Searching and managing inventory items

SECURITY  Security level with object permissions to add and/or delete inventory items

NAVIGATION   > Inventory > Inventory Management > Inventory

About the Inventory Items Search page

The Inventory Items Search page contains two tabs: Inventory Products and Stocked Items.

On the Inventory Products tab, you do the following:

  • search for inventory products
  • manually add or import inventory products and stocked items
  • manage inventory products and stocked items

On the Stocked Items tab, you do the following:

  • search for specific stocked items
  • access entities associated with a stocked item

NOTE  The Status filter on the Stocked Items tab has a multi-select feature.

  • To display a list of all records of a given entity in your Autotask instance, click Search without applying any filters.

Search results containing more than 25, 50, or 100 records (depending on your Records per page setting) are paginated. Use page navigation to view additional results. At most, 5,000 data record will be retrieved at any one time.

The Active filter defaults to Active on the Organization Search, Contact Search, My Organizations, and My Contacts pages, as well as on the global Search by Organization, Contact (First Name), Contact (Last Name), and Contact (Email). The counters in the My menu also reflect only active entities.

NOTE  There are several options for phone number filters. The Phone filter will look for a contains match that includes any characters (such as - or () ) entered in the filter box. The Organization Search and Contact Search pages have a Phone (numbers only) option that will ignore special characters in the filter and the results. It will do a contains search for just the numbers entered in the filter box. The Contact Search page also allows you to do a Phone (Starts With) search. It will search for phone numbers that start with the value entered in the filter box.

The Inventory Products tab

The following tool buttons appear above the table:

Tool Button Description

Many Search pages (but not the widget drill-down tables) allow you to create a new instance of the selected entity. This button is visible before you execute a search:

  • Click New.
  • Contract, Ticket, and Project entities allow you to create several different entity types. Click New and select an option.

For help with populating the fields, refer to the context-sensitive Help of the page that opens.

To manually add an inventory product, click New. Refer to Adding or editing inventory products and stocked items.

On the Inventory Products tab, the Import button opens the Inventory Import History page. For details on importing inventory items, refer to Populating the Inventory Item Import template.

SECURITY  By default, Export is available to users with Admin security level, and disabled for all others. It can be enabled for other security levels. Refer to Can export Grid Data.

NOTE  When exporting to CSV: To ensure consistent date/time formatting in the CSV output, we strongly recommend that the user’s date/time format settings in Autotask be identical to the Windows date/time format settings of the computer performing the export. This will prevent conflicts in how the software that generates the report interprets the date/time format.

IMPORTANT  Fields related to billing products for devices and contacts will not be exported.

  1. Click the Export drop-down menu and select an option.

    2. Option Description
    In Current Format If you select this option or simply click the Export button, only the columns that are displayed on the search results table will be exported.
    In Import Template Format This option will appear for entities that can be imported. For a list of entities that can be exported in import template format, refer to Importing or updating data.

    If you select this option, all columns that appear on the import template for the entity will be exported. This allows you to clean up or update records in bulk, and then import them again using the Update option.
  1. A window opens that allows you to download and open the exported file.

NOTE  Only the first 5,000 records will be exported.

The Column Chooser allows you to customize search results tables throughout Autotask. It determines the following:

  • Which columns are displayed on the table
  • The left-to-right display order of the columns

NOTE   Column Chooser settings on search results tables and some standard reports are part of the user settings stored on the Autotask server. You can log in from any computer and have your column chooser settings applied to your Autotask session. To clear the data stored in your Autotask instance and reset the column chooser settings to the Autotask default settings, click Reset Settings in My >  Miscellaneous > Settings.

To customize the table, do the following:

  1. Click the column chooser icon above the search results. The Column Chooser page opens.

Columns appear either in the Available Columns or the Selected Columns panel.

  1. Double-click a column name or select one or multiple columns and click the left or right arrow to move columns to the other panel.
  2. To change the display order of the columns, select one or multiple columns in the Selected Columns panel and click the up or down arrows.

NOTE  Top-to-bottom order in the Selected Columns list becomes left-to-right order on the Search Results list.

  1. Click Save & Close.

NOTE  If the characters + # appear after the column name, then that column may have multiple items returned for some rows. If that occurs, the first item will appear in the row followed by + and the number of additional items returned. To display the list of additional items, hover over the item in the column.

Click the refresh icon to execute the search on the current table again, using the same search criteria to find new records that were added since you first performed the search.

The following columns can appear on the inventory table. You can click a column heading to sort by that column, and click the column chooser icon to modify which columns appear in the list.

Search Results Table Features Description
Available

This field refers to stocked items, purchase order items, and product quote items that you keep in inventory. It specifies the number of units of this item currently available in the specified inventory location. Available = (On Hand - Reserved/Picked).

  • If a quote is lost, the reservation is released and the stocked item reverts to a status of Available.

Back Order

Specifies the product quantity on order but not yet received from purchase orders with a status of Received in Part. This number does not include the items in the current purchase order.

Bin

This field tracks the sub-location for the inventory product. Similar to inventory locations, bin designations are specific to your inventory system.
Inventory Location The inventory location to which the inventory product is assigned.

Inventory Reference Number

The number assigned to the inventory product in your own inventory tracking system.

Manufacturer Product Number

 The product number assigned to the inventory product's product by its manufacturer.

Material Code

The Material Code is the billing code associated with products. It is a required field for products, and is inherited by devices and subscriptions, but it can be overridden when you create subscriptions or charges from a product. Its most important function is to determine the tax category of a product or charge, and allow exported billing items to be mapped to the proper general ledger account in an external accounting software package.

Maximum

For serialized items, this value represents the maximum shipments of this item that should be kept on hand at the inventory location. For non-serialized items, the value represents the maximum number of individual units that should be kept on hand at the location.
Minimum

For serialized items, this value represents the minimum shipments of this item that should be kept on hand at the inventory location. For non-serialized items, the value represents the minimum number of individual units that should be kept on hand at the location. You can use this information to determine when you need to reorder the product and how much quantity should be auto-filled.
On Hand

The On Hand field indicates the stocked item count at a specific inventory location. Stocked items are considered On Hand if they are available, picked, or reserved, but not delivered. The field is used to determine how many units need to be ordered to reach the minimum or maximum count for the inventory product. The field is read-only and for serialized products, always equal to the count of associated serial numbers.

  • The On Hand count can be increased or decreased on the Add Stocked Items and the Remove Stocked Items dialog windows. Refer to Adding stocked items and Removing stocked items.
  • If you select an inventory product on a quote, the New Quote Item page will list all inventory locations where the stocked item is on hand.
On Order

This read-only field appears on stocked items, purchase order items, and product quote items that you keep in inventory. It specifies the number of items from the selected inventory location that was reserved on a quote or picked for a ticket, project, or contract charge.

It appears on purchase order items, inventory products, and product quote items that you keep in inventory. For this field to be populated, the item must previously have been added to inventory.

Picked

This column shows the count of items from the selected inventory location that was picked for a (ticket, project, or contract) charge. Clicking on the count will open a detailed list. Refer to The Reservation/Picked Details page.
Product The Autotask product name associated with the inventory product. For users with permission to edit inventory products, the product name will appear as a link.

Product Category

The name of the product category of the inventory product's product.
Product Description A brief description of the product.
Product Vendor(s)

The vendor associated with the inventory product's product.

  • If the product has multiple vendors, the default vendor name is displayed, followed by the number of additional vendors associated with the product (in parentheses).
  • If there is no default vendor, the field remains blank.
  • If you searched by vendor name, that vendor is displayed even when it is not the default.

Reserved

This column shows the count of stocked items from the selected inventory location that was reserved on a quote. Clicking on the count will open a detailed list. Refer to The Reservation/Picked Details page.
Reserved/Picked

This read-only field appears on stocked items, purchase order items, and product quote items that you keep in inventory. It specifies the number of items from the selected inventory location that were reserved on a quote or picked for a (ticket, project, or contract) charge.

Option Available on bulk menu? Description
Edit Inventory Product

 

 Refer to Adding or editing inventory products and stocked items .
Transfer Stocked Items/Units

 

 Refer to Transferring stocked items to another inventory location.

Add Stocked Items

 

Opens the Add Stocked Items dialog window for this inventory product. Refer to Adding stocked items.

Remove Stocked Items

 

Opens the Remove Stocked Items dialog window for this inventory product. Refer to Removing stocked items.

Create Purchase Order (for Selected) (Fill to Minimum, Fill to Maximum)

These options allow you to quickly order the selected inventory products by creating a new purchase order. Optionally, the quantity is set to the difference between the On Hand and Minimum or Maximum amount for each item.

The Vendor field is populated with the default vendor for the inventory product, but can be edited. If multiple inventory products with differing vendors are selected, the Vendor field remains blank.

For detailed information about completing a purchase order, refer to Adding or editing a purchase order.

Add (Selected) to Existing Purchase Order (Fill to Minimum, Fill to Maximum)

These options allow you to quickly order the selected inventory products by adding them to an existing purchase order. Optionally, the quantity is set to the difference between the On Hand and Minimum or Maximum amount for each item. The default quantity is going to be at least one (1).

All existing purchase orders that are still in New status are available for selection.

For detailed information about completing a purchase order, refer to Adding or editing a purchase order.
Delete Inventory Product

 

To delete an inventory product, select Delete Inventory Product from the menu.

  • You cannot delete an inventory product if any of its stocked items are reserved on a quote or picked on a charge, or PO items are On Order.

  • If its On Hand count is greater than 0, but the items are simply available, you can delete the inventory product. Any stocked items will be set as Removed.

The Stocked Items tab

The following tool buttons appear above the table:

Tool Button Description

SECURITY  By default, Export is available to users with Admin security level, and disabled for all others. It can be enabled for other security levels. Refer to Can export Grid Data.

NOTE  When exporting to CSV: To ensure consistent date/time formatting in the CSV output, we strongly recommend that the user’s date/time format settings in Autotask be identical to the Windows date/time format settings of the computer performing the export. This will prevent conflicts in how the software that generates the report interprets the date/time format.

IMPORTANT  Fields related to billing products for devices and contacts will not be exported.

  1. Click the Export drop-down menu and select an option.

    2. Option Description
    In Current Format If you select this option or simply click the Export button, only the columns that are displayed on the search results table will be exported.
    In Import Template Format This option will appear for entities that can be imported. For a list of entities that can be exported in import template format, refer to Importing or updating data.

    If you select this option, all columns that appear on the import template for the entity will be exported. This allows you to clean up or update records in bulk, and then import them again using the Update option.
  1. A window opens that allows you to download and open the exported file.

NOTE  Only the first 5,000 records will be exported.

The Column Chooser allows you to customize search results tables throughout Autotask. It determines the following:

  • Which columns are displayed on the table
  • The left-to-right display order of the columns

NOTE   Column Chooser settings on search results tables and some standard reports are part of the user settings stored on the Autotask server. You can log in from any computer and have your column chooser settings applied to your Autotask session. To clear the data stored in your Autotask instance and reset the column chooser settings to the Autotask default settings, click Reset Settings in My >  Miscellaneous > Settings.

To customize the table, do the following:

  1. Click the column chooser icon above the search results. The Column Chooser page opens.

Columns appear either in the Available Columns or the Selected Columns panel.

  1. Double-click a column name or select one or multiple columns and click the left or right arrow to move columns to the other panel.
  2. To change the display order of the columns, select one or multiple columns in the Selected Columns panel and click the up or down arrows.

NOTE  Top-to-bottom order in the Selected Columns list becomes left-to-right order on the Search Results list.

  1. Click Save & Close.

NOTE  If the characters + # appear after the column name, then that column may have multiple items returned for some rows. If that occurs, the first item will appear in the row followed by + and the number of additional items returned. To display the list of additional items, hover over the item in the column.

Click the refresh icon to execute the search on the current table again, using the same search criteria to find new records that were added since you first performed the search.

The following columns can appear on the stocked items table. You can click a column heading to sort by that column, and click the column chooser icon to modify which columns appear in the list.

Field Description

Added by

The resource who added the stocked item to inventory.

Device

The device(s) created from this stocked item when it was installed.

Available Units

  • On a serialized stocked item: 0 or 1

  • On a non-serialized stocked item: the number of available units left

  • Will be incremented when a unit is un-reserved or un-picked

  • Will be decremented when a unit is picked, reserved, removed from, or transferred out of this stocked item

Contract

The contract associated with the charge the item was picked for.

Available Units Cost

 Refers to the cost total of the stocked item currently located at the inventory location.

Cost per Unit

For serialized items, it refers to the cost per individual stocked item. For non-serialized items, it refers to the cost per unit.

Date Added

The date the stocked item was added to inventory. This date is used to determine which stocked item is the oldest or newest when LIFO or FIFO rules are applied.

Date Picked / Removed (Most Recent)

The most recent date the item was either picked or removed from inventory. If the item's product is not serialized, multiple dates and times will be stored.

Delivered Units

  • On a serialized stocked item: 0 or 1

  • On a non-serialized stocked item: the number of delivered units

  • Will be incremented when a unit is delivered

  • Will be decremented when a unit is un-delivered

Inventory Location

The location of the stocked item in inventory.
On Hand Units

The On Hand field indicates the stocked item count at a specific inventory location. Stocked items are considered On Hand if they are available, picked, or reserved, but not delivered. The field is used to determine how many units need to be ordered to reach the minimum or maximum count for the inventory product. The field is read-only and for serialized products, always equal to the count of associated serial numbers.

  • The On Hand count can be increased or decreased on the Add Stocked Items and the Remove Stocked Items dialog windows. Refer to Adding stocked items and Removing stocked items.
  • If you select an inventory product on a quote, the New Quote Item page will list all inventory locations where the stocked item is on hand.
Opportunity

The opportunity associated with the quote the item was reserved for.

Picked Units

  • On a serialized stocked item: 0 or 1

  • On a non-serialized stocked item: the number of picked units

  • Will be incremented when a unit is picked or un-delivered

  • Will be decremented when a unit is delivered or un-picked

Picked/Removed By

The resource who picked or removed the sticked item from inventory.

Product Category

The product category assigned to the product associated with the stocked item.

Product

The product associated with the stocked item.

Product Serialized

A check mark indicates that the stocked item's product is serialized.

Project

The project associated with the charge the item was picked for.

Purchase Order

The PO from which the stocked item originated.

Quote

The quote(s) for which this item was reserved.

Removed Units

  • On a serialized stocked item: 0 or 1

  • On a non-serialized stocked item: the number of removed units

  • Will be incremented when a unit is removed

  • Will be decremented when a unit is un-removed

Reserved Units

  • On a serialized stocked item: 0 or 1

  • On a non-serialized stocked item: the number of reserved units

  • Will be incremented when a unit is reserved

  • Will be decremented when a unit is picked or un-reserved

Return Type

When you are adding new stocked items, this field defaults to None, indicating that the item you are adding is a new item. When the item is returned to inventory, the field defaults to Returned. Manually select from one of the following:

  • Returned
  • Refurbished
  • Clearance Item

Serial Number

The serial number identifies a particular stocked item in your inventory, or a device installed at an organization. This field appears only if the product associated with the device or stocked item has the Serialized check box selected. Serial numbers can be up to 100 characters long.

Status

Serialized stocked items can have one of the following statuses. Unless filtered out, all statuses are included in search results and reports.

  • Available: the item is not reserved on a quote, picked on a charge, or delivered to a customer

  • Picked: the item is picked on a charge, or un-delivered

  • Reserved: the item has been reserved on a quote, but has not yet been picked

  • Delivered: the item has been delivered or shipped to the customer

  • Removed: the item has been manually removed from inventory via the Remove Stocked Items dialog, or its inventory product has been deleted

For non-serialized stocked items, the status is always blank.

NOTE  Removed items cannot be reserved or picked.

Ticket Number

The number of the ticket associated with the charge the item was picked for.

Transferred Units

  • On a serialized stocked item: 0. Even transferred units can be Available, Picked, etc.

  • On a non-serialized stocked item: the number of units that have been transferred out

  • Will be incremented when a unit is transferred out

Vendor

The vendor from which the stocked item was procured.

Vendor Invoice Number

The Vendor Invoice Number is associated with purchase order items when they are received into Autotask as stocked items. The same vendor invoice number is assigned to all purchase order items that are received in the same shipment. If a purchase order item is partially received over multiple shipments, it may have multiple associated vendor invoice numbers.

On the purchase order, the Vendor Invoice # field becomes read-only when the first item on the purchase order has been received. It will contain all vendor invoice numbers associated with all purchase order items that are part of the purchase order, separated by commas.

This field is required if the Require Vendor Invoice Number on received purchase order items and when manually adding stocked items to inventory system setting is enabled.

The context menu on the Stocked Items tab of the Inventory Items Search page and the Stocked Item Widget Drill-in table allows you to open entities associated with the stocked item.

  • If you don't have object permission to view or edit the entity, the menu option will be hidden.
  • If the stocked item is not associated with the entity, the menu option is disabled and will have a tooltip: "This Stocked Item does not have an associated <entity>.

 

Option Description
Edit Inventory Product

Opens the Edit Inventory Product page for the inventory location of this stocked item. Refer to Adding or editing inventory products and stocked items.

SECURITY  This option requires Product: Edit security permission. Users without this permission will see plain text only.
View Purchase Order Opens the Edit Purchase Order page for the stocked item's purchase order.

View Quote

 Opens the Quote Items page for the stocked item’s quote in a popup or new window.

View Sales Order

 Opens the Sales Order Detail page for the stocked item's charge's sales order. This option is hidden if Procurement is disabled.

Edit Charge

Opens the Edit Charge page for the stocked item’s charge. Enabled when the stocked items status is Picked.

View Device

Opens the Device page for the stocked item's device. Enabled when the stocked item's status is Delivered.

If the stocked item is unserialized and the unit count is > 1, the link will be disabled and a tooltip will appear.

Restore Removed Stocked Item (Inventory Item Search page only)

This option will only appear if a stocked item has a serialized product and has a status of Removed. It will set the item status back to Available and clear the Date Removed and Removed By values. If you do not have permission to edit inventory products, this option will be hidden.

NOTE  If the associated inventory product has been deleted, removed items cannot be restored. The inventory product must be re-created first.

Restore Removed Units (Inventory Item Search page only)

This option will only appear if a stocked item has a non-serialized product and has a Removed Units count greater than 0. It will open the Restore Removed Units dialog window.

If you do not have permission to edit inventory products, this option will be hidden.