Edit an item or create one from a copy

You can change almost everything about an item after you create it. Two things are deliberately left out of the edit form: the stock quantity and an audited change of cost. This article shows how to edit safely and how to start a new item from a copy.

Edit an item

1. Open Inventory › Items › Items.

2. Open the menu at the end of the item's row and select Edit. The edit form opens with the item's current details.

1. Change the fields you need in Classification & units, Identity, Pricing & flags and Options, sub-items & commission.

2. Select Save. A confirmation appears and the items list opens.

What an edit does not do

The yellow note at the top of the form says it plainly:

• Stock does not change. The opening quantity field is not shown on edit. To correct stock, use a quantity adjustment or record a purchase.

• A new cost price replaces the item's costing, even if it already has transactions. No journal entry records the change. When the item holds stock, use an inventory revaluation instead, so the value of the stock and the books move together.

Rows you remove are removed

The units, variants, components and commission rows are saved as a complete set. A row you delete on the form is deleted from the item when you save. If you switch off Has options / variants, Has sub-items (BOM) or Has commission, that section's rows are removed too. Past documents keep the values they were posted with.

Stop using an item

There is no delete for items. Switch off Active and save. The item stays in reports and history, and it no longer appears when users search for items on sales and purchase documents.

Clone an item

Cloning saves time when a new product differs only slightly from an existing one, for example the same product in a larger pack.

1. In the items list, open the row menu and select Clone. The clone form opens, filled with the source item's details.

2. Enter a new Code. The code is left empty on purpose, because each item needs its own.

3. Change the Name and any prices, units or options that differ.

4. If you hold stock of the new item, enter the Opening quantity and its Opening quantity warehouse.

5. Select Save.

The clone is a separate item. Its units receive new barcodes, and later changes to one item never affect the other.

Common questions

I changed the cost price and my stock value moved. The edit replaced the cost for all the stock on hand. Use a revaluation to post a correction with its gain or loss.

Can I change an item's base unit? Avoid it once the item has stock or documents. Every stored quantity is counted in the base unit, so changing it changes what those quantities mean.