Tracmor enables you to handle two types of items:

Inventory. Copier paper, packaging supplies, and other such "disposables" are the types of things you would want to handle as inventory in Tracmor. Options such setting a restocking alert when a minimum quantity is reached are tailored for these types of items. Note - items you manage as inventory do not affect your subscription level.
Assets. Any items of value that you want to track closely should be entered as an asset, as described in "What do I need to know about assets?"

This article takes you through everything you need to know about creating and managing inventory items:

Understanding the information structure
Finding the menu options
Creating one new inventory item
Importing a list of inventory items
Creating a filtered list
Mass deleting inventory items
Mass editing inventory items
Exporting a list of inventory items
Editing inventory information
Adding attachments to an inventory item
Setting a location alert
Viewing transaction history
Inventory transactions
- Restock
- Take out
- Move
- Ship
- Receive
Printing labels
Adding custom fields
Related articles

Understanding the information structure

The options for creating the information structure are to create the structure "as you go," or to import information in the recommended sequence as described in Building the Foundation Quickly - Import Overview.

The recommended sequence - mapped to inventory - follows:

Add States only if you will be shipping or receiving items from companies outside of the United States and Canada.
Add relevant Areas and Locations if they are different from the ones already defined for assets. Areas and locations are needed for recording and tracking all inventory transactions.
Optional: create custom fields, if needed, before importing information in the following steps.
If you will be receiving or shipping inventory, create or import the relevant Companies and Contacts.
Create or import categories and manufacturers specific to your inventory items to build a basis for inventory "models" that help define your items.
The final layer of inventory identifiers are Inventory Name and Inventory Code.

This is how it all fits together:

The Inventory Code is the unique identifier under which all these transactions are tracked and "filed:"

Finding the menu options

All options for creating and editing assets are easily accessed from the top menu by clicking on Inventory. This article focuses on using the top menu option.

You can also access options from the side menu by clicking on Inventory.

Note: If the side menu is not visible, click on the square to the left of Global Search at the top of the screen. Clicking on this icon allows you to show and hide the side menu.

Clicking on Inventory on the top menu opens the following view. Circled in red are the options described below; options accessed through sub-menus are also discussed.

Note: You can hide all all search fields by clicking on the carat symbols on the right.

Creating one new inventory item

To add one new inventory item, click on Inventory on the top menu and then click on the (blue) plus icon in the upper right hand corner:

The required fields are noted by a red asterisk next to the field name.

For the first two items, your options are to choose from the information that is already available by having been entered previously (place the cursor in the field and press the space bar to show available options), or, you can add new values as you go by clicking on the (blue) plus icons, circled in red to the right.

Category
Manufacturer

The required fields for inventory information are typed in directly (no search function):

Inventory Name. Provide a concise descriptive name for the item.
Inventory Code. Specify a unique alphanumeric identifier.

Additional information includes:

Inventory Description. Provide explanatory detail or specifications; optional, as needed.
Minimum quantity. Set this value in case you would like to set up a minimum quantity email notification alert.
Email notification. A response of yes or no is required; if you select yes, you must also enter a valid email address.
Custom fields. Custom fields will appear according to your specifications (enabled, required, type). (See: Adding custom fields)

Click on Save and the new inventory item will be added to the top of the Inventory List.

Importing a list of inventory items

To import a list of inventory items, start by clicking on Inventory (top menu) and then clicking on the (green) down arrow icon.

Having clicked on the down arrow icon, you will arrive at a dialog box from which you can click on the Standard file to import data icon. Applicable custom fields are included in the standard import file.

Tip: Create custom fields before importing information.

Note: Clicking on the blue icon in the upper right corner displays a list of files previously imported.

Open the downloaded file, preferably in MS Excel. Note that the column headings match the fields as described in Creating one new inventory item.

Required fields are indicated in red.

The two new required identifiers that will be imported are Inventory Name and Inventory Code; the Category Name and Manufacturer Name must already have been created or imported into Tracmor, since that is what the new information is being "mapped" to.
If you indicate "yes" in column G for Email Notification Status, you must also enter a Notification Email Id.
Column I represents an optional Custom Field (indicated by cfv_).

Do not skip any rows. Save the file with a descriptive name.

Upload the saved file from the same dialog box from which you downloaded the standard import file; click on Choose File to navigate to the saved file, and once you have chosen the file and the file name is listed in place of [No file chosen], click on Upload File.

Once the file is uploaded, you will receive a status report via the Imported File List. If any inventory items were not successfully imported, the number will be indicated under the column heading “Skipped.”

Note: Clicking Undo removes the imported values. This option is only available for the most recent import.

To determine the error, download the file by clicking on the link in the "Skipped" column. In the example above, clicking on the number "1" in red downloads a file with the error message.

Creating a filtered list

The inventory search function provides the capability to find inventory items, and it comes in handy when you want to create a filtered list for completing such actions as targeted mass delete or mass edit, or printing labels for selected items.

To access Inventory Search, click on Inventory (top menu). By default, you can always search by all the required fields, as shown. You can also conduct an "advanced" search by clicking on the carat symbol on the right to reveal additional options such as searching by date and any custom fields you added. In this example "Special Purpose Item?" was added as a custom field.

Once you have specified your search terms by entering the value and/or selecting it from dropdown menus or popup calendar, click on Apply Filter.

Once the filtered list is complete you can select single items by clicking on the check box to the left of the item.

Note: Clicking on the check box at the top of a column - shown by the red arrow - selects all items in the list.

Mass deleting inventory items

Inventory items can be deleted:

One at a time while editing, as described in Editing inventory information
En mass by either
- Clicking on the check boxes to the left of the inventory item(s) to be deleted in the Inventory List view
- Creating a filtered list using the search function as described in Creating a filtered list

Once your selections have been made by clicking on the check boxes, click on the red "trash" icon in the upper right hand corner. You will be asked to confirm the delete request. Once you confirm, the item(s) will be deleted and will no longer appear in the Inventory List.

Mass editing inventory items

The mass edit capability enables you to edit more than one inventory item at a time with regard to the inventory description field and any custom fields you created. (To edit all other parameters, see Editing inventory information.)

From the Inventory List view, click on the check boxes to the left of the inventory item(s) to be edited.

Note: You can create a filtered list using the search function as described in Creating a filtered list.

Next, click on the (light blue) pencil icon to be able to mass edit the particular inventory fields.

In the Inventory Mass Edit dialog box, check the box to the left of the items you want to mass edit (shown by the red arrow). Note that in this example, the custom field is available to be edited.

To save your edits, click on Save.

Exporting a list of inventory items

If you need a record of your inventory, you can export a list by clicking on Inventory (top menu) and then clicking on the export icon in the upper right hand corner. The Inventory List downloads as an MS Excel spreadsheet and includes all inventory items and a subset of associated information.

Note: The spreadsheet is password protected and cannot be edited without the password that Tracmor sent to your account admin.

Editing inventory information

To edit the information for an inventory item already created, navigate to Inventory (top menu) and click on the Inventory Code of the item of interest in the Inventory List view.

Click on Edit to arrive at the same options as when you create one inventory item at a time.

Note: You can back out of the edit at any time by clicking on Cancel. You can delete the inventory item by clicking on Delete.

To edit Category or Manufacturer, your options are to select the correct name from the dropdown menu, or to create a new one by clicking on the (blue) plus icon to the right (circled in red).

Note: If you added custom fields, they will also be available to edit. In this example, "Special Purpose Item?" was added as a custom field.

Click on Save to upload your edits.

Adding attachments to an inventory item

To upload an attachment, such as an image, document in portable document format (pdf), or items in other formats:

Click on Inventory (top menu).
Scroll down to the Inventory List and click on the Inventory Code of the item of interest:
Scroll down to the following options and click on Attachments:
At the Upload Attachment dialog box, note that if you select Specific Location (shown by the red arrow), additional options become available.
- Select the Area from the dropdown menu for which this attachment is to be available (create a new area by clicking on the [light blue] plus icon).
- Select the Location from the dropdown menu for which this attachment is to be available (create a new location by clicking on the [light blue] plus icon).
Click on Choose File. Once you have navigated to the file and its name appears instead of [No file chosen], click on on Submit. You can upload as many attachments as you like, but they must be uploaded one at a time. Uploaded attachments are listed on the Attachment List.

Setting a location alert

To set up a location alert:

Click on Inventory (top menu).
Scroll down to the Inventory List and click on the Inventory Code of the item of interest:
Scroll down to the menu options and click on Location Alert Settings:
At the Add Location Alert Setting dialog box, select the Area and Location to set the alert for, indicate if an email is to be sent, the minimum quantity, and the email address(es) the alert is to be sent to.
Click on Save.

Note: To add more than one alert, click on the (light blue) plus icon. To delete an alert, click on the x in the red circle.

Viewing transaction history

To view the history of an inventory item you have two choices!

Click on Inventory (top menu).
Scroll down to the Inventory List and click on the Inventory Code of the item of interest:
Scroll down to the following options and click on History:

Or, click on Transactions to arrive at the following menu, and from there click on Transaction History.

Both options take you to a summary of the transaction and shipping/receiving history for items under that Inventory Code.

Inventory transactions

Once you have created inventory models (so to speak) under inventory codes, you can begin tracking by applying Areas and Locations to restocking, taking out, and moving transaction. Keeping good records enables the system to alert you when you are running low on specific items. Here is how you start:

Click on Inventory (top menu).
Scroll down to the Inventory List and click on the Inventory Code of the item of interest:
Scroll down to the following options and click on Transactions to arrive at a secondary menu for that item.