Creating items

To create an item

1. From the Inventory menu > Items, choose Create item to open the Create item page.
2. Complete the fields in the Details section:
   
   1. Name—enter a short item name.
   2. Description—enter a detailed item description, for use on invoices and bills. Note: If you leave this field blank, the Name will be used as the description.
   3. Select whether to Use item description on sales and purchases. If you leave this option deselected, only the item's Name will show in sales and purchases.
   4. Item ID—enter a unique identifier for the item.
3. If you track the on hand quantity of the item, complete the fields in the Inventory section:
   1. Select the option, I track stock for this item.
   2. Asset account for tracking inventory—choose the account to record the on-hand value of this item.
4. If you sell this item, complete the fields in the Selling section:
   
   1. Select the option I sell this item. The fields in this section become active.
   2. Selling price ($)—enter the price of the item, excluding tax or GST.
   3. Selling prices is—select either Tax inclusive or Tax exclusive.
   4. Unit of measure—enter a unit of measure for the item, such as boxes, cans, hours, kg, etc.
   5. Items per selling unit—the number of items that comprise a single unit.  For example, if you sell by the six-pack, enter 6 as the number of items per selling unit. When you sell one six-pack, your item inventory is reduced by six items. The default value of this field is one.
   6. Income account for tracking sales—choose the account to which you want sales of this item allocated.
   7. Cost of sales account—choose the account for tracking the costs of purchasing this item.
   8. Tax code—select the relevant tax code to be applied when selling this item. If unsure, check with your accounting advisor or the ATO.
5. If you buy this item, complete the following fields in the Buying section:
   
   1. Select the option I buy this item. The fields in this section become active.

   2. Buying price ($)—enter the cost of the item, including tax or GST.

      In a future release, you'll be able to enter tax exclusive Buying price if you want.

   3. Unit of measure—enter a unit of measure for the item, such as boxes, cans, hours, kg, etc.
   4. Items per buying unit—type the number of items that comprise a single buying unit. For example, if you buy eggs by the carton and track their purchase individually, enter 12 as the number of items per buying unit. When you buy one carton, your item inventory is updated by twelve items. The default value of this field is one.
   5. Tax code—select the relevant tax code to be applied when buying this item. If unsure, check with your accounting advisor or the ATO.
   6. Supplier Item ID—enter the supplier’s number for the item or SKU (Stock Keeping Unit). Use this to check against supplier bills or to help you to find the item when buying or selling it.

6. [Optional] Enter the Restocking information:

   • Enter the Minimum stock level of this item you want to keep in your inventory. When the quantity drops below this level, this will be indicated in the Reorder report.

   • Choose the Primary supplier for reorders from whom you usually re-order this item.
   • Enter a Default reorder quantity for the item.
   
   
   Here's our example of an inventory item:
   
   
   
   

7. When you're done, click:
   
   

   • Save to save the item.
   • Save and duplicate to save the item and create another item with the same details and a new Item ID. You can then customise the duplicated item – see 'To duplicate an item' below.
   • Save and create new to save the item and create a new blank item.

   The initial on-hand quantity is zero. To add the opening on-hand quantity, we recommend you make an inventory adjustment, allocating the adjustment to the asset account for tracking inventory.

To duplicate an item

If you want to create an item using another item's details, you can duplicate an item. If you have a number of similar items, this can help speed up creating them.

1. Go to the Inventory menu > Items.
2. Click the Item ID of the item you want to duplicate.
3. Click Save and duplicate.
   
   
   The old item is saved and the item that now appears is duplicated from it. Next, customise the duplicate item.

4. Change the Item ID.

   You must change the Item ID to save the duplicate item.

5. Where necessary, update the new item with your changes.
6. Click Save.
   If you're replacing the old item, you should make it inactive so it no longer shows up in selection lists and reports.
7. Click the Item ID of the original item you duplicated.
8. Select Inactive item.
9. Click Save.

10. Repeat these steps for any other items you want to duplicate.

    The initial on-hand quantity of a duplicated item is zero. To add the opening on-hand quantity, we recommend you make an inventory adjustment, allocating the adjustment to the asset account for tracking inventory.

What if I need to change how I track an item?

You can only change how you track an item (the inventory method) if you haven't used the item in a transaction.

For example, suppose you create an item that you buy and sell, by selecting the options, I buy this item and I sell this item, but you don't want to track stock levels for it and so you don't select the option, I track stock for this item:

If the item

• hasn't been used in a transaction, you can select I track stock for this item and start tracking it's on-hand quantity
• has been used in a transaction, such as a purchase or sale, those selections are locked in and you're not able to later select I track stock for this item. You could create a new item with similar details and track the stock for it.

For more information, see Updating items to use stock tracking.