8.3. Stock Maintenance Menu
Stock maintenance is the area where you add, edit, view and delete stock items. All the information stored for every stock item can be recalled and viewed from this menu.
To get to the Stock Maintenance Menu select "Stock Control Menu" from the Main Menu. Then select "Maintain Stock" which is the first option.
The Stock Maintenance Menu contains 6 options.
A list of Stock Items is maintained by Equity, and this menu leads to the functions with which you maintain that list. We will go through each option on the menu separately.
Note : If, at ant time, you get lost press [Esc] repeatedly until you reach a menu that is familiar.
8.3.1. View Stock Details
This is the option that will be used most often once all of your Stock has been entered into the system. It enables you to view the chosen Stock Item without editing the record.
Note : you can only view Stock Items that are already entered into Equity.
When this option is chosen a screen will be displayed that allows you to enter the Stock Item you want to view.
You can either type in a valid Stock code or press [F2] to pop-up a list of Stock Items to choose from. The Stock record will be displayed for you to view.
Note : You cannot edit the stock record in view mode.
In addition to the displayed information there are several function keys that can be pressed to pop-up more information about the stock record. Pressing [Esc] from any pop-up will return you to the Stock record.
[F3] If the Stock Item is an Assembly, this lists the assembly items that make up the Stock Item.
[F4] Displays the monthly Sales History of this item for the past 12 months. This includes the quantity sold, cost and sales.
[F5] Displays an itemised Movement History of the stock item. With this list you can see at a glance when the stock was bought, sold received or returned, the debtor, the quantity sold, and the cost and selling price. Use the arrow keys to scroll through the list.
[F7] Displays notes kept for this stock item.
[F8] Displays more fields that pertain to the stock item, such as last movement date, last purchase date and last counted date, quantity on order, last order date and minimum re-order quantity. You can also select the default General Ledger accounts for this stock item. Unless changed at time of transaction entry these account will be the ones posted to during invoice/credit note update.
[F9] Displays and allows you to edit the list of "special" prices, or price matrix. To add lines to this list press [Ins], enter a debtor code or press [F2] to select from the pop-up, enter the method (either price or percentage off) and the actual amount or percentage off.
When you have finished viewing the Stock Item press [Esc]. You can then either enter another Stock item to view or press [Esc] again to return to the Stock Control Menu.
Note : When you have a Stock item on screen you can use the [Page Up] and [Page Down] keys to flick to the next or previous Stock item in your file.
8.3.2. Edit Stock Details
This option is used to enter any changes to an established Stock Item. When this option is selected a screen will be displayed that allows you to enter the Stock Item you want to edit. You can either type a valid Stock code or press [F2] to pop-up a list of Stock Items to choose from. The Stock record will be displayed for you to edit.
The cursor will be on the second field in the record. Use the [Enter] and [Esc] keys or the up and down arrow keys to move through the record and enter the appropriate changes.
[F4] Allows you to edit the monthly Sales History. This should only be edited when you are first entering the Stock details if you know the Stock History.
[F5] Allows you to view the itemised Stock Movement List. By viewing this list you can see at a glance when the stock wasbought, sold, received or returned, the debtor, the quantity sold, and the cost and selling price. Use the arrow keys to scroll through the list. You cannot edit this list.
[F7] Displays notes kept for this stock item. You can add new note lines by pressing [Ins] or edit existing lines by pressing [Enter] on the line.
[F8] Displays more fields that pertain to the stock item, such as last movement date, last purchase date and last counted date, quantity on order, last order date and minimum re-order quantity. You can edit the default General Ledger accounts for this stock item. Unless changed at time of transaction entry these account will be the ones posted to during invoice/credit note update.
[F9] Displays and allows you to edit the list of "special" prices, or price matrix. To add lines to this list press [Ins], enter a debtor code or press [F2] to select from the pop-up, enter the method (either price orpercentage off) and the actual amount or percentage off.
When you have finished editing the Stock item press [Ctrl][Enter] to save your changes. If you don't wish to save the changes press [Ctrl][Esc] or [Alt][F4] if running under Microsoft Windows to abort.
You can then either enter another Stock item to edit or press [Esc] to return to the Stock Maintenance Menu.
8.3.2.1. Editing Mark-up Codes
Place the cursor on the Mark-up field and press [F2]. If any mark-up codes have been defined these will be listed. You can edit any mark-up codes on the list by pressing [Enter] when highlighted or add a new one by pressing [Ins].
If there are no mark-up codes defined the mark-up code screen will be displayed ready for you to start entering information.
Mark-up Code Each mark-up is given a code. It can be up to 5 characters long and should describe the mark-up you are entering. e.g. STD.
Description Enter a description of the code. e.g. Standard Mark-up
The Last cost, Average cost, Tax rate and Tax cost of this item are displayed. You can calculate your selling prices using these fields.
Auto Mark-up and Auto Mark-down These fields default to `No'. If set to `Yes' then when stock is received with a new price the selling prices will automatically mark-up or down without the need to re-apply the mark-up code.
Round to If set to 'Yes' the selling prices will be rounded to 5 or 10 cents if you wish.
The next 6 fields govern the 6 selling prices. Using the displayed fields you can calculate each selling price. For example, lastcost * 1.33 would give a selling price mark-up of 33% on the last cost field. You may not need to enter a formula for each selling price - only the ones you intend to use.
When you get to the bottom of the screen you can elect to apply the mark-ups to the selling prices. If you enter `No' then the selling prices will not be automatically calculated.
8.3.3. Add New Stock Item
When you first start using Equity you will need to enter all your Stock details using this option, along with any new items as your business expands.
When this option is selected a screen will be displayed that allows you to enter a Stock Code.
Each item is given a code which is the Barcode Number or an abbreviation of the Stock name. Any combination of letters and numbers is valid, but we do advise against using spaces in codes as they become hard to remember. The code can be up to 15 characters long, but it is in your own interest to keep the Stock code as short as possible.
When you have entered the Stock code, press [Enter]. The New Stock Record will be displayed.
All the fields will be empty except for the first which will contain your newly defined Stock code. The cursor will be on the second field for you to enter. Use the [Enter] and [Esc] keys to move through the record.
The Stock item can contain as much or as little information as you require. There are only a few fields that are required and these are marked with an asterisk in the following field descriptions. If you don't wish to enter information in a certain unrequired field just press [Enter] to bypass it.
*Stock Code This is a code that identifies a particular Stock Item. You will use this code to reference this Stock item for reports, transactions and maintenance
Sup Prod Code Many suppliers have codes of their own which can be entered in this field. Wherever a Stock Code is required in the system you have the option to enter either the Stock code, or the Suppliers code.
*Description This is the description that will appear on invoices and credit notes. Press [F2] to add up to 6 additional lines of information for this item.
Supplier Code If you wish to produce Supplier Orders a creditor code must be entered in this field. You can either type in the Creditor's code or press [F2] to pop-up a list of creditors to choose from.
*Product Group Each item must belong to a product group. You can define your own Product Groups by pressing [F2]. This will pop-up a list that you can add to by pressing [Ins]. Most Stock reports can be listed by Product Group.
Sales Unit Unit by which the Stock Item is sold. e.g. \ea., \hr, \10.
*Stock Type There are 5 Stock Types:
| Stock | Physical items that can be sold. |
| Assembly | Collection of physical and/or non-physical items that are sold as a unit. |
| Charge | Non-physical items that don't require quantity on hand figures to be maintained. e.g. services. |
| Cartage | Freight & Charges. e.g. Postage, Courier, freight, packaging. Cartage items are not included in tax calculations or commission calculations. There are no tax calculations included on invoices for cartage items. |
| Non Stock | Physical items that are not generally kept as Stock. |
Location If this item has a location you can type up to 8 characters and/or numbers. The location, if entered, is printed on the Stock Re-order Report.
Category It this item has a category you can type in to 8 characters and/or numbers.
Tax or GST You only need to enter this field if you are going to be charging tax on your invoices to your customers, i.e. you generally buy stock ex tax. The Tax percentages are entered and maintained via the Managers Module (refer to Set GST Rates & Rules). You can either accept the default, type in the appropriate tax percentage or press [F2] to pop-up a list to select from.
Taxable This is the percentage of the item that is taxable. If the item is an assembly then only some assembly items may have tax applicable. Calculate the taxable percentage and enter it here. If the Stock item attracts tax and all of the item is taxable then leave the percentage at zero.
Cost Ave This is the average cost of the item. If you generally buy inc tax enter the average inc tax cost of this item. If you generally buy ex tax enter the average ex tax cost and make sure the tax percentage to be charged is entered in the tax field. Both invoices and reports work from the average cost.
Note: When adding a Stock Item, the cost of the item should be entered into this field as well as the New Cost field.
New This is the New cost of the item. If you generally buy inc tax enter the new inc tax cost of this item. If you generally buy ex tax enter the new ex tax cost and make sure the tax percentage to be charged is entered in the sales tax field.
Note: When adding a Stock Item, the cost of the item should be entered into this field as well as the Cost Ave field.
M/U Code This is the Mark-up code and is used to automatically calculate your selling prices from user-defined formulas. You can also automatically mark up or mark down stock as stock with new prices is received.
Press [F2] to pop-up a list of mark-up codes. You can select codes that have been set up directly from this list or add a new mark-up code by pressing [Ins]. To edit existing mark-up codes press [Enter].
Note : If you are entering this option for the first time you will automatically jump to insert mode and the Stock Price Calculator screen will be displayed.
Cat Each Stock Item can have up to 6 selling prices, depending on the category. Each Debtor has a default category set in their record. When invoicing, the default selling price displayed depends on the debtors default category. An example of how categories can be set up follows :
Category Description
1 33% mark-up retail
2 15% mark-up retail
3 wholesale
Price 1 .. 6 The selling price of the item for each category. These prices will be automatically calculated if a mark-up code is entered.
Qtybrk 1 .. 6 If quantity breaks are used, selling prices will be governed by the selling quantity rather than the default price category. e.g. You want to give a better price if customers buy 10 and an even better price if they buy 20. The following screen shows how to enter this.
Note : If quantity breaks are entered then all debtors will receive the same pricing structure. The debtor's default price category will ignored for this item. The only exception to this is if the debtor is buying less than the first price break. In this instance the debtors default price category will be used to calculate the price.
The following stock information is for "Stock", "Assembly" and "Non-Stock" type items only.
Stock on Hand This is the actual physical count of items in stock, including any items that may be invoiced and have yet to be updated. Once an invoice has been updated, allocated stock is deducted from Stock on hand.
Allocated Stock This is the quantity of stock that has been invoiced, but not updated.
Free Stock Stock on Hand less allocated Stock.
On B/order This is the quantity of items that are on back-order. If you have back-ordering active and you invoice an item when stock on hand for that item is negative or nil you can elect to back-order the item. If you do, once the invoice is updated the back-order quantity will be place in a back-order file and this field will reflect the quantity on back-order. For more information on the back-ordering facility refer to Back-Order Menu in the Invoicing Module.
Lead Time The time usually taken, in months, for the item to arrive from the supplier. This is used in the calculation of Minimum Stock if entered.
Req'd Monthly Educated guess as to the quantity required every month to meet demand. This is also used in the calculation of Minimum Stock. When you have been using the system for a while this can be calculated from the product history report or the [F4] history screen.
Minimum Stock This is the minimum quantity of stock allowable before re-ordering is necessary. This figure can be entered manually if the above two fields have been left blank, or it will be calculated from the above two fields if figures have been entered. It is used in the Stock re-order report.
The next four fields are Month to date and Year to date totals :
Qty Sold The quantity of the item sold Month-to-date and Year-to-date.
Cost The cost of the item sold Month-to-date and Year-to-date.
Sales The sales of the item sold Month-to-data and Year-to-date.
Tax The amount of tax generated by this item Month-to-date and Year-to-date.
In addition to the fields on this screen, several function keys lead to options you may elect to enter.
[F4] This is the monthly Sales History of this item for the past 12 months. This includes the quantity sold, cost, sales and monthly average and is automatically updated as transactions are entered. You can manually enter figures here if you have access to them.
[F5] Displays an itemised Movement History of the stock item. You cannot add to this list manually.
[F7] Displays notes kept for this stock item. You can add notes by pressing [Ins] and change them by pressing [Enter].
[F8] Displays more fields that pertain to the stock item, such as last movement date, last purchase date and last counted date, quantity on order, last order date and minimum re-order quantity. You can also select the default General Ledger accounts for this stock item. When this stock item is invoiced the Stock on Hand account decreases and the COGS account is increased. You may have more than one Stock on Hand account, or many COGS accounts - you can select which account will be posted to. You can change the codes at time of invoice. If you are new to accounting then accept the defaults. As you become more familiar with the system you may find you will use this facility.
[F9] Displays and allows you to add to the list of "special" prices, or price matrix. To add lines to this list press [Ins], enter a debtor code or press [F2] to select from the pop-up, enter the method (either price or percentage off) and the actual amount or percentage off.
When you have completed all the relevant fields a message, 'Press Enter to Accept', will appear at the bottom of the screen. If you are happy with the Stock Item details, press [Enter]. If you want to change any details use the [Esc] key to back through the record and edit fields. If you want to abandon the Stock Item without saving any details press [Ctrl][Esc] or [Alt][F4] if running under Microsoft Windows.
You are then given the choice of adding another Stock item or press [Esc] to return to the Stock Maintenance Menu.
8.3.3.1. Assembly Stock Items
If the Stock Item is an Assembly once the main stock screen has been accepted a screen will be displayed where the items that make up the assembly can be entered.
Use the [Ins] key to enter items in the assembly. Either enter the Stock codes and quantities, or press [F2] to pop-up a list of all Stock Items and select from the list. When you have completed the details, press [Ctrl][Enter] to save.
Note : You can enter them at a later date - refer to Edit Assembly Details in this chapter.
8.3.4. Delete Stock Details
When this option is selected a screen will be displayed that allows you to enter the Stock Item you wish to delete. You can either type a valid Stock code or press [F2] to pop-up a list of Stock items. The Stock record will appear on the screen with a message in the top right corner. If you do not wish to delete the Stock record shown, press [Esc].
Note : A Stock Item can only be deleted if there is no Stock on hand and the item is not included in any non-updated invoices.
If the message is "Press Enter to Delete" and you wish to delete the Stock record shown, press [Enter].
If the message is "Cannot Delete this Stock Item", then there is some Stock on hand. This has to be cleared before the Stock Item can be deleted. You can clear this in several ways, none of which adjust any General Ledger accounts :
1. Enter a nil quantity via a "stock-take entry".
2. Enter a "stock movement" to clear the quantity.
3. Edit the actual stock record using the `Edit Stock item" option.
If you wish to clear the cost of the deleted items to the General Ledger account you must enter a General Journal, Crediting Stock on Hand and Debiting Stock Adjustments (or some other expense account). For more information on General Journals refer to Journal Entry in the General Ledger Module.
You can then select another Stock Item to delete, or press [Esc] to return to the Stock Maintenance Menu.
Note: We suggest that any Stock item deletions should be done after a Stock End of Month and before any other transactions are entered into the system.
8.3.5. Change Stock Code
Equity allows you to change Stock codes at any time. You may have made a mistake when originally entering the code, find the code is too long to remember or too short to differentiate between two stock items.
When this option is selected a screen will be displayed that allows you to enter the Stock Code you want to change, and the new code you wish to change it to.
You can either type in a valid Stock code or press [F2] to pop-up a list of Stock items.
Once you have entered the old and new codes you will be asked to confirm your intent. Answer [Y] if you wish to proceed or [N] if you have changed your mind.
Note : This can take some time if the Stock item has had any movement as the history will also be amended.