Items (the item master)

An item is the master record for anything you buy, sell, stock or service — a product, a spare part, a charge, a unit of work or a service contract — and every document line in xMatix points to one. Orders, quotes, invoices and delivery orders on the sales side; requisitions, purchase orders, goods receipts and bills on the purchase side; transfers, adjustments and cycle counts in inventory; and service orders all name an item on each line.

You create an item once, before anyone can put it on a document. Its flags then decide what happens downstream: whether stock is kept, whether lots, serial numbers or SKUs are required, whether received goods wait for inspection, and whether the item explodes into a package of components. Prices, discounts and taxes are not typed on the item; they are rules that point at it.

Overview

The item record has three kinds of content:

• Identity and classification — Name, Code, Item Type, Description, HSN/SAC Code and descriptive groupings such as Item Sub Type, Item Segment and Item Family.
• Behaviour flags — Track Inventory, Track Lots, Track Asset, Inspection On Receipt, SKU Required, Package, Only Sold In Package, Active and others. These are what processes actually read.
• Related records — the item's SKUs, units of measure, package components, lot types, alternates, per-branch inventory attributes, price list rules, tax group rules, stock balances, lots and service contracts. Each is its own record, listed on a tab of the item.

The item itself stores no selling price, cost or tax rate. Prices come from dated price list rules, discounts from discount group rules and tax from tax group rules — see Pricing, discounts and taxes.

When to use it

Create an item for every distinct thing that appears on a document line, whether or not it is physical:

• Product or Part — goods you stock, buy and sell.
• Charge Item — a non-stock charge such as freight or a fee.
• Work Item — labour or a unit of service work.
• Service Contract — a contract sold as a line.
• Discounted Item — a line that takes value off a document rather than adding to it.

Do not create separate items for versions of one product that only differ in colour or pack — use SKUs. Do not create items for batches or serial numbers — use item lots. Do not create items for a case versus a single unit — add a unit of measure to the item.

How xMatix handles it

• A new item starts inactive. Active is off by default, and every document line rejects an inactive item with Item is Inactive. Switch Active on when the item is ready to be used — on the New dialog, on the record, or in your import file.
• Code is the unique key. Code is required and must be unique across your organization. There is no automatic numbering for items; you type the code.
• Every line checks the item. When a line is added to an order, invoice, delivery order, fulfilment order, purchase order, requisition, goods receipt, inspection, bill, automatic purchase order, adjustment, transfer, cycle count, service order or opportunity, xMatix checks that the item is active, that a SKU is present when the item requires one, and that the SKU belongs to the item.
• Item Type shapes the form. The Inventory Settings group is hidden for Work Item and Service Contract. On the New dialog, ABC Category and FSN Category are hidden for Product, Work Item and Service Contract, Registration Required shows only for Product and Discounted Item, and Allow Service is hidden for Work Item, Charge Item and Service Contract.
• A Discounted Item never moves stock. When you save an item of type Discounted Item, xMatix switches Track Inventory off.
• Track Asset needs Track Lots. Saving an item with Track Asset on and Track Lots off fails with Tracking assets requires tracking lots.
• Some values are copied onto lines. The item's Name fills the line description on order, invoice, opportunity, purchase order and bill lines. Its HSN/SAC Code fills a blank HSN/SAC code on invoice and bill lines, and replaces it when the line's item changes.
• Quantities follow the item's units. A line can be entered in an alternate unit; xMatix converts it to the primary unit using the item's conversion ratios and rounds it to Primary UOM Decimal Precision.

Prerequisites

• Your security profile grants create access to items (see Permissions).
• You have decided the item's Code, its Item Type, and whether it keeps stock, needs lots or serial numbers, and needs SKUs. The stock flags are easiest to get right before the first transaction.
• For India GST, you know the item's HSN (goods) or SAC (services) code.

Procedure

Step 1 — Open the Items list

The Items list is on the navigation bar of the Warehouse app. In the Sales, Inventory, Procurement and Service apps it is under Settings. The list opens on a view such as All Items; the other shipped views are All Active Products, All Products, All Parts and All Work Items. All Active Products also shows summary cards for total products, active products, asset-tracked, package and lot-tracked items.

Step 2 — Create the item

Select New. The Create Item dialog asks for:

1. Name, Code, Description and HSN/SAC Code at the top. Name and Code are required.
2. Classification tab — Item Type (required), Item Sub Type, Item Segment, Item Family, and where shown ABC Category and FSN Category.
3. Inventory Settings tab — Track Inventory, Track Lots, Track Asset, Inspection On Delivery, Inspection On Receipt and Repair Order On Receipt.
4. Behavior tab — Package, Only Sold In Package, Active, Discontinued, Registration Required, SKU Required and Allow Service.
5. Specification tab — Primary Unit Of Measure, GTIN and RF.

Switch Active on unless you want to finish setting the item up first. Save. The item record opens.

Step 3 — Complete the details

The record opens on the Details tab, whose groups hold every field from the dialog plus a few more:

• Service — Service Duration(Minutes), Subscription Duration(Months), Service Rate Basis and Markup Rate (%).
• Specification — Inventory Valuation, Maximum Lot Quantity and Primary UOM Decimal Precision in addition to the unit, GTIN and RF.
• System Information — who created and last changed the item, and when.

Select Edit, fill what applies, and save.

Step 4 — Add units of measure, SKUs and other related records

Open the Related tab. Each list there has a New button:

• SKUs — the item's variants. See SKUs.
• Item lot types — the commercial grades the item's lots can carry. See Item lots and lot types.
• Item components — the contents of a package item (see Step 6).
• Item units of measure — alternate units. Give each a Unit Of Measure (the code lines use to name it) and a Conversion Ratio: how many primary units one of this unit contains. A case of 12 has a ratio of 12. Optionally set its own UOM Decimal Precision or tie it to a SKU.
• Item alternates — substitute items, with an Alternate Type and effective dates.
• Item inventory attributes — per-branch reorder levels, stock limits and classifications. See Item classifications.

Step 5 — Check prices, taxes and stock

The remaining tabs show records that point at the item:

• Pricing — the price list rules for the item. You can edit or delete a rule here; create rules from the price list. See Pricing, discounts and taxes.
• Inventory — the item's inventory attributes, its Inventory Stock balances and its Item Lots. Stock and lots are read-only here; they change only when documents post. See The inventory ledger.
• Service — item service contracts, maintenance schedules and asset service contracts for serviceable products. See Asset service contracts.
• Tax — the tax group rules that name the item.

Step 6 — Set up a package, if the item is one

Switch Package on under Behaviour, then add the contents on the Related tab's item components list. For each component set the Component Item, Quantity, and whether it Is Mandatory, Is Selected (included by default), Is Bundled (priced in the package) and Is Quantity Editable. Applicable For limits a component to sale, purchase or service documents, and Package Type decides whether its quantity is multiplied by the package quantity (Multiple Of Package) or fixed (Independent Of Package).

When a line for the package is saved on an order, invoice, quote, opportunity, purchase order or requisition, xMatix adds a child line for each mandatory or selected component whose Feature Type is Product Configurator. Mark a component's own item Only Sold In Package if it must never be invoiced on its own. To choose optional components on a document, use the configurator on that document — see Product configurator.

Step 7 — Copy an item

On the item record select Clone and confirm. xMatix copies the item's fields and its owned related records into a new item named after the original with (Copy) appended. Because codes must be unique, the copy's Code is left empty — enter a new code and save.

Step 8 — Retire an item

To stop an item being used on new lines while keeping its history, open it, select Edit, and switch Active off. To stop it being bought but keep selling existing stock, switch Discontinued on: purchase order, requisition and automatic purchase order lines then reject it with Discontinued Item Cannot be added. Delete removes the item after a confirmation that it cannot be undone; prefer deactivating an item that already appears on documents.

Step 9 — Work with items on mobile

In the field app, items and SKUs are kept as master data for offline use, so pickers, catalogues and barcode scanning work without a connection. An item opens from a lookup or a catalogue rather than from a menu entry. Its record shows Name, Code, Item Type, Active and SKU Required in the header, with SKUs, Related, Details and Activities tabs, and Edit and Delete as actions.

When you scan a barcode to add a line, the app looks for an item whose GTIN matches, then one whose Code matches. It refuses an item that is not active, not saleable, not allowed for ordering, or discontinued, and tells you which.

Fields

The fields of the record page, in the order of its Details tab.

The Item entity reference lists every stored field, including those not on the shipped form.

Business rules

• Required on save — Name, Code and Item Type. Code must be unique.
• Track Asset requires Track Lots — Tracking assets requires tracking lots.
• Discounted Item — Track Inventory is switched off on every save.
• Line validation — every line type listed above rejects an inactive item (Item is Inactive.), a missing SKU when SKU Required is on (SKU is required for this item.) and a SKU of another item (Invalid SKU selected for this item.). Invoice lines also reject an Only Sold In Package item outside a package (Item can only be sold as part of a package.).
• Discontinued — purchase order, requisition and automatic purchase order lines reject it with Discontinued Item Cannot be added.
• Item groups — adding a member refuses an inactive item (Item must be active.) and applies the same SKU checks.
• Units of measure — a unit needs a Unit Of Measure and a Conversion Ratio greater than zero. A line in a unit the item does not define fails with Conversion Ratio is not configured for UOM '…' on this Item.
• Stock flags — a stock-moving line for an item with Track Lots must name a lot; an inventory adjustment refuses an item without Track Inventory (Domain settings disallow Items that do not support Inventory tracking!).
• Package components — mandatory components cannot be removed from a document (Mandatory package component cannot be removed.), and a component's quantity must stay within its minimum and maximum and cannot change when Is Quantity Editable is off.

Example

A two-wheeler dealer adds a new helmet to its range.

1. The store administrator opens Warehouse → Items and selects New.
2. They enter Name Full-face helmet, size M, Code HLM-FF-M, HSN/SAC Code 65061010, and choose Item Type Part.
3. On Inventory Settings they switch on Track Inventory. Helmets are not serialized, so Track Lots and Track Asset stay off.
4. On Behavior they switch on Active. On Specification they leave Primary Unit Of Measure at Each.
5. They save, open the Related tab and add an item unit of measure BOX with Conversion Ratio 4.
6. Pricing adds a price list rule for HLM-FF-M, which then appears on the item's Pricing tab.
7. A purchase order line for 3 BOX is saved with a quantity of 12 in the primary unit. When the goods receipt posts, 12 helmets appear on the item's Inventory tab.

Training

Practice exercise

In a sandbox:

1. Create an item with Item Type Product, a code such as TRAIN-ITEM-01, and leave Active off.
2. Add it to a draft order. Expected: the line is rejected with Item is Inactive.
3. Switch Active on and add the line again. Expected: it saves.
4. On the item, switch Track Asset on with Track Lots off and save. Expected: Tracking assets requires tracking lots.
5. Add a unit of measure PACK with ratio 6, then enter a line for 2 PACK. Expected: the line quantity is 12.
6. Clone the item. Expected: a new record named … (Copy) with an empty Code.
7. Clean up: delete the draft order and the clone, and switch Active off on the practice item.

Quick reference

• Items live in Warehouse → Items, or under Settings in Sales, Inventory, Procurement and Service.
• Name, Code and Item Type are required; Code is unique and typed by hand.
• New items are inactive until you switch Active on.
• Track Inventory decides whether stock is kept; Track Lots and Track Asset add lot and serial tracking.
• Prices, discounts and taxes are rules that point at the item, not fields on it.
• Alternate units go in the item's units of measure: ratio = primary units per alternate unit.
• Discontinued blocks purchasing; Active off blocks every new line.
• Clone leaves Code empty for you to fill.

Permissions

Items are governed by the entity permission for Item in the user's security profile. The seeded Sales, Sales Executive, Sales Manager, Service, Standard User and System Admin profiles grant full access — view, create, edit and delete. The seeded Procurement and Parts Manager profiles carry no item permission, so add one if those users maintain the item master. The Clone action is granted separately on security profiles as a server action.

Items are shared like other owned records: by default other internal users can read an item, and hierarchy, manual sharing and team access apply. If someone cannot see or change items, start with why a user can't see something.

Configuration

The item's action list also includes Show Stock and Product Configurator, which are not placed on the shipped record page. Read stock on the Inventory tab, and configure packages from the document that uses them.

Common problems

"Item is Inactive."

The item's Active flag is off — the default for new and imported items. Open the item, select Edit, switch Active on and save, then add the line again.

"Tracking assets requires tracking lots."

Track Asset is on and Track Lots is off. Switch Track Lots on as well, or switch Track Asset off.

"Discontinued Item Cannot be added"

The item is marked Discontinued, which blocks purchase order, requisition and automatic purchase order lines. Buy a replacement item instead, or switch Discontinued off if the item is being bought again.

"Conversion Ratio is not configured for UOM '…' on this Item."

The line uses a unit the item has no unit of measure for, or whose ratio is zero. Add the unit on the item's Related tab with a ratio greater than zero.

"Item can only be sold as part of a package."

The item is marked Only Sold In Package and the invoice line is not a component of a package line. Invoice the package item instead, or switch the flag off.

The Inventory Settings group is missing

Item Type is Work Item or Service Contract; these types hide the stock flags. Change the type if the item really is stocked.

The import created duplicates or failed on the code

Imports match on the record id, not on Code. A row with an item's record id updates that item; every other row creates a new one, and a second item with an existing code fails on the unique Code. To change existing items by import, include each item's record id in the file. Rows are saved one by one, so an import that reports errors has still saved its good rows — fix and re-import only the failed ones.

Common questions

Why can't I find a price field on the item?

xMatix keeps prices out of the item so that one item can have different prices per price list, customer, branch, SKU and date. Each price is a price list rule that names the item and carries an effective date; the item's Pricing tab lists them. Discounts work the same way through discount group rules, and taxes through tax group rules. The only price-like value on the item is Markup Rate (%). See Pricing, discounts and taxes.

Can I change Track Inventory or Track Lots after an item has been used?

The fields stay editable, but the change only affects lines posted afterwards. Stock already posted stays where it is, so switching Track Lots on for an item with existing un-lotted stock leaves that stock without a lot, and new stock-moving lines will need one. Decide these flags before the first receipt, or plan an adjustment to move existing stock into lots after the change. See Adjusting stock.

What is the difference between Active and Discontinued?

Active off stops the item on every new document line — sales, purchase and inventory alike. Discontinued only stops it on purchase order, requisition and automatic purchase order lines, so you can keep selling and moving the stock you have while you stop buying more. Barcode scanning on order screens refuses both. Neither changes existing documents or stock.

Should a service be an item?

Yes. Anything that appears on a document line is an item. Give services the Work Item or Charge Item type and leave Track Inventory off so no stock is expected. For labour, set Service Duration(Minutes) so quote and service order lines get their standard hours.

Are ABC Category, FSN Category and Inventory Valuation on the item used?

Not by any process. Cycle counting and automatic ordering read the categories on each item's per-branch inventory attributes, and stock is costed with the method chosen in your valuation policies. The item's own fields are labels you can use in views and reports.

Related topics

• Item entity reference
• SKUs (item variants)
• Item lots and lot types
• Item classifications
• Inventory configuration reference
• The inventory ledger
• Pricing, discounts and taxes
• Catalogue and pricing
• Product configurator
• Importing data