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.
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 | Matched by name in QuickBooks; a name it does not recognise is simply not set. |
| 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.