Create New Inventory Item — Operator Guide
1. What this screen is for
Create New Inventory Item adds a part that does not exist yet — a new module, a new fitting, a new wire. It does two things: it reserves the next SKU number and creates the item in IM2, and it tries to create the same item in QuickBooks straight away. Nothing can be received, picked or counted until the item exists here.
Reach it from the Logistics Main Menu tile Create New Inventory Item.
2. Who is allowed in
Whoever the Permissions screen grants the Create New Item action to (Admin and Level 1 by default). The Retry in QuickBooks button is Admin / Level 1 only.
3. The SKU
The Reserved SKU shown at the top is the next number in sequence. It is only truly assigned when you save — if someone else saves a new item first, yours gets the following number. Do not write the number on anything until after you save; the confirmation message tells you the SKU you actually got.
You cannot type your own SKU. Numbers are handed out in sequence, and QuickBooks keeps the item name as its key while IM2 keys off the SKU.
4. Filling it in
Required:
- Item Name — this is the QuickBooks name and it must be unique. If a name already exists you get An item named '…' already exists and nothing is created. Names cannot be edited here afterwards: a name change is made in QuickBooks and flows back on the next sync.
- Description — what shows on purchase orders and sales documents. Both descriptions in IM2 are set from this one field.
- As Of Date — the date the item was first used. It starts as today; change it if the item has been in use longer. It goes to QuickBooks as the item's start date (the same As of date box QuickBooks asks for). It cannot be blank or in the future, and you cannot change it here after saving.
Worth filling in, all optional:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| UOM | EA or FT (whatever Settings allows). Defaults to EA. |
| Cost Ea | The purchase cost. Goes to QuickBooks too. |
| Preferred Vendor | Must be a vendor in the vendor master. Start typing and the name fills in; pick from the list. A name not in the master is flagged in red and the item will not save until it is fixed or cleared. |
| Manufacturer / Mfr Part # | Free text; the manufacturer box suggests existing ones. |
| Item Group / Gen-Loc / Count Group | Picked from the lists IM2 maintains. Count Group defaults to the Settings default if you leave it blank. |
| Primary / Secondary Bin | Typed in upper case automatically. Leave blank if it has no home yet — it will show on the "needs a bin" filter in Item Master. |
| Min / Max Qty | Min is also sent to QuickBooks as the reorder point. Neither may be negative and Min cannot be more than Max — the save is refused if they do not make sense. Leaving either blank is fine. |
| Lead Time (work days) | Work days from placing the order to delivery for this item. Used by the Purchasing Workbench to work out the suggested delivery date. Leave it blank and the Workbench falls back to the Settings default. Added 2026-09-07 at Dave's request — before that, a new item always saved with no lead time. |
| Notes | Free text. |
On Hand is always 0 and cannot be changed — quantity arrives through receiving, never here. Income Account, Expense Account and Type (Inventory Part) are set automatically and shown in the grey strip; they are not yours to choose.
5. What happens when you save
- The item is written into IM2 and the SKU is locked in. This happens first, on purpose — a QuickBooks outage never costs you the typing.
- QuickBooks is then asked to create the item. Two outcomes:
- Saved as SKU 51xxx — Added to QuickBooks (item nnnn). Done; the item is usable everywhere.
- Saved as SKU 51xxx in IM2, but QuickBooks refused it: <QuickBooks' own words>. The item exists in IM2 with the SKU reserved, and it appears in the Not in QuickBooks yet list at the bottom with the exact reason.
- The form clears and shows the next SKU, ready for the next item.
6. Not in QuickBooks yet
The bottom card lists every item QuickBooks has not accepted, with the reason it gave. Retry in QuickBooks re-sends all of them and reports how many went through and how many still failed. Typical reasons are a duplicate name in QuickBooks, or a QuickBooks connection/token problem — a name clash needs the name changed in QuickBooks or a different name used here; a connection problem just needs a retry later.
Anything left on this list cannot be picked or posted: a pick that contains it fails at posting with No QB item id for SKUs: ….
7. Common mistakes
- Writing the reserved SKU down before saving. It can change. Use the number in the confirmation.
- Creating a duplicate under a slightly different name. Search Item Master first — the only duplicate check here is an exact name match (ignoring case).
- Assuming a red "QuickBooks refused it" message means nothing was saved. The IM2 item and its SKU do exist; only the QuickBooks half is missing, and it can be retried.
- Entering a Min bigger than the Max, or a negative one. The save is refused with a plain message — correct the pair (or leave them blank) and save again.
- Expecting quantity to be enterable. It is not; receive the material instead.
Checked as you type, not at save
Cost, Min, Max and both Bin boxes are checked the moment you leave the box. A bad entry turns the box red with the reason underneath — Min (10) cannot be more than Max (4), Cost must be a number, Bins are letters, numbers and - / . only. Bins are also saved in capitals whatever you type. Save item will not send anything until the red is cleared, so the only things that can still stop a save are the ones this screen cannot know: an item name QuickBooks already has, or QuickBooks refusing the item.
UOM, Item Group, Gen-Loc and Count Group are pick lists, so they cannot be typed wrong at all.
Scan item (camera)
Press Scan item (iPad or phone) and take a photo — up to 3 if the label is on another side.
- Item has a label: the app reads the manufacturer and model / part numbers and checks them against the item master. A part-number match shows the existing SKU, bin and on-hand — use that item, do not create a new one.
- No label: the app identifies the item by sight and lists similar items. Pick one if it is the same part.
- Not found: the form is prefilled (name, description, manufacturer, part #, UOM, group). Prefilled boxes are yellow — check them, fill in the rest, and press Save item.
- Matches shown but yours is different: press It is different — create anyway.
Nothing is saved by scanning. Photos are not stored. Anyone who can use this screen can scan. The button only appears when photo reading is switched on.
Photo kept with the item (Ver 6, 2026-10-25): the photos you scanned are attached to the new item when you press Save — the message says "Photo attached." If you picked an existing item instead, nothing is attached.
Seeing the photo: the Items grid shows a 📷 photo link beside history for any item that has one (tap to enlarge, tap again to close). The handheld item screen (/scan and the HH versions) shows the photo under the item name.
Adding a photo to an existing item (Ver 9): on the Items grid tap +📷 beside history; on the handheld item screen tap Add photo. The camera opens, the photo is scaled down to 1600px automatically (same as the scan), and it shows on the item. Needs the same permission as creating items.
Note (Ver 9): Scan item is always visible. Until automatic identification is switched on, it just takes the photo and attaches it when you Save.
As Of Date (Ver 10, 2026-10-28): new required field, added at Dave's request so the item's QuickBooks start date is the date it was first used instead of always today. Retry in QuickBooks re-sends the date that was saved.