Inventory Management Overview

Availability: all plans

Inventory Management tracks the parts, materials and tools your business keeps, where each one is, and how much of it is available. Every change to a quantity is recorded as a movement, so you can always see how a number got to where it is. This guide describes the pieces and where to find them. The other guides cover moving stock, using it on work orders, counting, and import and export.

Before you start

Inventory appears in the main menu for anyone who can view inventory. Which sub-pages you see depends on your role: Dashboard needs access to inventory reports, Counts needs permission to count, and Import / Export needs permission to import or export.
Stock lives at locations, so create at least one location before you record any stock.
Inventory is included on every plan.

Steps

Open Inventory, then Locations. Select New location, enter a Name, an optional Code and a Type (for example Warehouse, Shop, Vehicle or Technician), and select Create location. A location can have a Parent and a Business location. To retire one, edit it and change Status.
Open Catalog. Select Add your first item (or add another item), then fill in Internal SKU, Name, Kind, Unit of measure and Reference cost. Supplier SKU, Manufacturer, Category and Description are optional. Select Create item.
To track individual tools or equipment, tick Serialized (tracked per unit — for tools/equipment) on the item. Then open Tools & Equipment, select New unit, choose the Catalog item, enter a Serial number, and select Create unit. You can also set an Asset tag, an Initial location and a Maintenance interval (days).
Open Stock, choose a Location, and read the On hand, Reserved and Available columns for each item. Available is on hand minus reserved.
Open Ledger to see the most recent movements. Filter by item or location, and select Clear to remove the filters.
Open Dashboard to see Inventory value, Active items, Low stock and Out of stock, plus the Low stock list and the Tools — maintenance due list.

Checking out a tool

On Tools & Equipment, a tool that is not already assigned shows Check out to me with a location choice. Select the location and then the button to take it. A tool that is assigned shows Return; choose the location it goes back to. Someone who holds the tool-custody permission but not full tool management can check out and return tools for themselves. Retire takes a unit out of service.

Tips

Deactivating a catalog item hides it from new movements. Its history is kept and nothing is deleted.
Tools are operational items. The Catalog shows each item as Eligible or Operational for the price book, and a Tool is never eligible.
Stock quantities are never edited directly. They change only through movements, counts and imports.

If something goes wrong

If Stock says to create a location first, add one under Locations.
If an expected sub-page is missing from the menu, your role does not include that permission. Ask the person who administers users.
If Tools & Equipment says no serialized catalog items exist, create an item with the Serialized box ticked first.

Receiving, Transferring, Adjusting and Disposing Stock — Four actions on the Stock page change how much you have: receiving new stock, transferring it between locations, adjusting it to a counted quantity, and disposing of stock that is damaged or expired…
Reserving and Using Stock on a Work Order — You can set stock aside for a work order before the visit, record the parts that were used on the job, and release anything that went unused. This is the operational record of parts and stock used. It…
Counting and Reconciling Inventory — A count compares what is on the shelf with what ServiceVisit shows for one location. You record the quantity you counted for each item, review the differences, and then reconcile. Reconciling posts an…
Importing and Exporting Inventory — The Import / Export page loads many catalog items or opening stock balances at once from comma-separated text, and exports your catalog, stock and tools. Imports always offer a preview first, and the…
View Inventory — ServiceVisit lets you look at your inventory without changing it. Under Inventory in the menu you can see the catalog of items you track, your locations, the stock held at each location, the ledger of…
Manage the Inventory Catalog — ServiceVisit lets you build and maintain the catalog of items you track in inventory. You would use it when you start stocking a new part, tool or piece of equipment, or when the details of an…
Manage Inventory Locations — ServiceVisit lets you create and edit the locations where your stock is kept. You would set up a location for each place you hold inventory, such as a warehouse, a shop or a vehicle, so that every…
Manage Tools and Equipment — ServiceVisit lets you track individual tools and equipment by serial number. You would use it to know which unit you own, where it is, who has it, and when it is due for maintenance.
Check Out and Return My Tools — ServiceVisit lets a technician take custody of a tool and hand it back without being able to manage the whole tools list. You would use it when a technician picks up a piece of equipment from the shop…
View Inventory Reports — ServiceVisit gives you an inventory dashboard that sums up your stock at a glance. You would use it to see where you stand and what needs attention without opening each location.