Goods are things you buy, sell or stock. Services have no stock. Item Type cannot be changed after the item is saved. For goods, Product level is Base Model (the default) or Variant. A variant belongs to a base model, such as one size of a shirt, and is stocked on its own.
Fields in this section
| Field | Required | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Item Type | Yes | Goods or Services. Fixed once saved. |
| Product level | Goods only | Base Model or Variant. |
| Base Model | Yes, for a variant | The base item this variant belongs to. A base model that tracks stock cannot have variants. |
Identity and tax
The Item ID is the next number in your series and is filled for you. If your numbering allows it, click the pencil beside it to type your own, then the save icon. It is locked once the item is saved. While you type the Item Name on a new item, matching catalogue entries are offered; picking one fills the name, descriptions, unit and category for you to review. Rates are never filled.
Fields in this section
| Field | Required | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Item ID | Yes | Given for you. Edit it only if you use your own numbering. |
| Item Name | Yes | The name shown on documents and in lists. Two items in one business unit cannot share a name. |
| Item HSN Number | Yes, for goods | Digits only. Click the search icon to look one up. The length must be one your business allows. |
| Item SAC Number | Yes, for services | Digits only, with the search icon. The length must be one your business allows. |
| GST (India) / VAT (UAE, United Kingdom) % | No | The tax rate on the item. |
| UOM | Yes | The unit the item is stocked in. |
| Brand | No | Pick one, or click the plus to add a brand. Not shown for services. |
| Item Category | No | Shown only when categories are turned on in Item settings. |
| Item Sub-Category | No | Shown once a category is picked and sub-categories are on. |
| Approval Status | No | Shown only when your business has an item approval workflow. |
The picture box beside the name takes a photo of the item. Tags sit beside the stock controls: add up to 5, each with its own colour.
Saleable and stock tracking
Saleable is ticked by default. Untick it for something you only buy, such as a raw material: the sales fields then disappear. For goods, Track stock for this item turns on stock levels, cost layers and consumption. It appears only when your plan includes Inventory.
Switching stock tracking on cannot be undone, and it cannot be turned on for a base model that has variants. Documents saved before the change keep their non-stock lines; only new ones move stock. The date it was switched on is shown beside the box and in the Inventory Enabled On column of the list. A purchase account that is a Fixed Assets account turns stock tracking off, because fixed assets are not stock.
Fields in this section
| Field | Required | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Saleable | No | Ticked by default. Needed for the sales fields. |
| Track stock for this item | No | Goods only. Cannot be switched off once on. |
Pricing tab
The default rates and accounts for the item. They are filled into every document that uses it, and you can change them on the document. Pick a currency beside each rate.
Fields in this section
| Field | Required | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase Rate | Yes | What you pay for one unit. |
| Max Purchase Rate | No | The most you expect to pay. Stored, not enforced. |
| Purchase Description | No | Text shown on purchase documents. |
| Purchase COA | No | The account purchases of this item post to. |
| Sales Price | Yes, when Saleable | What you sell one unit for. |
| Min Selling Price | No | The least you expect to sell for. Stored, not enforced. |
| Sales Description | No | Text shown on sales documents. |
| Sales COA | No | The account sales of this item post to. |
| Enforce Price | No | Shown as None and switched off. |
Inventory tab
Goods only, and only once stock tracking is on. Without it, the tab offers the stock tracking box. An item is tracked in lots or by serial number, never both: ticking one locks the other.
Fields in this section
| Field | Required | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Track this item in lots | No | Each receipt is kept as its own lot. |
| Track this item by serial number | No | Every unit has its own serial number. |
| Lot Number Series | No | Up to 35 letters, numbers, hyphens and forward slashes. Used for stock you make in-house. |
| Shelf Life (Days) | No | Whole days from receipt to expiry, from 1 to 365000. |
| Consumption Method | No | FIFO (oldest first, recommended) or LIFO (newest first). |
| Inventory COA | No | The stock account. Leave blank for the default Inventory Asset account. |
Below these, the barcodes table holds each barcode with its type (Manufacturer, Internal or Any). A manufacturer barcode must be 8 to 13 digits (EAN-8 or EAN-13), a barcode cannot repeat on the item, and one barcode is marked Primary. Lots and serials on documents are explained in Inventory basics.
Packing tab
Sell in and Buy in let a document use a pack unit, such as a box, with how many stock units it holds. Packing levels describe how the item is packed, smallest first. The full explanation is in Packing units and levels.
Quality tab
Goods only, and only once stock tracking is on. Pick an Inward checklist (checked when the item is received, on a goods receipt or a bill) and an Outward checklist (checked before it is dispatched), or leave No checklist. Criteria saved on older items are listed for reference only; quality control reads the checklists. See Quality.
Specifications and Cost break up
Specifications records technical details, one row each: Parameter, Measurement Unit, Value and Description. Cost break up splits the cost: Category, Subcategory, Remarks and Cost. Contribution (%) is worked out for you and the Total Cost shows under the table. Click the plus to add a row and the bin to remove one.
Notes and Attachments
Notes is free text on the item. View Attachments opens the attachment box (up to 5 files), for example a datasheet or a drawing.
Add or Cancel
Add creates the item and returns you to the list. Cancel leaves without saving; if you changed something you are asked to confirm. If something is missing, a message shows beside the field or at the top, and the form opens the tab that needs fixing.
Other ways to add
The import template
Download the template from the Bulk Import page. Its columns are Item ID, Item Name, HSN/SAC, Item Type, Purchase Description, Sales Description, UOM, the tax rate column (GST %, which takes 18, 18% or 0.18), Purchase Rate, Sales Price, Is Saleable, Is Inventory, Consumption Method, Is Base Model and Base Product. Only Item Name is mandatory in the file; leave Item ID blank only if your business numbers items automatically. Base Product takes the base item's ID or its exact name. Items are checked by the same rules as the form, so a duplicate name or a bad code is refused in the preview.
Scenarios
Problems and fixes
It will not save and I cannot see why
The form opens the tab that needs fixing. The usual causes are no Item Name, no Purchase Rate, no UOM, no HSN or SAC number of an allowed length, no Sales Price on a saleable item, and a variant with no Base Model.
It says the item name already exists
Another item in this business unit has the same name. Open that item, or change the name.
It says the HSN number must be one of certain lengths
Your business allows only the lengths listed in the message. They are set in Item settings. Use the search icon to pick a valid code.
I cannot tick Track stock for this item
Your plan may not include Inventory. On a variant, the base model may already track stock: turn that off first. A Fixed Assets purchase account also blocks it. A service never offers it.
I cannot switch stock tracking off, or change the Item Type
Both are fixed once the item is saved. Add a new item if you got it wrong, and archive the old one.
It will not let me turn on lot tracking
The item already holds stock that has no lot, and the message names the quantity. Lot tracking is refused until that stock is dealt with.