Items

Check your Items can be modelled in the system

We want you to be sure your product catalog can be accurately represented in Salesorder. Before you set up any Items you should read ALL of this section to check.

Answer these questions:

Do you deliver the products you sell directly to the Customer? Yes/No
If No, -> Drop ship (if you never stock it it can be a non-stock item, if you stock it sometimes it should be a stock item).
You cannot change the type of an item once it is created
If Yes, do you purchase goods as finished goods? Yes/No
If Yes = Stock Items
If No = Assemblies - Use assemblies if there's an explicit build process - ie. you gather some parts together and perform some assembly action.
You cannot modify the BOM on assemblies whilst you have ANY built stock on hand.
You can purchase assembly items.
Assembly Items can contain sub assembly items in their BOM.
Assembly Items behave as stock items.
Average cost of an assembly item is calculated from the average cost of the BOM components AT THE TIME THEY ARE BUILT.
Do you sell your products in bundles? Yes/No.
If Yes = Kits - Use kits if you sell a ‘bundle’ of items. These appear on Sales Documents as one line item but CAN be edited on the fly. Assemblies of course cannot.
You cannot purchase kits. Kits cannot contain Kit Items in their BOM’s, they can contain Assembly Items.
Still not sure? Got questions? We're here to help. Email: [email protected]

Items - need to know

Items are added to Line Item tables on Sales and Purchasing Documents to represent products, services, and calculations.
Items are the foundation of inventory management and transaction accounting.

Supported Item types

Stock
A unit of stock (SKU). See ‘Stock Items’.
Stock Assembly
An SKU built from a bill of materials (BOM). See ‘Stock Assemblies’.
Kit
A Kit is the grouping of items that can be sold individually. Think of it as a template in which users populate with parts. A Kit differs from a Stock Assembly in as much as it does not adjust the stock when it is built, whereas an assembly decreases the stock of BOM items, and increases the stock of Assemblies. See ‘Kits’.
Non-Stock
This Item can be used to represent a product you don’t physically stock, this includes hard goods or services. See ‘Non-Stock Items
Service
This Item represents hours as a number (quantity) of units, plus the hourly rate (cost or price). See ‘Service Items
Charge, Discount, Markup
These are fixed or percentage calculations you can preset and apply on the line item table to affect the previous row. See 'Calculation Items'
Group
Shorthand, or macro to add a group of items to the line item table. See ‘Group Items

Create an Item

Products/Services>Items+

Import Items

Setup>ImportData>Items

Item Accounting

When Posting Documents i.e. Sales or Purchase Invoices are saved, Items post balances to the appropriate accounts of the General Ledger. Which accounts balances are posted (debited and credited) to is preset on the Accounting tab of the Item Master (Item type>Accounting tab)
After a posting Document is saved you can view the debits and credits using the Action>Show Account Entries.

Drop ship Items?

Special Order Items?

Item Fields

This section contains descriptions of the fields on all types of Items.

Sales/Prices Tab

The fields on this tab are used to record details relating to selling the Item.
Field
Notes
Item Code *
The unique identifier for this Item. This is sometimes called the Product Code.
Note that by default this Item Code will be used in both sales and purchase Document Line Items. However, it may be that you want to use the Supplier's Item Code for purchases and your own Item Code for sales. This can be configured on the Purchasing/Costs tab
Sales Description
A simple one line description of the Item. This description is used to automatically populate the Line Item description field when the Item is entered on a Transactional Document such as a Sales Invoice. Note that by default this Item Description will be used in both sales and purchase Document Line Items. However, it may be that you want to use the Supplier's Item Description for purchases and your own Item Description for sales. This can be configured on the Purchasing/Costs tab
Matrix Parent
A link to the associated Matrix Master. If this is the Matrix Master this is indicated by suitable text. If this is not a Matrix Item the field is blank
Barcode (e.g. UPC/SKU/EAN)
The Item barcode, such as Stock Keeping Unit (SKU), Universal Product Code (UPC) etc
Serial Number
The Serial Number associated with this Item. Note that the Serial Number column on Line Items will be automatically populated with this value when the item is added to a Transactional Document (such as a Sales Invoice). Of course, you may wish to edit the Serial Number when it is actually placed on the document
Item is Active
Determines if the Item is displayed in Lists, also whether it is available to use as a Line Item on Documents
Item is Sold
Determines if the Item can be placed on a Sales Transactional Document, such as a Sales Invoice. If unchecked the Item will not appear in the Item Select list when using Transactional Documents
Is Matrix
Check if this is a Matrix Item
Commodity code
A government product classification code you may need for Tax purposes
Lot Number
The current Lot Number associated with this Item. This number is used to populate the Lot column on Line Items when the Item is added to a Transactional Document, such as a Sales Invoice. Of course, you may wish to edit the Lot Number when it is actually placed on the document
Unit Price
The default price that will be entered for the Line Item i.e. the default price you want to sell the Item for. The price is in your base currency
Sales Units
The name of the units you sell the Item in. By default this is Each. Other examples are Crates, Tonnes, Cases etc
Sales Tax Code
The Tax Code that will be used for the associated sales Line Items. This overrides the default code on the associated sales Transactional Document (e.g. Sales Invoice). By default no code is assigned
Foreign Price 1
An optional foreign price for this Item. The currency of the price is set in the adjacent Currency field. If you are using multi-currency Transactional Documents this price will be used in preference to the base currency price if the Document (e.g. Sales Invoice) currency matches the price currency
Foreign Price 2
A second optional foreign price
Currency
The currency of a foreign price. To add more currencies see Currencies
Pays Commission
Indicates if the sale of this Item pays a commission
Selling information
Free text area for a more detailed sales description
Related website
A www link to related product information. This will popup in a separate window
Cross/Up sell information
If you enter information here the corresponding Line Item will display a
icon indicating there is information associated with the Line Item. Clicking on the icon will popup the Item Document in a read-only popup window. This provides a useful method to alert the person adding the Line Items that there is important associated information

Bill Of Materials tab (Stock Assembly Items)

This tab contains a table listing the Bill Of Materials associated with the Stock Assembly Item.

Purchasing/Costs tab

The fields on this tab are used to record details relating to purchasing the Item.
Field
Notes
Supplier Item Code
The Item/Product code used by the Supplier. This may be different to the one used by your company to sell the Item. If you want this code to appear on purchase documents (e.g. Purchase Orders), rather than the Item Code used for sales documents, click on the field 'Use on Purchase Documents'
Supplier Description
The Item/Product description used by the Supplier. This may be different to the one used by your company to sell the Item. If you want this description to appear on purchase documents (e.g. Purchase Orders) rather than the Sales Description click on the field 'Use on Purchase Documents'
Preferred Supplier
Name of the preferred Supplier. Note that you can either type in the Supplier name directly or alternatively select from the list of Suppliers in your system. If the Item is to be Drop Shipped or Special Ordered you must ensure you select from the list of Suppliers. This ensures that Purchase Orders are generated correctly. For more details see Drop Ship and Special Orders
Item is Purchased
Determines if the Item can be placed on a Purchase Transactional Document, such as a Purchase Order. If unchecked the Item will not appear in the Item Select list when using Transactional Documents
Use on Purchase Documents
If this box is checked the Supplier Item Code and Supplier Description are used on Purchase Documents (such as Purchase Orders, Bills etc) instead of the usual Item Code and Sales Description
Default Order Type
When an Item is placed on a Sales Order you may wish it to be Drop Shipped or placed as a one-off Special Order. This drop down list allows you to specify the default Order Type. For more details see Drop Ship and Special Orders
Unit Cost
The default cost that will be entered for the Line Item i.e. the default cost you purchase the Item for. The cost is in your base currency
Purchase Units
The name of the units you purchase the Item in. By default this is Each. Other examples are Crates, Tonnes, Cases etc
Purchase Tax Code
The Tax Code that will be used for the associated purchase Line Items. This overrides the default code on the associated sales Transactional Document (e.g. Bill). By default no code is assigned
Foreign Cost 1
An optional foreign cost of this Item. The currency of the cost is set in the adjacent Currency field. If you are using multi-currency Transactional Documents this cost will be used in preference to the base currency cost if the Document (e.g. Bill) currency matches currency of this cost
Foreign Cost 2
A second optional foreign cost
Currency
The currency of a foreign cost. To add more currencies see Currencies
Purchasing information
Free text area for a more detailed purchasing description
Related website
A www link to related product information. This will popup in a separate window
Re-order level
The number of Items in stock, below which you should be prompted to re-order. This allows you to run a report on which stock you need to re-order (either from the Reports > Products/Services on The Explorer or from the Stock List)

Stock tab

This tab is only visible on Stock Items. It holds details specifically related to your stock.
Field
Notes
On Hand
The current number of Items in stock, including those allocated to Sales Orders.
Important:
When the Stock Item is in New mode (i.e. when you are creating a new Stock Item) this field is editable, allowing you to set an initial amount of stock. You can also set the initial valuation of the stock using field Initial Valuation
Initial valuation
This field is only available in New mode and is used to set the initial valuation of the Items in stock
On Sales Orders (Read only Field)
The amount of Stock currently remaining (i.e. reserved) on Sales Orders
Free Stock (Read only Field)
The amount of Stock currently freely available i.e. not reserved on Sales Orders
Average Cost (Read only Field)
The current average cost of the Item; this is calculated automatically. The value is calculated by salesorder.com based on the initial number/valuation, purchases (using Item Receipts/Bills) and Stock Adjustments you may have made
On Purchase Orders (Read only Field)
The amount of Stock currently remaining on Purchase Orders
Stock Units
The name of the units you stock the Item in. By default this is Each. Other examples are Crates, Tonnes, Cases etc
1 Purchase Unit = xxx Stock unit(s)
The number of stock units equating to 1 purchase unit. For example, if you purchase in crates of 20 bottles, and stock in bottles, 1 Purchase unit (i.e. a crate) equals to 20 stock units (i.e. a bottle). So the value would be 20. The default value is 1, meaning you purchase and stock in the same units
1 Sales Unit = xxx Stock unit(s)
The number of stock units equating to 1 sales unit. For example if you sell cases of 6 bottles, and stock in bottles, 1 Sales unit (i.e. a case) is equals to 6 stock units (i.e. a bottle). So the value would be 6. The default value is 1, meaning you sell and stock in the same units
Location
The physical location of this stock (e.g. a specific warehouse)
Last Stock Take
The date of the last stock take for this Item
Units counted
The number of units counted in the last stock take

Classification tab

This tab defines the categories/attributes and classification associated with the Item.
Field
Notes
Category 1-4
Often you want to be able to categorize Items so that they can be organized and sorted in an efficient way. For example you may want to categorize by type of product e.g. Electrical/Computers, Electrical/Televisions etc. Salesorder.com allows you to define a list of available Categories, and you can assign up to four categories for each Item.
These categories can then be used as search criteria when using Item Lists or when placing Line Items on Transactional Documents such as Sales Invoices. See Categories
Attributes 1-6
In a similar way to categories, you may wish to associate Attributes with an Item. Attributes differ from Categories in that they can be assigned a value. For example, you may wish to include Attributes such as Color, Manufacturer, Size etc. As with Categories, Attributes can be used as search criteria. Items can have up to 6 Attributes. See Attributes
Item Class
You can assign a class to an Item. See Classifications

Matrix tab

This Tab is visible only when the 'Is Matrix' box is checked, signifying that this is a Matrix Item. In View Mode, this tab shows the list of Items in the Matrix, via the Matrix Combinations table. In Edit Mode, the Tab also shows fields that allow new combinations to be added easily. In particular, you can select attribute types/values and create new combinations in situ. For more information see Matrix Items.

Images tab

This tab allows you to upload images of the Item.
Field
Notes
Image 1
Upload a product image. The maximum image size is 300k
Image 2
Upload a product image. The maximum image size is 300k

Accounting tab

The fields on this tab are used to specify the various account mappings for the Item. For more information see Working with Items and Chart of Accounts.
Field
Notes
Income
The Income (i.e. revenue) account for this Item. This account is updated when you make a sale (e.g. from a Sales Invoice), since you are generating Income. For more information on accounts see Chart of Accounts
Expense
The Expense account for this Item. This account is updated when you make a purchase (e.g. from a Bill or Cash Purchase), since you are incurring an expense. For more information on accounts see Chart of Accounts
Cost of Goods Sold
This is for Stock Items only. It is the account that is updated to reflect the value (i.e. cost) of the goods (i.e. products) when they are sold (e.g. from a Sales Invoice). For more information on accounts see Chart of Accounts
Stock Asset
This is for Stock Items only. It is the account that is updated to reflect the value of stock when it is purchased. For more information on accounts see Chart of Accounts