How To Setup the Inventory Module

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Tracking inventory can be one of the most time-consuming and frustrating aspects of operating a business. ESC is designed to help you track this inventory information, so you can feel more confident that the values and quantities that the system indicates you have is close to the reality of what you actually possess in your warehouse.

Features like Serial parts allow you to track expensive items that otherwise might disappear from your warehouse, while setting up additional warehouses allow you to set up truck stock, allowing you to keep track of what is in your service trucks – and what ought to be.

There are a few simple steps that need to be performed before parts and equipment can be entered and used in the Inventory module.

System Setup for Inventory

You'll want to head to the Company → System Setup screen and fill out the Inventory tab before any items are setup. These settings help by controlling what default settings and behaviors are assigned to the items you setup in the Inventory module.

  • Accounting Type - This field is used to specify the way cost is calculated for parts as they are relieved from inventory. See the chart below for a description of the different methods ESC supports.
Accounting Type How It Works
FIFO First In, First Out means that the cost of the oldest items in your inventory will be applied to the first sales of that item.
Average Cost

Average Cost sets the cost of each inventory item of the same type to the same amount based on the weighted average. It is calculated every time an item is received into your inventory.

Average Cost calculation:

(Current Quantity * Current Average Cost + Received Quantity * Received Cost) / ( Current Quantity + Received Quantity )

Last Purchase Price Last Purchase Price sets all inventory items of the same type to the cost of the most recently received part.

Important Note: Changes made to the next 4 fields will not affect existing inventory items. They will only apply to inventory items created from this point forward.

  • Default Price Book - This field is used to select the default price book used for new inventory items. We recommend setting this to All in most cases. For more information on the benefits of price books and how to set them up, view Entering Salesman Price Books.
  • Preferred Vendor - This field is used to select the preferred vendor for new inventory items.
  • Default Markup Code - Use this field to select the default markup code that will be applied to new inventory items. For more information on the benefits of price books and how to set them up, check out Enter Markup Codes.
  • Default Warehouse - This field is used to select the default warehouse that new inventory items will be received into as well as the warehouse they will be removed from when invoicing. See our article on Entering Warehouses for more information on how to setup additional warehouses.
  • Amount on barcodes - Select which price should show on barcode labels printed from within ESC. barcode labels can be printed when receiving parts on the Receive Items and Print Barcode Labels screens.
  • Allow Negative Quantities - This setting controls whether you will be able to sell items that you don't physically have in stock. Yes allows this, No restricts it and Prompt allows you to make the decision when you add a part that is not in stock to the invoice.
  • Extend Prices to 5 Decimal Places - Check this box to extend the price of all inventory items out to 5 decimal places. This allows you to set your prices to include fractions of a cent. If this option is selected, all inventory items and billing codes will be displayed with 5 decimal places on every report, screen and invoice.
  • Automatically Cost Inventory Items Received to a Job - If this box is checked and a job is associated with a part you will be taken to the inventory job transfer screen immediately after the part has been received. The screen will be automatically filled out so that you can transfer the part directly to the job quickly and easily.

 

Wondering about that Flat Rate Setup tab?  Check out our Flat Rate Pricing feature!

Once you've completed the Inventory tab, click OK on the System Setup screen. 

 

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