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Buy by the box, sell by the piece (units of measure)

Define a box (or dozen, or kilogram) once, buy in it, and let stock stay counted in the product's own unit.

Inventory 7 steps 2:16 video Inventory - Manager
Where to find it InventoryConfigurationUnits of Measure

Before you start

The product has one Unit of Measure on its Inventory tab, for example Unit. This is the unit you count stock in and normally sell in. In this lesson the product is sold by the piece, and you buy it by the box of 24.

Steps

  1. Open Inventory, go to Configuration > Units of Measure and click + New Unit.
  2. Type the Name and Code of the box, for example Box of 24 and BOX24. In Factor, type how many pieces are in one box: 24. Leave Category as Units / Count.
  3. Click Save. The box now appears under Units / Count, next to Unit, Dozen and Hundred.
  4. Open Purchase and click New. Choose the vendor and add the product.
  5. In the line, change Unit to the box: click the field, type Box and choose Box of 24. Type 5 in Quantity, and the price of one box in Unit Price (here 36).
  6. Click Create RFQ, then Confirm, then Receive. Click Validate Receipt.
  7. Open the product from Inventory > Products > Products. On Hand shows 120: 5 boxes of 24, counted in pieces. On the Inventory tab, Unit of Measure is still Unit.

Important

Unit Price is the price of one unit in the line, so when you change Unit to a box, type the price of a whole box. The system does not change the price for you.

Tip

The same Unit field is on sales lines. Leave it as Unit to sell by the piece. Units of the same kind convert by themselves: Weight units such as grams and kilograms work in the same way.

Note

Every unit belongs to a category, such as Units / Count, Weight or Length / Distance. Only units in the same category can be converted into each other. The unit with the factor 1 is the base unit of its category.

What happens next

Receive the goods as usual: see Receive goods from a vendor. To check the stock, see Check stock on hand.

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