Items & Products

Items are the goods and services your business sells or purchases. They form the foundation of sales, purchasing, and inventory management -- connecting what you sell to the right revenue accounts, cost accounts, and pricing automatically.

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Why Item Master Data Matters#

Without item master data:

• You sold something for $500 -- but what was it? What was the cost? Which GL accounts should be used?

With item master data:

• WIDGET-001 -- Premium Wireless Earbuds: Unit price $149.99, cost $45.00, Revenue account 4000, COGS account 5000, taxable
• CONS-001 -- Consulting Services: $200/hour, cost $80/hour, Revenue account 4100, Expense account 5200, tax exempt

Key Benefits#

1. Consistent pricing -- same item, same price across all transactions
2. Automated GL posting -- items know their revenue and expense accounts
3. Multi-entity flexibility -- different entities can customize item details
4. Multi-currency support -- entity-specific pricing in local currencies
5. Volume discounts -- automatic tier-based pricing
6. Complete audit trail -- every change to item definitions is tracked

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Multi-Entity Architecture#

Items follow the Master + Entity Override pattern for maximum efficiency:

How It Works#

Master Items (Organization-wide)
  "WIDGET-001 - Premium Wireless Earbuds"
  Visible to ALL entities by default
        |
        v
Entity-Specific Customizations (Sparse)
  Entity 9 renames: "Premium Earbuds - EU Edition"
  Entity 13 uses a different revenue account
  Entity 10 adds: "MUG-EUR-001" (entity-only item)
        |
        v
Entity-Specific Pricing
  Entity 9:  EUR 129.99
  Entity 13: USD 149.99
  Entity 14: GBP 119.99
        |
        v
Effective Views (What each entity sees)
  Entity 9:  15 items (1 renamed, EUR pricing)
  Entity 13: 14 items (1 hidden, USD pricing)
  Entity 10: 16 items (1 entity-specific addition)

Entity-Specific vs. Global Items#

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Item Properties#

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Item Types#

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Item Categories#

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Item Numbering#

Recommended structure:

[PREFIX]-[CATEGORY]-[NUMBER]

Examples:
PROD-TECH-001    (Product > Technology)
SERV-CONS-001    (Service > Consulting)
SUP-OFFICE-001   (Supplies > Office)

Simple structure:

WIDGET-001
CONS-001

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Item Customization Per Entity#

Entities can customize items without affecting other entities:

Rename an Item#

Entity 9 sees "Premium Earbuds - EU Edition" while all other entities see the master name "Premium Wireless Earbuds."

Hide an Item#

Entity 13 doesn't sell WIDGET-002, so it can be deactivated for that entity only. Other entities continue to see and use it.

Custom GL Accounts#

Entity 10 uses a different revenue account for a specific item. Other entities continue using the master GL mapping.

Revert to Master#

If an entity no longer needs a customization, the override can be removed and the entity reverts to seeing master values.

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Item Pricing#

Pricing is managed separately from the master/override pattern because prices are inherently entity-specific and support multi-currency.

Pricing Priority Chain#

When determining the effective price for an item, the system checks (highest to lowest priority):

1. Customer-specific price -- price negotiated for a specific customer
2. Promotional price -- limited-time promotional pricing
3. Volume tier price -- quantity-based pricing tiers
4. Entity-specific price -- standard price for this entity and currency
5. Master price -- default price from the item master record

Multi-Currency Pricing#

Each entity can have its own price in its functional currency:

Billing Models#

Each price can carry billing model attributes for SaaS and subscription businesses:

An item can have both a one-time setup fee and a recurring monthly subscription price in the same currency.

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Volume Pricing Tiers#

Define quantity-based pricing for volume discounts:

Volume tiers are entity-specific and can have effective date ranges. Tiers can be added, updated, or removed using the action-based pattern (add, update, delete).

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Item Deactivation#

Items can be deactivated at two levels:

• Master deactivation: Item is deactivated for the entire organization
• Entity-specific deactivation: Item is hidden from one entity while remaining active for others

Deactivated items:

• Are hidden from item selection lists
• Cannot be used on new transactions
• Remain visible on historical transactions
• Can be reactivated at any time

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Bulk Import#

Import items from external sources with validation and duplicate detection.

Import Process#

1. Data validation -- field types, SKU format, GL account existence
2. Duplicate detection -- by item number
3. Review and approval -- summary before execution

Import Options#

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Approval Workflows#

All operations generate a complete audit trail.

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Units of Measure#

Standard: EA (each), DZ (dozen), HR (hour), DAY (day)

Weight: lb (pound), kg (kilogram), oz (ounce)

Volume: gal (gallon), L (liter)

The default unit of measure is EA (each) if not specified.