About Setting Up Inventory Items

You must add inventory items to Inventory Control before you can enter inventory transactions. Items contain the information you need to manage your inventory.

Note: Before you can add items to Inventory Control, you must set up item number formats, account sets, categories, and locations.

Follow these general steps to set up items in Inventory Control:

1. Use the I/C Items screen to add the item information from your existing inventory system to Inventory Control. More...

   For each item, enter the following information:

   • The item number structure (the code for the item number format). For more information, see About Item Number Formats.
   • The item number you use to identify the item.
   • A description of the item.
   • The category to which the item belongs.
   • The account set the item uses. The account set specifies the costing method and general ledger balance sheet accounts for the item.
   • The default price list to use for the item's price on the I/C Shipments screen. You can override this price list when you enter shipments.
   • The picking sequence / bin number so items can easily be found in the warehouse.
   • Whether the item is active, sellable, allowed in a Web store, a stock item, serialized, lotted, or is a kitting item.
   • A commodity number, if your company reports a value-added tax (VAT). (Optional)
   • The unit weight and the weight unit of measure.
   • An alternative item that can be used if this item is out of stock. (Optional)
   • The units of measure used for stocking, shipping, and receiving the item.
   • Tax authorities used when selling the item through Order Entry.
   • Comments.
   • Entries for optional fields.
2. Use the I/C Reorder Quantities screen to specify the minimum and maximum desired stock quantities for items so you can print reports to identify understocked and overstocked items in your inventory. (Optional) For more information, see About Reorder Information.

   Purchase Orders uses reorder information to generate purchase orders automatically for understocked items.

3. If your inventory locations are set up, you can use the I/C Location Details screen to assign items to specific locations where they are stocked. (Optional) For more information, see About Assigning Items to Locations.

   Note: If the Allow Items At All Locations option is selected on the Processing tab of the I/C Options screen, Inventory Control assigns all items to all locations.

4. Use the I/C Manufacturers' Items screen to associate bar codes with your item numbers. (Optional) For more information, see About Manufacturers' Items.