What is an Item?
An item in the item list refers to any specific product or service that is being ordered from the seller (vendor). Each item in the list typically includes several key details to ensure clarity and accuracy in the order. For example:
Item Type - This is an attribute of an item that allows distinguishing between inventory items, services, and fees and determines the system behavior from the accounting standpoint:
Inventory - Used for identifying inventory items that can increase and decrease truck/warehouse stock. This is the default value when Inventory is enabled.
Non-Inventory - Used for identifying non-inventory items or services that do not affect warehouse quantities and costs and cannot produce any asset transactions.
Fee - Behaves like a non-inventory item but can also be used as a default charge/fee automatically added to invoices.
How to Configure Item Types
In the Item List, it is possible to explicitly specify an item type with the help of an Item Type drop-down on the Item (feature flag: inventory-item-types is required). The item type will control the behavior of the item when it is purchased, received, and billed and whether it can have inventory counts.
On the Add New Item and Edit Item dialogues, you will see the Item Type drop-down with the following values:
Inventory - Default value of an item type when the Inventory module is turned on in your account.
This item type makes the system update warehouse quantities on receiving such items to a warehouse.
Non-Inventory - Default value of an item type when Inventory is disabled in your account.
This item type makes the system not update warehouse quantities on receiving such items. This value is always available for selection in the Item Type drop-down.
Fee - This value is always available for selection in the Item Type drop-down.
This item type will not update warehouse quantities when receiving such items.
This item type will be used in our upcoming feature “Default Fees” - stay tuned!