Composite Items
A Composite item in Zoho Inventory is a single commodity that is composed of two or more items and/or services. With composite items you can:
- Create kits and sell them for customized rates.
- Perform assemblies to create finished goods.
Scenario
Sam runs a home appliance showroom. During festive seasons, he provides discounts on appliances such as microwave and mixer when bought together. He also includes one free service as part of this offer.
The Composite Items feature in Zoho Inventory allows him to put together all the items and services to create a kit. He then sells this kit at a discounted rate.
He can also customize the kit according to his customers’ preferences by including some additional products or gift coupons in it, which he can achieve using the bundling function available within the composite items. Creating a bundle increases the stock of the kit while proportionately reducing the stock of the constituting items. This allows him to have complete control of his stock flow.
Likewise, you can also perform assemblies with composite items by bundling raw materials as well as the labor charges it takes to produce the finished goods.
Note: To find out more about the new bundling enhancement in composite items head over here.
Guide Layout:
- Enabling the Composite Items module
- Management of Composite Item
- Operation of Composite Items
- Composite Item detail page
- Filtering Composite Items
- Multi-warehouse operations for composite items
Enabling Composite Items
Note: The subscription plan chosen by you must allow you to use this feature. To know about the subscription plans in Zoho Inventory, click here.
To enable the Composite Items feature in Zoho Inventory,
- Click the gear wheel(Settings) icon on the top-right corner.
- Go to Preferences.
- Open the Items tab.
- Navigate to the Composite Items section and mark the checkbox beside the option ‘Would you like to enable Composite Items?’.
- Click the Save button to apply your settings.
Now, under the Items module, you will be able to find the Composite Items feature, ready for action!
Management of Composite Items
Creating a composite item
Important note: By creating a composite item, you are only defining the composite item. If you have not added any opening stock, the creation process will not have any effect on the stock level of the composite item. To increase the stock level of a composite item, follow one of the 3 ways - bundling the associated items, adjusting the stock of the composite item or purchasing the composite item.
To create a composite item:
- Navigate to the Items tab on the sidebar.
- Click the ’+’ button beside the Composite Items module or +New button on the top right corner.
- Enter all the necessary details inside the fields provided. (Note: The fields labeled in red are mandatory).
- Upload an image for your item. You can upload up to fifteen images for an item. (File format: .gif, .png, ,jpeg, .jpg, .bmp; Max File Size: 5 MB each.) Make one of them as the primary image.
- Under Associate Items, add the items and specify the quantity that should be used for the composite item. Note: You can also another composite item as an associated item.
- Under Additional Information, select an Inventory Account.
- If you have enabled warehouses in Zoho Inventory, then select a warehouse and enter the opening stock to be added to that warehouse.
- Click + Add Warehouse to enter an opening stock in another warehouse.
Click Save to successfully create the composite item.
If needed, enter the reorder point and choose a preferred vendor.
You can learn about navigating through the composite items page here.
Creating a composite item with serial numbers
If your composite items have designated serial numbers, you can record them in Zoho Inventory and later add them to your sales transaction.
Prerequisite: The subscription plan that you choose must allow you to use the this feature. To know about the subscription plans in Zoho Inventory, click here.
- Open a new composite item page.
- Fill up the essential details.
- Choose the Track serial number option under Advanced Inventory Tracking. If you’ve entered an opening stock, you’ll be able to add serial numbers for them.
- If you have enabled warehouses in Zoho Inventory, then select a warehouse and enter the opening stock to be added to that warehouse.
- Click the (…) icon at the end of the row and click Add Serial Number to enter serial numbers as comma separated values for the particular warehouse.
- Click + Add Warehouse to enter an opening stock for another warehouse and repeat the previous step to enter serial numbers for those units.
Hit Save to create a serial number tracked composite item.
You’ll also be able to enter serial numbers for the composite item while recording a new purchase bill.
Creating a composite item with batch numbers
If you purchase composite items in batches then you can record the batch numbers along with its expiration date in Zoho Inventory.
Prerequisite: The subscription plan that you choose must allow you to access this feature. To know about the subscription plans in Zoho Inventory, click here.
- Open a new composite item page.
- Fill up the details and associate the necessary items.
- Choose the Track Batches option under Advanced Inventory Tracking section.
- If you’ve entered an opening stock for the item, you’ll be able to enter the batch numbers for those units in the same page.
- Or, if you have enabled warehouses in Zoho Inventory, then select a warehouse and enter the opening stock to be added to that warehouse.
- Click the (…) icon at the end of the row and click Add Batches to enter batch numbers for the stock in the particular warehouse.
- Click + Add Warehouse to enter an opening stock for another warehouse and repeat the previous step to enter batch numbers for those units.
Field description:
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Batch Reference# | A reference number with which the new batches will be saved and tracked. |
| Manufacturer Batch# | Batch number provided by the manufacturer. |
| Manufactured Date | The date on which the item was manufactured. |
| Expiry Date | The date until which the item is consumable. |
| Quantity in | Quantity that has been added to each batch. |
- You’ll also be able to enter batches for the composite item while recording a new purchase bill.
Editing a composite item
If at any point, you wish to alter the items and services that comprises the composite item, you can do so by editing it.
To do so,
- Navigate to the Composite Items module.
- Open the preferred composite item.
- Click the Edit button on the item details page.
- Make the desired changes.
- Click Save to apply the changes.
Deleting a composite item
To delete a composite item:
- Navigate to Composite Items module under the Items tab.
- Open the preferred composite item.
- Click More-Delete.
- Confirm your action.
Note: You cannot delete a composite item that has transactions associated to it. Instead, you can mark it as Inactive.
De-activation & Re-activation of a composite item
If you are skeptical about deleting a composite item but at the same time, you no longer have any use for it, then you can have it de-activated in Zoho Inventory.
To do so:
- Navigate to the preferred composite item.
- Click More-Mark as Inactive.
On confirming, the composite item becomes inactive and will not be available while adding items to transactions.
Note: You can reverse this action at any point of time.
Importing Composite Items
Instead of adding the items one by one to your inventory, you can use this short-cut to bulk load the items in one sweep and save a lot of time.
To import composite items into your Zoho Inventory account:
- Navigate to the Composite Items module.
- Click the Menu icon(Top-right corner).
- Select Import Composite Items option from the drop-down.
Import phase 1: Uploading the file
Note: You can download the sample file from this page to get an idea on how to create the files you need to import.
- Here, you can upload either a CSV or TSV type file.
- Choose the Character Encoding involved from the drop-down. By default, the character encoding is UTF-8(Unicode).
- Choose the File Delimiter(comma or semicolon). By default it will be comma for a CSV.
- Click Next to proceed to mapping fields window.
Import phase 2: Mapping import fields
Zoho Inventory will automatically map similar fields and match them together. You can manually match the unmapped ones or alter the mapped ones.
- Click the checkbox beside the option ‘Save these selections for use during future imports’ to automate mapping for future item imports.
- Click the Next button to proceed to the Preview window.
Import phase 3: Preview and Import
Here an overview of the number of variants ready for import, number of skipped records and unmapped fields will be shown. * Click the Previous button if you need to make any changes to the operation. * If everything is ready, click the Next button to import.
Exporting Composite Items
To export composite items from your Zoho Inventory account:
- Navigate to the Composite Items module.
- Click the Menu icon(Top-right corner).
- Select Export Items option in the dropdown.
- Select your preferred format for exporting.
- Click the Export button. The file will now be downloaded to your computer.
Composite Item summary
This section will help you find your way around composite items. Let us begin by navigating to the Composite Items module and opening up a composite item.
On opening a composite item, you will find 5 sections - Overview, Serial Numbers, Transactions, Adjustments, Bundling History and History.
Overview
This section will house all the primary, sales and purchase, associated items and stock location information of that composite item. You also have a dedicated sales summary graph and the option to update reorder levels right here.
Serial Numbers
If you have enabled serial number tracking for the composite item, you can view the whereabouts of the serial numbers by simply looking it up.
- Click the drop-down and select a serial number.
- Click the Search button.
The movement of the stock from the moment it entered your inventory till its current position is displayed in a timeline fashion. The IN and OUT statuses indicate the inflow and outflow of stock respectively along with the associated transaction ID.
Transactions
- The Transactions section will show all the transactions associated with the composite item.
- To find a specific transaction, you can filter by transaction type and further narrow down your search with the status filter.
- The results are hot-wired to the original document so that you can have a quick look at the details.
Adjustments
The Adjustments sections works just like the one you have for items. This section will list out all the stock adjustments made to the composite items for various reasons.
Bundling History
The Bundling History section is one of the core sections of this module. Here, you will be able to view the log of all the instances you bundled a composite item along with the value of cost incurred.
If the composite item has a boxing history, it can be viewed under the Boxes tab in this section. Here, the boxing process is represented with a positive value and unboxing with a negative value along with the cost incurred.
History
The History section will basically maintain a log of all the updates you make to the primary information of your composite item.
Filtering Composite Items
You can apply the filters to narrow down your search to the preferred composite items. To apply a filter,
- Navigate to the Composite Items page.
- Click the composite item filter tab on the left top of the page.
- Choose one of the following filters from the drop-down - Active, Low Stock and Inactive.
On doing so, the records that fit your choice will be displayed.
Note: After applying a filter, you can sort the records displayed by clicking on the Menu button on the top-right corner.
Operation of Composite Items
Bundling
Bundling is the act of putting together different components in desired quantities to produce a single commodity. These components could be goods, services and other non-inventory items of your choice.
To bundle the items:
- Navigate to the Items tab on the side bar.
- Select Composite Items from the drop-down.
- Open the preferred composite item.
- Click the Create Bundle button.
- Enter all the mandatory details (labeled in red) and choose the warehouse within which you’d like to create the bundles for this composite item.
- Add the items and services of your choice.
- Click Save Bundle to finish the operation.
- You can view the bundling details by clicking the bundle number under the Bundling History section.
Note:
- The bundling process will increase the stock of the composite item while the stock of the individual items will drop as per the quantity used by this process.
- You cannot create a bundle with services alone. You have to include at least one inventory item as part of it.
Adding Serial Numbers or Batch Numbers to Bundles
If you have enabled serial number tracking or batch tracking for your composite item, then you will be able to add serial numbers or batch numbers to its bundles as well.
To add serial numbers to the bundles,
- Open a composite item for which you have enabled serial number tracking.
- Click the Create Bundle button found on the top right corner.
- Enter the quantity of bundles you want to create.
- Click the Add Serial Number option.
- Enter the serial numbers for the bundled quantity.
- Click Save Bundle.
To add batch numbers to the bundles,
- Open a composite item for which you have enabled serial number tracking.
- Click the Create Bundle button found on the top right corner.
- Enter the quantity of bundles you want to create.
- Click the Add Batches option.
- Enter the batch details for the bundled quantity.
- Click Save Bundle.
These serial numbers and batch numbers can later be included in your transactions.
Quick Bundling from sales transactions
Whenever the quantity in demand for a composite item is greater than the quantity available, you can use the Bundle option inside a sales order or an invoice to generate the required quantity on the fly.
To do so:
- Navigate to the sales order or invoice module.
- Create a new sales transaction(new sales order or invoice).
- Add a composite item.
- Specify the quantity ordered by your customer. If the quantity ordered is greater than the available quantity shown, you will notice a new option called Bundle below the Quantity field.
- Click the Bundle option.
- The required quantity of composite items that needs to be bundled will be automatically calculated.
- Click Save to generate the required quantity of the composite item.
Deleting a Bundle
If at any point when you do not have any use for a bundle, you can always delete it to get back its constituents.
To do so,
- Navigate to the composite items page.
- Open a preferred composite item with existing bundles.
- Go to the Bundling History tab.
- Click the trash icon on the left corner of each bundling entry.
- Confirm your action.
This will automatically raise the stock level of the constituents of that bundle.
Reselling Composite Items
If you are a reseller of kits or composite items, let’s see how we can manage your workflow using Zoho Inventory.
- Create a composite item.
- If you have some stock on hand, record them as Opening Stock and also specify the average purchase price of the kits as Opening Stock Value during the creation process.
- Create a Purchase Order for the required quantity.
- Mail the purchase order to the vendor.
- When you receive the composite items from your vendor, record the delivery of goods into your warehouse/organization as a Receive.
- Record the vendor bill by converting the purchase receive into a Bill.
Depending on your preferred Mode of Stock Tracking, the stock level of the composite item will increase. And whenever a customer places an order for the composite item, you will be able to generate a Sales Order, Invoice then, create Packages and Shipment Orders for them using Zoho Inventory.
Making stock adjustments for composite items
To adjust stock:
- Navigate to the Composite Items module.
- Open the preferred composite item.
- Click More-Adjust Stock.
- Enter the quantity being adjusted and the reason for adjustment.
- Click Save to reflect the stock changes.
Managing low stock alerts
It is crucial to be aware when your stock is going low. When a composite item goes to the low stock zone, you can find out using two ways: * You can list them using the Low Stock filter. * Or, you can find out through the re-order notification mail.
Setting low stock alerts
- Navigate to the Composite Items module.
- Select a preferred composite item.
- Click the Edit button.
- Update the Reorder Level and Preferred Vendor fields.
- Click the Save button.
Henceforth, you will receive a re-order notification mail whenever this item goes below your set re-order point.
Note: Before you set reorder levels, you have to make sure that you have enabled re-order notification under item preferences in the Settings.
Performing a re-order
You can perform a re-order to stock up the supplies that you are low on.
To do so,
- Navigate to Contacts module.
- Under the filter tab, choose the filter Vendor - Reorder Items.
- On doing so, the system will list out all your preferred vendors whose associated items are below the re-order point.
- Select the vendor associated to this item.
- You will find a highlighted Order Now option below his/her contact information.
- Clicking on that will direct you to a new purchase order page along with a pop-up that has all the low stock items associated to this vendor.
- Add the items you wish and create a purchase order.
Multi-warehouse operations for composite items
You’ll have additional capabilities when using composite items if you’ve enabled multi-warehouse management for your organization. To know more, click here.
