Inventory Archives

Inventory Transfer

Inventory Transfer Form

Usage

This form is primarily used to transfer inventory items from a location (such as your warehouse) to a job. This action will reduce inventory and increase the cost of goods sold (COGS) for the items you transfer.

When you transfer items to a job using this form, you will NOT want to add those items to an invoice. That action would double your costs.

Normally you must create an invoice to recognize COGS for Inventory and Serialized item types. However, you have a job that incurs considerable costs before you are ready to create an invoice. This form allows you to recognize costs, as inventory items leave your building, without an invoice.

You might use this form when you have an ongoing job and wish to keep your financial and job costing report timely without waiting to create an invoice.

This form has three possible actions. Each of these is covered in detail below.

Warehouse Transfer
Transfer Ownership
Return Inventory

Field Definitions

Date – This is the date that your financials will be affected.
Type of Action – This adjusts the form so that it can do one of three things covered below.
Customer:Job (if shown) – The customer or job that will be affected by this transfer.
Department – The department affected by the transfer.
Memo – Always enter a memo. Explain what the transfer is intended to do or accomplish.
Auto Fill Down – If you make a warehouse selection here, those selections will be used on each item you add to the grid. You can always change the grid selection.
Item – Use this to enter or select an item to add to the grid. The only items types you will see are Inventory Parts and Serialized.
Qty – The quantity of the item you plan to move. This is usually a positive number.
Purchase Description – This is the purchase description already given to the item. It cannot be edited on this form.
Cost Each – This is the calculated cost of the item. It cannot be edited on this form.
Total Cost – This is Cost Each multiplied by the Qty field.
From Warehouse – This is the location you are moving the item from.
To Warehouse – This is the location you are moving the item to.

Warehouse Transfer

This form is typically used to transfer parts from one location to another location. Example: Move a part from Main Warehouse to Truck 1.

This form can also be used to adjust quantity on-hand. A negative number increases the number of items on-hand. A positive number decreases the number of items on-hand.

Note: This form will create an Item Adjustment which can be seen in the item adjustment lists.

Transfer Ownership

This form is typically used to transfer ownership of inventory from the company to the client. That action will reduce (credit) inventory and increase (debit) Cost of Goods Sold for the selected job.

This form can also be used to adjust quantity on-hand. A negative number increases the number of items on-hand. A positive number decreases the number of items on-hand.

Return Inventory

This form is typically used to return items to stock (transfer ownership of inventory from the client to the company). That action will increase (debit) inventory and decrease (credit) Cost of Goods Sold for the selected job.

This form can also be used to adjust quantity on-hand. A negative number increases the number of items on-hand. A positive number decreases the number of items on-hand.

Tips

When doing a Transfer of Ownership or a Return, this form will create an Item Adjustment which can be seen in the Item Adjustment form.
Use the Item Lookup form to quickly add items to the grid.
The Item Lookup form includes a bar code scanning mode that makes data entry much faster. Be sure to give it a try.
Inventory Parts and Serialized are the only item types this form deals with. That is because there are the only item types that technically have a physical existence.

Handling Core Charges and Returns

Core Charges Defined

A “core” is a used and non-functioning part that can be recycled and sold as a remanufactured part. Some of the recyclable parts that manufacturers consider core parts are water pumps, motors, circuit boards, certain air conditioning compressors, and more. The return of core parts to the manufacturers lowers the cost of the parts and related repairs. A core item may also be an item that will not be manufactured but contains valuable materials such as copper and aluminum.

A core charge (or fee) is a customer deposit, usually limited in time where the customer can return the item and get a refund. If the core item is not returned, the core charge becomes income. Some cores have no value because of their condition.

In some cases, the technician collects the item at the time of the repair. In that case, the customer receives their credit at the time of the service call.

Core Expenses

It is also possible that the service company may not charge a core fee but they are willing to pay for core items. For example, a company might be willing to pay for certain items that have scrap value. Items that contain copper and aluminum might be purchased and resold for a profit. In this case, there is no “core charge” but there will be a core expense and eventually core income.

Example Scenarios

You remove a water pump from a car and take it to an auto parts store for a replacement. They will sell you a water pump and charge you for the core. They will immediately credit you the same amount for the core since you brought it with you. The auto parts store sends the water pump to a company that will recondition it and they get paid for those cores.
You go to the auto parts store for a water pump. They will sell you a water pump and charge you for the core. They will credit you back the same amount once you come back with the old water pump (the core). The auto parts store sends the water pump to a company that will recondition it and they get paid for those cores.
You might purchase a radiator from a parts store. They do not charge you a core fee. You might sell that radiator back to the store or any other company that buys scrap metal.
You run a service call and replace a circuit board. That board has a value of $30.00 if it is returned to the manufacturer for reconditioning. You replace the board and optionally charge the customer for the core. You immediately give them credit for the core since you are onsite and will take the circuit board with you. The office collects the cores from each truck and sends them back for credit.

Total Office Manager Setup

Management Decisions

Before you setup Total Office Manager to manage your core items, you must make some management decisions. Pretend as if you did not have software and the entire policy and policy and procedure was going to be handled with paper and pen. You have to work out the entire manual process first before applying that process to software.

One decision you must make is how detailed you want your financial reporting for core item activity. Most companies will have a single income account and a single cost of goods sold account for all core items. Do you wish to offset the core charge (income from the customer) with the core expense (money paid to the customer) for each specific item? That method will give you more detailed information but it will require far more work to set up, manage, and audit for accuracy. Our example below considers a simplified approach that offers a good combination of financial reporting and daily simplicity.

Create an “Other Charge” item called Core Charge. The Item Number might be “CoreCharge”. It is up to you whether you have an item for each specific to the part. This item will create income so you will need to select an existing income account such as “Parts and Materials” or “Other Income”. You may also create a new one specific to Core Charge income.
Create an “Inventory Part”. The Item Number might be “CoreChargeReturn”. It is up to you whether you have an item for each specific to the part. This item will increase your inventory balance when you receive the “Core” from your customer and it will reduce inventory when you return it to the vendor. The following account selections may look odd but it is very important that this step be followed closely.
1. In the Income selection, select the “Inventory” asset account.
2. In the COGS selector, select the same asset account as above.
3. In the Asset account selection, select a COGS account (ex: Parts and Materials).

Tips

Items have a Copy feature located under the Item Menu button. You may use this to speed up the process of creating similar items.
When the “CoreChargeReturn” item is added to an invoice with a negative quantity, it will increase your inventory balance. You will do this when you receive the “Core” from your customer. It will reduce inventory when you return it to the vendor.
If you have items that will also include a potential core return, consider adding “(core return eligible)” to the end of the item description.
If you are using a generic Core item description, always, enter a good description of the item you are returning in the item description field.
If you are unable to locate the Chart of Account you are looking for when setting up your items, please be sure to turn off Smart Account Selection Filtering. See the image below.
If core charges are sometimes a percentage of the item being sold, consider setting up an item using the Other Charge – Percentage item type. When this item is added just below the new item, the core charge will be applied automatically. You can always change the percentage later or add several items for each percentage rate you need.

Usage in Total Office Manager

Create invoices and sell items as usual.
1. When you wish to collect a core fee, add the “CoreCharge” item to your invoice. This will create income. It will not create a Cost of Goods Sold or affect your Inventory Balance. Add a proper description and price (if needed).
2. If you are receiving a core, add the “CoreChargeReturn” item to the invoice. Use a negative quantity sold (enter -1). This will reduce your income and add this item to inventory. Add a proper description and price (if needed).
3. Create a Vendor Credit using the “CoreChargeReturn” item. This will create a credit for that Vendor that can be applied to a vendor bill at a later time. This action will also relieve inventory for that item. Obviously, this item will need to be physically returned to the Vendor. This action may need to take place first. The paperwork the Vendor gives you will be used to enter the Vendor Credit.

A More Detailed Methodology

If you wish to have more detailed financial reporting, here are some other options to consider. We have provided several easy things that you can do to improve your core related reporting. There are others that will require far more effort. You will decide if that effort is worth the additional details.

In the above scenario, existing chart of accounts was used to track core fees and expenses. You could very easily add an inventory asset account called “Inventory – Core”. You could also add an income account and a cost of goods sold account just for core item activity. This would be easy to set up and manage.
Set up a department called “Core Items” or something like that. Select that department on each line item that is related to core item activity. This activity is very easy to do and will offer full departmentalized financial reporting.
Create multiple core items. You may find that approximately ten core items will do a reasonably good job of covering the various core item categories that you wish to track. For example, you may create a core item called “CoreChargeReturn010” for all $10.00 core charges, and so forth. You would want to create item categories to help further define this activity.
The most detailed reporting would come from creating a specific core charge item for each related item you sell. Let’s say that you sell a circuit board that has a core charge. If you must relate that circuit board to that core charge, you will create a core charge that matches that item. Use the copy feature and add “C” or something of your choice to the end of the item number.
You have the preference to sell serialized items without being required to select a serial number. You could use serialized item types when you wish to receive a core item and track the serial number.

Unit of Measure (UOM)

Inventory Unit of Measure

Often companies purchase an item and sell that item in smaller portions. You might purchase a 20’ piece of pipe and sell it by the foot. Unit of Measure (or UOM) allows you to easily buy in bulk and sell that item in smaller pieces. For example, you may have an item called “20’ Length of ¾” PVC Pipe” that you sell by the foot. Your item receipt will have a quantity of one. Since you sell it by the foot, the software will be entering twenty into inventory.

There is a list called “Unit of Measure List”. It is located under the Company menu, just above the current Inventory Adjustment menu option.

Users can create three types of UOM – Weight, Volume, and Length.

A Summary of Unit of Measure

Unit of Measure (UOM) allows you to buy in bulk and sell by the piece. You might purchase a 55-gallon drum of chemical and sell it by the gallon. You could also purchase pipe in ten-foot sections and sell it by the foot.

When you set up an item to use UOM, that item is considered a “Unit” when purchasing. It is considered a “Base Unit” when selling.

Consider a 10’ stick of copper pipe that costs $10.00. That stick is a Unit. When you sell that pipe by the foot, that 12” section is a Base Unit.

When you purchase the stick of copper, you enter a quantity of one (1) for each 10’ section you wish to purchase.

If you order a quantity of five (5) sticks of pipe, your purchase-related reports will indicate that you purchased five (5) items for a total cost of $50.00. Remember, these are Units.

Your inventory related reports will indicate that you have fifty (50) in stock and ready to sell. The Average Cost of that item is $1.00. Remember, these are Base Units.

If you sell five feet of pipe to your customer, you will enter a quantity of five (5) on your invoice. You will reduce inventory by five. You now have forty-five (45) in stock.

Your purchase-related reports show that you have bought five (5) items. Remember that this a Unit. Your sales-related reports show that you have sold five (5) of these items (Base Units). Your inventory related reports indicate that you have forty-five (45) left in stock. The value of your inventory is $45.00 (for this item).

Tip: You purchase “Units” and sell “Base Units”. This concept is also used by Intuit’s QuickBooks. We are using the same terminology to keep it simple and consistent.

Preference

In order to help keep the program simple, this feature is off by default. Go to Preferences | Items | Company. You will see a Use Unit of Measure checkbox.

Security

You must have security to see and use this feature. That security setting is located under Company | User List/Security. Double click the name of the employee and click Next. Go to Company | Unit of Measure Edit and Unit of Measure List.

Add a Unit of Measure

You can add a UOM from the Unit of Measure list. You may also add a UOM from the Inventory Item. There is an Add New at the top.

Fields Definitions

Type: Select from Weight, Volume, or Length. See below for further explanations of each.

Abbreviation: An abbreviation of the name field. This is needed where space is limited in the software.

Name: A descriptive name for the UOM. Example: 25lb Container R410a Sold by the Foot

Description: A good description of what the UOM is trying to do.

Multiplier: The label may say “Number of Units Bought” or “Length Per Unit Bought”. This is the number of units that come in the container. For example, A 250’ roll contains 250 units or feet of wire. If you buy it by the roll and sell it by the foot, you would enter 250.

Weight

Fields

Name (50) Ex.: 25lb Container of R410A Refrigerant
Description (250)
Number of Pounds Purchased per Container? Ex.: 25
Number of Pounds Sold? Ex.: 2

When the item is received, the quantity will be multiplied by the number of pounds purchased by the container.

Item Receipt Example: If the Qty field equals 2, then 50 will be added to inventory.

Invoice Example: If the Qty field equals 2, then you are selling two pounds of refrigerant.

Volume

Fields

Name (50) Ex.: Coil Cleaner – 1 Gallon Container
Description (250)
Number of Gallons Purchased per Container? Ex.: 1
Number of Ounces Sold? Ex.: 2

When the item is received, the quantity will be multiplied by the number of gallons purchased by the container.

Item Receipt Example: If the Qty field equals 1, then 128 will be added to inventory (128 ounces to a gallon).

Invoice Example: If the Qty field equals 2, then you are selling two ounces of coil cleaner.

Length

Fields

Name (50) Ex.: 250’ Roll of 10/3 Wire
Description (250)
Feet Per Unit Bought? Ex.: 250
Feet Per Unit Sold? Ex.: 1

When the item is received, the quantity will be multiplied by the number of pounds purchased by the container.

Item Receipt Example: If the Qty field equals 1, then 250 will be added to inventory.

Invoice Example: If the Qty field equals 2, then you are selling two feet of wire.

Add/Edit Inventory Form

There is a “Unit of Measure” selection. Select the appropriate UOM for that item.

Important Fields on the Inventory Part

When you select a UOM, two related fields are added to the item.

Est Purchase Unit Cost: This is the price paid for the entire item, such as a roll of wire or a container of refrigerant. This is known as a “Purchase Unit”. It is the entire item which will be broken down and sold in units (or components or pieces).

This cost will populate on purchase transactions (purchase orders, item receipts, bills, checks, and credit card charges).

Est Sales Unit Cost: This is the price paid for the individual item you are selling. This is known as a “Sales Unit”.

This cost will populate on sale transactions (estimates, invoices, sales, and credits) when the items type is not inventory or serialized and the special purchase box is selected on the item.

A/P Related Forms

The “Unit of Measure” selection is available all forms that allow the user to purchase parts and enter a quantity. This includes Purchase Order, Item Receipt, Bills, Vendor Credit, Check, Credit Card, and Credit Card Credit.

When you first turn on the UOM feature, the UOM selector will be found at the far right of the grid. You may wish to drag it to the right of the current Qty field.

A/R Related Forms

No changes were needed on the invoice, item lookup, or any other form that sell items.

Inventory Adjustments

No changes are needed on these forms. If you wish to add or remove the quantity on-hand, you would use the quantity you sell, not the quantity you purchase. Example: Consider the 250’ roll of wire example we have used. If you are missing 50’, enter -50. If you are missing the entire roll, enter 1.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: We created a UOM to buy one stick of 20-foot copper pipe and sell it by the foot. The multiplier is 20. We have purchased eight (8) sticks. The software indicated that we have purchased 8, sold 12, and have 148 in stock. This make sit look like we have sold more than we have purchased. Why does it work this way?

A: When you purchase a quantity of eight (8) sections of 20-foot pipe, your YTD Purchases = 8. The 20-foot piece of pipe is commonly referred to as a Base Unit.

We don’t feel that it is correct for Total Office Manager to indicate that the company purchased 160 feet of pipe. The supplier’s invoice would show that you purchased a quantity of 8. Your bill will (and should) show that you purchased a quantity of 8. The company took receipt of eight items.

Your UOM indicates that you wish to sell this 20-foot piece of pipe in “Units”. In this case, one “Base Unit” equals 20 “Units”. For that reason, Total Office Manager will add 160 “Units” to inventory.

If a user wishes for TOM to show a purchase quantity of 160, they should actually order 160 of those items.

Tips

This feature is really nothing more than a multiplier. It just multiplies the quantity by a value.
Unit of Measure only applies to Inventory Item types only.
If you sell an entire container of an item, such as a roll of wire, you will need a part number for that roll of wire. Entire containers need their own part numbers. Imagine that you sell a twelve-pack of pop and you also sell the cans individually. The package will have an item number and the individual cans will have a different item number.

Item History

Introduction

The Item History window is used to research the entire history of use for a particular invoice item.

Form Access

From the Invoice Item List (Lists > Invoice Items), highlight an item then click Actions > Item History, or
From within an item record, click Menu > History.

Item History

Field & Button Definitions

Refresh – The Refresh button updates the Item History window with the latest information available in the system.

Usage

The window displays Year-To-Date (YTD) and total historical purchases, YTD and total historical sales, the YTD and total historical differences between purchases and sales. It also displays the number of adjustments ever made for this item, plus current inventory, and back ordered status of the item.

The tabs in the lower portion of the window make available all actual sales, checks, purchase orders, bills, item receipts, adjustments, service agreements, and more related to the invoice item across the entire history of the item. Simply click on any tab of interest, then double-click on any highlighted record to open the actual document.

Item History

Tips

The Sales tab, Checks tab, PO’s tab, Bills tab, Item Receipts tab, and Other tab all include the “Description” column, used to more easily identify an item than having to cross-reference it by item number in the invoice item list.
Did you know that there are also history screens for employees, vendors, equipment, etc? We highly recommend they be used. The history screens are very powerful.

Inventory Valuation Methods

Introduction to Inventory Costing

Inventory accounting may sound like a huge undertaking but in reality, it is quite straightforward and easy to understand. You start with the inventory you have on hand. No matter when you sell a product, the value of your inventory will remain constant based on accepted and rational methods of inventory accounting. Those methods include perpetual average cost, specific identification method (the two used by Total Office Manager), weighted average, first in/first out, and last in/first out.

Perpetual Average Cost

This method is used by the Total Office Manager when the “Inventory Part” invoice item type is used.

Under the perpetual system, the Inventory account is constantly (or perpetually) changing. When a retailer purchases merchandise, the costs are debited to its Inventory account; when the retailer sells the merchandise to its customers the Inventory account is credited and the Cost of Goods Sold account is debited for the cost of the goods sold. Rather than staying dormant as it does with the periodic method, the Inventory account balance under the perpetual average is changing whenever an increase in quantity occurs.

Under the perpetual system, two sets of entries are made whenever merchandise is sold: (1) the sales amount is debited to Accounts Receivable or Cash and is credited to Sales, and (2) the cost of the merchandise sold is debited to Cost of Goods Sold and is credited to Inventory.

Under the perpetual system, “average” means the average cost of the items in inventory as of the date of the sale. This average cost is multiplied by the number of units sold and is removed from the Inventory account and debited to the Cost of Goods Sold account. We use the average as of the time of the sale because this is a perpetual method.

Average Cost History

Total Office Manager tracks the average cost by date. When you backdate or postdate an invoice, it will use the average cost as of that date. You can see what the average cost of an item was at any given time. Open the Invoice Item List | Right Click on that item | click Item History | go to the Avg. Cost History tab. If an item has no average cost, the estimated cost of the item will be used on invoices and sales to record the cost to debit to Cost of Goods Sold and credit from the inventory asset account. Once the item is purchased to bring the quantity positive, any difference in the cost removed from the asset account will be reconciled at the time of purchase.

Specific Identification Method (AKA: Exact Cost)

This method is used by Total Office Manager when the “Serialized” invoice item type is used.

The specific identification method of inventory costing attaches the actual cost to an identifiable unit of product. This is accomplished by looking at the serial number of the item.

This method is easy to manage and 100% accurate. We highly recommend that you used serialized items because they are typically a large portion of your direct costs. Serialized items will improve your job costing and other financial reporting.

Inventory Tips

When you buy a “Non-inventory Part” invoice item type, it does not go on the balance sheet as an inventory asset. It immediately becomes a cost of goods sold or it reduces the income account that it is associated with. Use this type of item sparingly.
Purchase orders do not affect inventory. It is when you enter an item receipt or a bill, that “Inventory Part” and “Serialized” item types will affect your balance sheet. Note: There are other activities where these items will affect your balance sheet. Purchase transactions include checks and credit card charges. You can receive against a purchase order on these transactions as well.
We recommend you use purchase orders. When the items arrive, enter an item receipt from that purchase order (usually you will have a packing slip). The item receipt is entered as soon as you take possession of the inventory assets. Your last step is to enter a bill from that item receipt.
Inventory control is an essential part of job costing and financial reporting. The better your inventory control, the more accurate your financial and job cost reports will be.
The Item History form will show you the history of the average cost of an item with the change in quantity for each month.
The Invoice/Sale/Credit/Estimate List includes a utility to scan transactions to see if there is new information that might change the average cost of one or more items on that transaction. For example, you may have backdated a bill. If the invoice has already been created, that invoice would not “know” about the new information. That invoice would need to be resaved. You can resave invoices in a batch too. This may completed under Invoice/Sale/Credit/Estimate List menu. Highlight a range of transactions, under the Actions menu, click Recalculate Selected. The utility will update the recorded cost for any transactions with differences. Use this utility on the list with caution. A more powerful version of this utility is located at Tools | Utilities | Database Checkup | Scan Invoices/Sales/Credits. Using the utility option will enable you to review the changes before updating in batches.
To ensure the cost you pay for an item is the most recent, Total Office Manager does has the ability to update this cost when purchase transactions are created. Each time the cost entered is different from the estimated cost on the item, the software will prompt to update this information. If you are not seeing this prompt, navigate to Edit | Preferences | Company and click the button Bring back all one time messages.

Additional Reading

https://www.accountingcoach.com/inventory-and-cost-of-goods-sold/explanation/4

Inventory Valuation Content

Unit of Measure (UOM)

Item Update Historical Transations

Introduction

From time to time it may be necessary to change the [Chart of Account] selection for your Invoice Items. When this is done you will be presented with the option update historical information. What this means is that you are able to change the account previous transactions using this item have been posted to and instead use the new account that you have selected.

Please note, this is optional. You may choose NOT to update historical and simply have the account change apply to new transactions only. If you do choose to update historical, the following information explains the various options and screens that are shown.

Step by Step

If you are required to update the historical account information for an Invoice Item, first access the item from the Invoice Items List and double-click to open it. Once it’s open, click the “Accounting” tab to access the [Chart of Account] selections.

For the Income, COGS/Expense, and/or Asset Account, select your preferred account. Once you’re changes have been made, click “Save & Close”.
Upon attempting to Save, if a change in the account selections has been detected, you will be presented with a message box asking you to verify the changes.
If you click “Yes” a second message box will appear asking you if you want to “Change Historical Transactions” and detailing what these changes mean.
Finally, you will be presented with a third screen that will allow you to choose the date to update transactions from and then verify each account being changed. Once you have made your changes, click OK.

Inventory Replenishment (reorder)

Introduction to Inventory Replenishment

This help topic will explain how you can easily evaluate your current inventory status and quickly generate Purchase Orders to replenish your stock levels.

Usage

Use this feature to monitor stock levels of inventory items and reorder as needed. Reordering is done through the creation of Purchase Orders. This form makes it possible to create POs in a batch. Once the POs are created, you may open them for editing and/or print them in batch mode.

This form will also allow you to set item reorder points as well as Preferred Vendors of items on the fly (see tips section below).

Form Access

From the main menu, click Company | Inventory Adjustment | Inventory Replenishment.
You may also access this form via the Actions menu from the Invoice Item List.

Step-By-Step

Open the form as noted above.
Use the various filters and sorting options so that you are viewing only the items you wish to manage. If you are ordering for a single vendor or warehouse, use the Filter feature.
In the Order field, enter the quantity of items that you wish to order. Total Office Manager will suggest a default based on how many you have in stock, how many on back order, and your current reorder point.
Select a vendor that you wish to order from. Total Office Manager automatically selects the Default Vendor from the item form. Change the vendor as needed. Total Office Manager will create a PO using the vendor you selected.
In the Unit $ field, please enter an amount that you have been quoted or expect to pay. Have a look at the Avg. $ and Last $ fields to see what you have paid in the past.
You may select a Customer:Job if desired. This information is used for job costing. Total Office Manager will simply use this selection when the PO is created. This information will flow into the Item Receipts, Bills, etc. It can always be changed later. This is optional.
Check the To Be Printed checkbox if you wish to mark the POs for batch printing.
You may select a Department if desired. This information is used to departmentalize your financial statements and certain other reports. Total Office Manager will simply use this selection when the PO is created. This information will flow into the Item Receipts, Bills, etc. It can always be changed later. This is optional.

Filter

An inventory item list can get rather large for some companies. The filters were added to make it easy to remove items you do not wish to deal with.

You may filter by vendor, item category or warehouse. This makes it easy to prepare POs for one supplier or for just one category of items (like equipment). You may also use the warehouse filter to order on a truck by truck basis.

The Sales Activity Date Range allows you to view items that have been sold within a certain set of dates. This is handy if you wish to see what was sold yesterday or perhaps last week and reorder just those items.

Using the Reorder Point Range, you could deal with only items that have a reorder point of zero. This would be helpful so that you can set the reorder points using this form as opposed to doing each item manually.

Use the “Show Only Items That Need Reordering” check box and only items that need to be reordered will be included in the grid. Items must have a reorder point.

Fill Down

Use the Fill Down feature to quickly populate the Vendor, Department, and\or Customer field. To do this you simply select the appropriate record and click the Fill Down button.

Vendor

This will change the Vendor in this list, regardless of which are selected. The PO will use that vendor. The Preferred Vendor in the item is not changed. Note: The Vendor can be changed individually on any row. The Vendor will be reset after the PO is created.

Department

This will populate the Department in all rows, regardless of which are selected. The PO will use that Department for each item ordered. The Department will be reset after the PO is created.

Customer

This will populate the Customer:job in all rows, regardless of which are selected. The PO will use that Customer:job for each item ordered. The Customer:job will be reset after the PO is created.

Batch Printing

From the main menu, click File | Printing | Print Forms | Purchase Orders. The form is easy to use and should be self-explanatory.

Common Question

Q: Where are all of my inventory items? There seems to be a lot of items missing.

A: This list only includes Inventory Parts and Serialized Items that need to be reordered. Be sure to uncheck the Show Only Items That need Reordering to see items that don’t need to be reordered or items with no reordering point.

Tips

Many of you have simply used POs to replenish inventory items as needed. You may continue to do this. You do not have to use this form. This form may be thought of as a worksheet to aid the reordering process.
A single PO will be created for each vendor. In other words, Total Office Manager will not create one PO for each item ordered. They are grouped up by their respective vendor.
Changes made on this form along with any POs created will NOT have an affect on any of your account balances.
This form is not saved. In other words, there is no list of prior ordering other than the POs (if any) that may have been created using this form. The form is updated with current item status each time it is opened.
You may enter a reorder point (the point at which you wish to reorder the item) on the grid and click the Update Reorder Point menu option. When you create the POs, the reorder point will be changed on all of the items that appear in the grid. This is a time saver as the only other way to do this is to open each item, make a change, and save\close.
You may select a vendor (the Preferred Vendor you wish to include in the item form) on the grid and click the Update Preferred Vendor menu option. When you create the POs, the Preferred Vendor will be changed on all of the items that appear in the grid. This is a time saver as the only other way to do this is to open each item, make a change, and save\close.
Total Office Manager will suggest a quantity to reorder (in the “Order” field) based on the following formula: Quantity to Order = Reorder Point – (Qty. On hand + Qty. on Back Order).
If you need to order the same item from two different vendors, you will need to enter that item on a new line and select that vendor.
When the POs are created, the internal memo field will include the words “Inventory Replenishment”.
When the POs are created, the Due Date will be set to the next day. You may open each PO and change this if you need to.
The Filter button (in the filter section) not only applies any filters you may have entered but it will also refresh the grid (form) when clicked.
The columns that appear on the grid can be rearranged to suit the user’s preferences. Simply drag and drop the columns where you want them. The changes you make to the column ordering are per user and not global or by machine.

Inventory Adjustment and Review

Introduction

This topic covers the use of the Inventory Review/Adj form.

Usage

Use this form to adjust the quantity on hand (how many you have in stock) and\or move items from one location to another.

Typically, this form is used after an inventory is taken and the actual number of items in stock don’t match what Total Office Manager is showing. This form allows for easy “batch” changes to inventory quantities and locations.

Form Access

From the main menu click Company > Inventory Adjustment > Inventory Review/Adj

Field and Button Definitions

Account	This is an account from the Chart of Accounts that is used to record the change or gain in value. Example: You reduce the quantity on hand of the item. You now own less inventory. This is the account that will show the loss. Typically, this is the “Shrinkage and Spoilage” account. You must pick an account and you may only pick a single account for the entire adjustment.
Find	Use this feature to locate a certain item number.
In Warehouse	Use this feature to locate a certain item number in a certain warehouse. You can use this in combination with the Find feature.
Item	This is the item number of the item you are adjusting.
Warehouse	This is a list of warehouses that are available for this item to be located. Total Office Manager allows you to have as many as you like but you must have at least one. You cannot change the warehouse using this form. You can move parts from one warehouse to another by changing the quantity.
Qty	The number of these items located in the particular warehouse. This field is read only. To make a change, use the New Qty field (explained below).
New Qty	This field offers you the opportunity to enter how many items (if any) are located in the particular warehouse. To change how many are located there, simply enter a new number.
Qty Diff	Total Office Manager calculates the difference between the QTY and the New Qty fields.

Step-by-Step

Open the form as noted above.
Select an account using the account selection list. This is the account that will record the net gain or loss from your adjustment.
Enter a new quantity or change the warehouse of the item if needed. Please see the detailed explanation of each field above.
Click the Save & Close button to save your changes and close the form. Click the Save & New button to save your work and begin a new adjustment.

Tips

You must have proper permission to use this form. If you don’t have permission to use this form and need it, please see the Total Office Manager Administrator for help.
Total Office Manager includes a handy worksheet that was designed to help you take inventory. You may access it from the reports menu.

Inventory Item Adjustment (Serialized)

Introduction

This topic covers the use of the serialized inventory item adjustment form. There is another topic that covers adjustments for non-serialized items called Inventory Item Adjustment (non-serialized).

Usage

Use this form to adjust the quantity on hand (how many you have in stock), locations of the item (what warehouse the item is located in), unit price, and serial number. Typically this form is used after an inventory is taken and the actual number of items in stock don’t match what Total Office Manager is showing, or possibly the item was in the wrong location (warehouse) or had an incorrect serial number.

You cannot add new serialized item to Total Office Manager using this form. If you need to add a serialized item, see the Items – Receive Items form or Items – Receive Items and Enter Bill form.

Form Access

From the main menu click Company > Inventory Adjustment > Serialized Items.

Field and Button Definitions

The following definitions are for the field near the top of the form.

	Click this button to permanently delete the serialized item from Total Office Manager. You cannot delete any item in Total Office Manager that has history. History means that the item has been used somewhere in the program – perhaps in an invoice or estimate, etc.
Item	The description of the serialized item. You cannot change the description field in this form.
Serial Number	The serial number of the serialized item. You may change the serial number, if needed.
Warehouse	The location of the serialized item. You may change there location here if needed.
Rev. Date	This is the date the item was received. Generally you should not change this date. If you received the item and entered the wrong date, consider going back to the Receive Item form and change it there.
Ref. #	This refers to the Reference field on the Receive Item form. You can enter text or change the contents as you wish.

Step-by-Step

Open the form as noted above. Sort the columns as needed.
To delete and item, click the red x that appears to the left of the item.
Select a new serial number as needed.
Select a new warehouse as needed.
Change the Rcv Date (Received Date) field if needed.
Enter or change the Reference # field if needed.
Click OK when finished.

Tips

You must have proper permission to use this form. If you don’t have permission to use this form and need it, please see the Total Office Manager Administrator for help.
Total Office Manager includes a handy worksheet that was designed to help you take inventory. You may access it from the main menu by clicking Company | Physical Inventory Worksheet.
You can change serial numbers on item receipts.
You can change serial numbers on unpaid Bills.
You can adjust qty of serialized items when they have been received or a bill has been entered but you must use the Serialized Inventory Adjustment form.

Invoice Items – Serialized

Introduction

An Invoice Items – Serialized is identical to an Inventory Part, except each and every item is tracked according to a unique serial number. Through serialized items, you can track how many items remain in stock after a sale, how many items you have on order, your cost of goods sold, and the value of your inventory.

Note that Total Office Manager does not track inventory through the manufacturing process.

Form Access

From the main menu, click Customers | New Invoice Item, or

From the toolbar, click the Add New Item button.

New Item from Toolbar

Usage

In short, select an invoice item Type from the drop-down list then complete the necessary fields in that form. Each item type has different fields.

General Tab

The General tab of a Serialized item is identical to that of an Inventory item. For instruction, please refer to the related topic, “Items – Add Item – Inventory Part”.

Inventory Tab – First Save

The Inventory tab of a Serialized item is identical to that of an Inventory item, except for the grid area. When setting up a new Serialized item for the first time (illustrated below), existing inventory levels can be directly entered into the Inventory tab using the grid.

Enter the serial number, warehouse, cost, date, and department for each Invoice Items – Serialized.

Note: Warehouses and departments must first have been set up in the program before they are available from the drop-down list.

Serialized - Inventory Tab — Serialized – Inventory Tab

Inventory Tab – After First Save

After the first save, the Inventory tab (illustrated below) will no longer accept the direct entry of inventory levels. Instead, the tab simply displays current levels.

To modify inventory levels of serialized items, go to Company | Inventory Adjustment | Serialized Items, and use the Serialized Inventory Adjustments form designed specifically for that use. Also after the first save, the “Load” button appears, which refreshes the display to reflect the most recent changes available.

Serialized - Inventory Tab - After Save — Serialized – Inventory Tab – After Save

Accounting Tab

The Accounting tab of a Serialized item is almost identical to that of an Inventory item. One difference is that a Serialized item might contain additional fields on this tab. They relate to AFUE, Heating Capacity, SEER, and Cooling Capacity. These fields will be visible depending on the Equipment Type selection on the General tab.

For instructions, please refer to the related topic, “Items – Add Item – Inventory Part”.

Serialized - Accounting Tab — Serialized – Accounting Tab

Qty Checking Tab

The “Qty Checking” feature is used to set up custom alerts which warn when an attempt is made to sell either too little, or too much of a particular invoice item. See the related topic, “Items – Qty Checking” for detailed information on the feature.

Serialized - Qty Tab — Serialized – Qty Tab

Tips

Serialized items increase income on sales, increase cost of goods, and decreases inventory assets.
Items on purchases increase inventory assets, and increase accounts payable or decrease cash.

Inventory

Inventory Transfer Form

Usage

Field Definitions

Warehouse Transfer

Transfer Ownership

Return Inventory

Tips

Core Charges Defined

Core Expenses

Example Scenarios

Total Office Manager Setup

Management Decisions

Tips

Usage in Total Office Manager

A More Detailed Methodology

Inventory Unit of Measure

A Summary of Unit of Measure

Preference

Security

Add a Unit of Measure

Fields Definitions

Weight

Fields

Volume

Fields

Length

Fields

Add/Edit Inventory Form

Important Fields on the Inventory Part

A/P Related Forms

A/R Related Forms

Inventory Adjustments

Frequently Asked Questions

Tips

Related Content

Introduction

Form Access

Field & Button Definitions

Usage

Tips

Introduction to Inventory Costing

Perpetual Average Cost

Average Cost History

Specific Identification Method (AKA: Exact Cost)

Inventory Tips

Additional Reading

Related Content

Inventory Valuation Content

Introduction

Step by Step

Introduction to Inventory Replenishment

Usage

Form Access

Step-By-Step

Filter

Fill Down

Vendor

Department

Customer

Batch Printing

Common Question

Tips

Related Content

Introduction

Usage

Form Access

Field and Button Definitions

Step-by-Step

Tips

Related Topics

Introduction

Usage

Form Access

Field and Button Definitions

Step-by-Step

Tips

Related Topics

Introduction

Form Access