About Inventory Items

Inventory items represent parts that have been defined within JobBOSS2 for use throughout the system. The advantages of defining these items include the ability to:

  • Track on hand quantities and associated costs for inventory management and valuation purposes

  • Provide anticipated cost information that can be used for estimating

  • Populate other areas of the software with part related information quickly and consistently

When performing a search in the Inventory Items Navigator without applying any filters, the results will display both purchased and manufactured parts since they all could be present in inventory. That said, given the difference between the two, manufactured parts - also referred to as Estimates - are created and maintained under the Quoting area of JobBOSS2 and 'Inventory Items' is used almost exclusively to refer to purchased parts.

This topic and the related example on creating an inventory item deal solely with purchased parts.

For more information see Estimating.

While purchased parts can be pulled onto Quotes or re-sold directly to customers, they are most commonly used as material components on estimates (as Bill of Materials items) and are typically used as the source of information to create purchase orders.

Where to Start

Before you start creating inventory items, it's important to make sure you have defined all the tables you need and that you understand how the system will behave based on the related company preferences and other settings.

ClosedTables Used on Inventory Items

The following tables and / or base tables are used on inventory item records:

ClosedPreferences and Other Related Settings

In addition to the listed tables, the following preferences and settings affect the ability to create inventory items.

Company Maintenance - Defaults

  • The company maintenance defaults page has an inventory section. This section allows you to make default decisions on decimal places, quantity breaks, units of measure, markup percentages, and more.

Inventory Item Details

Each inventory item has information that identifies the part number, inventory quantities, vendors, and purchasing details.

The following links lead to topics that provide reference information for each section of the inventory item record.

Go to Inventory Item Details - General Section

Go to Inventory Items Details - Inventory Section

Go to Inventory Items Details - Purchasing Section

Go to Inventory Item Details - Comments Section

Go to Inventory Item Details - Part Notes Section

Go to Inventory Item Details - Image Section

Go to Inventory Item Details - User Defined Section

Creating and Editing Inventory Items

Options for Creating Inventory Items

Follow the link below for step by step instructions of creating an inventory item:

Continue to Create a Purchased Part

Once the Inventory Item is Created

Inventory item records can be edited at any time in order to update costs / prices, vendors, lead time, comments, etc. Some figures are updated without being directly on the inventory item record, including:

  • Inventory Information
    • This section is full of reference information that fluctuates as inventory is received, allocated, and used throughout the system.
  • Cost
    • The cost can be adjusted by saving details on a Request for Quote (RFQ). A pop up appears asking if you want to update the cost on the inventory item with your new information.

Reports, Forms, and Labels

Reports

The following summary reports are available for review / generation under the Inventory reports dropdown menu:

  • Inventory Summary

  • Reorder Summary

  • Usage Summary

  • Inventory Count Sheet

  • Inventory Activity Summary

  • Inventory Adjustment Summary

  • Part Labels

Forms and Labels

Unlike in other areas of the software, there is no print dropdown from the Inventory Items Navigator.

What Comes Next

After adding an inventory item into the system, it can be used on any of the following records:

Inventory items can also be used with the following utilities: