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Add a Stock Record

This article explains the fields and options available on a Dimensions stock record.

Code

Displays the record list from which you can select a stock item. The list can also be opened from the Keys pull-down menu and sorted in different sequences. When creating new stock records, make codes meaningful and unique. Alphanumeric codes are recommended. Use a consistent code length, particularly if you plan to use Sub Analysis — inconsistent lengths can generate duplicate codes. 📌 Example: Stock records 123 and 12 both made Sub Analysis. Against 123, Sub Analysis 456 creates 123456. Against 12, Sub Analysis 3456 also creates 123456 — this is rejected as it is not unique.

Type

The Type drop-down flags the stock record as a particular type. This is not available until the record has been saved. See the Stock Type section below for more detail.

Description

This field prompt will change to a menu bar when in Edit mode. Clicking Description will drop down a menu listing the languages that have been set up. Selecting a language will display the Description in that language if one has been entered, or will allow you to enter (or change) a Description for this Stock item in that language. This is independent of the Language being used overall by this user. You can set up as many different language descriptions as there are languages. When Stock items are printed on Orders etc, the Descriptions used will be in the language of the Customer’s or Supplier’s Country Code. The Description shown here will depend on the language currently selected.

Enable RTP

Flags the stock item so that when used in Sales Orders, it is added to the list of items that may require a Purchase Order. See the Request to Purchase section below.

Sell Price

Represents Price Line 1. If you change this field, review the full Price table. Click the adjacent drill button to open the Selling Price Table and enter up to ten selling prices.

Cost Price

Represents Price Line 1. If you change this field, review the full Price table. Click the adjacent drill button to open the Buying Price Table and enter up to ten buying prices.

Standard Cost

A fixed (not calculated) cost used when evaluating assembly components. Its operation is controlled in Stock Options. Standard Cost can be selected as an alternative to other profit cost methods.

Quantities

Quantities at the bottom of the window are updated automatically as transactions are entered. The drill buttons let you examine each quantity in more detail. The order quantities are displayed varies based on the Free Stock definition in Stock Options. For example, if Free Stock is defined as Physical minus Allocated Stock, those quantities appear above Free to show they are included in the calculation.

Physical

Displays the Turnover summary (in and out quantities) for each period in the current, last, and next years. Click a menu bar at the top to select a period and open the Stock Transactions Enquiry. For Assembly items, a prompt appears with two options:

  • Physical: Shows a Movement Summary for last year, this year, and previous year.

  • Availability: Displays the Check Levels and Availability window.

Works Order Processing

If Works Order Processing is enabled, the quantities section is displayed differently for Assembly and Component type stock items. A summary drill-down button appears next to the Free stock value and opens the Free Stock window, which includes stock information about your works orders.

Deliveries to update

Shown only when SOP order delivery notes have been printed but not updated. The drill-down button opens the Stock Enquiry window filtered for deliveries to update.

Outstanding orders details

When using Works Order Processing, these summary options appear on the Free Stock drill-down for Assembly and Component type items:

Allocated Stock

Shows the quantity allocated to Sales Orders. The drill-down button opens the Stock Allocations enquiry filtered for allocated stock.

Unallocated orders

The quantity on undelivered Sales Orders that has not been allocated or could not be allocated because stock was unavailable. The drill-down button opens the Stock Allocations enquiry filtered for unallocated stock.

Order In

Shows the total quantity on outstanding Purchase Orders. For batched purchase orders, the Update stock on order option must be selected for the Order In quantity to update. The drill-down button opens the Stock On Order Enquiry showing all purchase orders currently in the batch.

Free

The quantity of stock currently available, as defined by the option selected in Stock Options.

Value

Displays a valuation based on the method selected in Stock Options (FIFO, Average, Latest, or Weighted). The button opens the Valuation window.

Minimum

Used on the Levels & Availability report and in Consolidate Requests processing.

Maximum

A memo field, unless used in Consolidate Requests or Works Order Processing for stock replenishment. 🧓 Tip: For Sub Analysis stock records, the Minimum and Maximum quantities on the main record are not automatically the sum of the Sub Analysis quantities. A System Option exists to lock them together. If that option is set, the Minimum and Maximum on the main record cannot be edited directly. See Stock Options.

Bin Number

Used and printed on Picking Lists. You can also sort and subtotal by Bin Number in SOP batches. A Bin Number on a Sub Analysis record overrides this value.

Workflow Forms

Any Workflow Forms attached to the record are shown in a list pane at the bottom of the record window. If no form is attached, the pane is hidden.

Sort Key tab

Shows the Sort Key and three User Keys for the stock record. Enter classification information such as Product Group, Product Type, Manufacturer, or SKU for selective reporting. Field names can be changed. Access to Sort Keys may be restricted by your Security Profile.

Notes tab

Use this tab to record notes for the stock item.

Picture tab

Use this tab to hold a picture of the stock item. If using the ADM application, pictures are stored in the ADM database. You can also search for ADM stock pictures from the Order Detail Stock Picture tab during SOP and POP transactions. You can store a picture in three ways: - Copy and paste into the Picture tab. - Add a link to an external image file using the Browse button. - Store the file in the ADM database. If using ADM, the Browse button is replaced by a function to launch ADM and store or view the picture. For external files, supported formats are .JPEG, .JPG, and .GIF. Files can be stored anywhere on your system, including a server. Use Network Neighbourhood when browsing to a server path so all users can access the same files. 📌 Note: Keep image files small — large images use more disk space. Colour images use significantly more space than monochrome or greyscale. For stock items included in an E-commerce catalogue, the picture must be set up as an external graphic.

Weights tab

Holds the buying and selling weights, descriptions, and barcode identification for the stock item. The Barcode field can be mapped to: Code, Description, Bin Number, Sort Key, User Keys 1–3, or any user character custom field. When mapped, the barcode field reflects the mapped field's data and updates automatically when the source field changes. The mapping is set on the Records tab in Stock Options. The barcode font can also be changed there (Font 39 BC is supplied with Access Accounts).

Analysis tab

Only visible if Update Stock to Nominal is enabled in Stock Options. Holds analysis codes for POP transactions, SOP transactions, and Stock Movements. Analysis codes entered here take precedence over those in System Control. If left blank, the default codes from Stock Options are used (all stock types update the Nominal in the same way). For Sub Analysis stock items, additional codes on the Sub Analysis record take precedence over the Stock record defaults. SOP and POP analysis codes can be held as Home or Currency — currency analysis codes apply when the transaction currency matches. The order of precedence is: Sub Analysis > Stock record > Stock Options in System Control.

W/Orders tab

Only visible if the Works Order Processing module is unlocked. Holds analysis codes for this stock record when used in a works order. Codes entered here take precedence over those in System Control.

Facets tab

Only available if Use Stock Facets is enabled in System Control and Facet Template is disabled in Stock Info. Facet Template stock codes can only be changed if the record has not yet been used in any transactions. Displays the Facet Template stock code and facets as defined by the Product Group. In Edit mode, enter or look up a facet template code, then use the drop-down to select a facet value from the Facet Record or — if your profile allows — enter a new value.

Custom tab

Attach your own custom information to the stock record. See the Custom tab topic for more detail.

Allocated stock (summary)

Quantities at the bottom of the Stock Record window update automatically as transactions are entered. Click the drill buttons to open the relevant enquiry windows: - Physical: Opens the Stock Movements Summary. - Deliveries to Update: Shown when a SOP delivery note has been printed but not updated. - Allocated Stock: Quantity allocated to Sales Orders. - Unallocated Orders: Quantity on undelivered Sales Orders where stock was not allocated. - Order In: Quantity on outstanding Purchase Orders. - Free: Available stock as defined in Stock Options (Physical − Allocated − Unallocated, optionally plus Order In). - Value: Valuation based on the method in Stock Options (FIFO, Average, Latest, or Weighted). Opens the Valuation window.

Stock Type

Once movements have been entered for a stock item, the type cannot be changed. After saving, you can assign one of the following types: Serial No. — Flags the record for Serial Number Tracking. Serial numbers must be entered on all transactions for this item.

Sub Analysis

Flags the record to sub-analyse quantities and values. A Sub Analysis Code must be entered on all transactions for this item.

Assembly

Flags the record so that an additional window can be opened to enter a list of components required to manufacture the assembly.

Component

Flags the record so that it can be entered into the components list for an Assembly.

Template

A Template is a stock item not used in transactions. It exists to be copied (using the Duplicate function) to create new stock items quickly. Useful for complex stock items where the basic setup can be stored and reused.

Request to Purchase (RTP)

Enable RTP

Found on Stock and Price records. Enabling this option makes the record available for the Consolidate Requests feature, which allows Purchase Orders to be raised semi-automatically to meet product requests. Product requests can arise from: - Sales of stock or price items on SOP orders. - In-house requests via the POP Purchase Request function. - Stock levels reaching their re-order point. - Manual review within the Consolidate Requests function. If this option is not selected, the record is excluded from Consolidate Requests.

Back to Back (BTB)

When a record that has been enabled for RTP is selected for a Sales Order detail line, there will be an additional active option BTB. These are normal SOP Orders, which contain Stock items or Price items which have been flagged as Enable RTP and which have been marked as BTB on the Order Detail line. This flags the Order line to make it available to the Consolidate Requests function.

If BTB is selected, the detail line will be flagged as a 'Back To Back’ order item and that item will then be included on the Consolidate Request screen from which Purchase Orders can be raised.

The Consolidate Requests function brings together all requests to purchase but does not automatically raise any Purchase Orders. This enables you to retain control over which Orders to raise, when to raise them, to which Supplier and for how much.

For Purchase Orders created from Back To Back Sales Order Processing, you are able to Allocate Stock from the Customer Waiting window.

From the Process Batch window, press Customers to open the Customer Waiting window.

Select the Allocate Stock option, the stock received from processing the Purchase Order will be allocated to the Sales Order lines of the Customers Waiting for this stock.

Sell Price table

Shows the 10 selling prices for this item. When opened from a Price or Stock record, the list can only be edited with Full security access. When opened from a transaction, it is read-only and you can only select a price line.

Selling Price Table detail

On the left of this window is a list of ten prices, one of the prices will always be highlighted. The remainder of the displayed information refers to the highlighted price.

Price - This always reflects the Sell Price displayed on the main Stock Record window.

Note: Rather than editing the Sell Price on the main Stock Record, it is preferable to edit it on this Price Table, so that all the Price Lines can be considered together.

Currency - The ten prices allow each Stock Record to be associated with different Currencies (providing the Currency Module has been purchased). Entry of the Home Price and a Currency Symbol will calculate the relevant 2nd Base (if enabled) and Currency Price. Currency Price field is only visible if you have selected a non-Home currency. This is a required field.

Note: The calculation of the partner price will only happen when the price is first entered. If you wish to change either the Home Price or the Currency Price, the best way to ensure the partner price is recalculated is to set both price fields to zero before entering the revised price.

Analysis - Every price must be associated with a valid Analysis Code within the Sales Ledger, you have the facility to list and/or enter new Analysis Codes from this screen. The Analysis also dictates the VAT Rate that will be used when entering Orders. This is a required field.

The remaining fields are not visible when the Price Table is opened from a Price Record.

Price Method - Click on this pull down menu to display a list of options which include the facility to enter a Quantity Range so that the System can offer a price automatically, based on the quantity you are going to sell. Please refer to the Price Method menu Help topic for more details. Fixed is the default Price Method.

Sales Unit/ Unit Description - Defaults to a quantity of 1 and a description of Each. The Unit is a multiplier and helps in situations where you may re-package Stock Records in different ways.

Example: If you enter the Unit as 12, then when you sell 3 items, the System will decrease the Physical quantity by 3 x 12.

Price Summary - When the adjacent button is clicked, a popup displays the key details from each price line at a glance. This helps you check your entries are all correct. The % Mthd column shows which pricing basis applies to that Price.

Price Description - This displays, as read only, the name associated with the particular price line, e.g. Price Key 1.

Price Lines ‘2’ to ‘10’ can be entered individually as Fixed values, or they can be calculated as a percentage uplift or deduction from Price Line ‘1’.

Cost Price table

Shows the 10 most recent buying prices. When opened from a Price or Stock record, the list can only be edited with Full security access. When opened from a transaction, it is read-only.

Buying Price Table detail

On the left of this window is a list of ten prices, one of the prices will always be highlighted. The remainder of the displayed information refers to the highlighted price.

Supplier - This field is optional, but if used provides a method to record a different Supplier for each of the ten prices. If the Supplier Code you enter does not exist in the Purchase Ledger, the Record Selection List window will open to allow you to select the correct code or insert a new one. Clicking the search button will display a list of existing Suppliers, and provides the facility to enter new Suppliers. When matching a Supplier to a Buying Price Line, the Stock Currency Code must match the default Supplier Currency. If the Currencies do not match, the Stock Currency Code will be updated to match the Supplier Currency. If the Stock Currency is then changed and does not match Supplier Currency, the Supplier Code will be cleared.

Price - This always reflects the Cost Price displayed on the main Stock Record window.

Note: Rather than editing the Cost Price on the main Stock Record, it is preferable to edit it on this Price Table, so that all the Price Lines can be considered together.

Currency - The ten prices allow each Stock Record to be associated with different Currencies (providing the Currency Module has been purchased). Entry of the Home Price and a Currency Symbol will calculate the relevant 2nd Base (if enabled) and Currency Price. Currency Price field is only visible if you have selected a non-Home currency. This is a required field.

Note: The calculation of the partner price will only happen when the price is first entered. If you wish to change either the Home Price or the Currency Price, the best way to ensure the partner price is recalculated is to set both price fields to zero before entering the revised price.

Analysis - Every price must be associated with a valid Analysis Code within the Purchase Ledger. You have the facility to list and/or enter new Analysis Codes from this screen. The Analysis also dictates the VAT Rate that will be used when entering Orders. This is a required field.

The remaining fields are not visible when the Price Table is opened from a Price Record.

Price Method - Click on this pull down menu to display a list of options which include the facility to enter a Quantity Range so that the System can offer a price automatically, based on the quantity you are going to sell. Fixed is the default Price Method.

Note: A range should normally not overlap other ranges. This is involved when Consolidating Requests.

Buy Unit/ Unit Description - Defaults to a quantity of 1 and a description of Each. The Unit is a multiplier that can be used for stock items where you purchase multiple items as a unit but use or sell them individually.

Example: you may buy a box of 24 eggs but use them in ones or twos. You also re-package them into boxes of 6.

Therefore, in this example, you would enter the Buy Unit as 24; this is so that when you buy three items the physical quantity of stock would be increased by 3 x 24.

Min Order Qty - Some items have to be ordered in minimum quantities from some Suppliers. The quantity entered here will relate to the Buy Unit of Measure entered. This figure is also used when printing the Levels & Availability Report.

Price Summary - When the adjacent button is clicked, a popup displays the key details from each price line at a glance. This helps you check your entries are all correct. The % Mthd column shows which pricing basis applies to that Price.

Price Line ‘2’ to ‘10’ These can be entered individually as Fixed values, or they can be calculated as a percentage uplift or deduction from Price Line ‘1’.

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