In your Inventory module there are multiple fields to customize this module:

  • Set the Unit of Measure you purchase a material for entering costs and weights
  • Indicate units of measure and selling prices for items sold directly from Inventory (not what is used in your crate designs)
  • Mark only materials you use (reduces possibility of errors when changing materials in a design)
  • Indicate in what capacity you use a material (such as using 2x4 as a cleating material and NOT using 4x4's as cleats)
  • Set a material specific mark-up


The terms below for Linear Foot and Linear Meter // Board Foot and Cubic Meter can be used interchangeably based on your installation setting.


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Tracking Level (Material Purchasing Level)


The unit of measure you use to purchase your inventory items is your Tracking Level. The Tracking Level allows you to enter your costs and weights for that item based on the unit of measure you buy them in.  


Some material categories limit what you're able to select for a Tracking Level: Example Lumber - your options are linear foot or board foot. You'll enter your cost for that material by the selected Tracking Level



It's recommended that you set your Tracking Level for a material prior to using the material in a design. Changes to your Tracking Level after using a material may have unintended consequences for designs previously created. If you have questions, please arrange a screen sharing session or create a new ticket.


 AVAILABLE ON PROJECTS


When you create a project in the Projects module,  you can add Inventory items directly from your Inventory in additional to crate designs.  So you might sell Loosefill by the Bag, or a few 2x4x8's as blocking to your customer outside of what is used in the crate design.


This allows you to set a different markup than is used when the same material is used in a design AND to quickly and easily identify common units of measure you would sell this material in.


Check the box next to the line item that you've entered your desired 'unit of measure' for all items you'll sell directly from Inventory. The markup here comes from  Preferences > Pricing > When Sold on a Project, and you're able to see your Selling Price here. If the markup % is grayed, then the value is the default setting in Preferences. You may override the markup for each material and unit of measure.


IF YOU DON'T SELL ITEMS DIRECTLY FROM INVENTORY - YOU MAY CHOSE TO UNCHECK ALL BOXES UNDER 'AVAILABLE ON PROJECTS'




Levels A & B


The Level A 'unit of measure' is what is used on the cut lists, no matter what your selected Tracking Level is.  Level A will always be the smallest reasonable unit of measure for a material used in a crate design and the unit of measure for that material that your users expect to see on cut lists.


Level B unit of measure is usually the most common unit of measure used for the Tracking Level setting. However, you may select either as your buying level or Tracking Level.


Level C to Level F


These are only used if you will sell that material directly from your Inventory module and add them to a Project. Levels C-F allow you to enter different units of measure so you're able select the material in that unit of measure on the Project 


Inventory > VIEW - Project Fields List : Under the 'Available' you're able to click in the number and it will bring up the Available on Projects window for quick changes.



Entering new units of measure


Examples of Units of Measure

  • Each
  • Box
  • Carton
  • Linear Foot or Metric Foot
  • Square Foot or Metric Foot
  • Roll
  • Enter your own for most items

 

When the 'unit of measure' field is modifiable, you can enter anything in this field. Crate Pro 6 doesn't see the word 'each' as a single unit. It could just as easily be 'pickle'. The rest of the values you enter on the line determine how the unit of measure is calculated.



Example 1 : Staples. You buy them by the BOX and there are 10,000 staples in each box 

  • Level A unit of measure is typically EACH for fasteners (or a term that signifies 'each' to your users):  This is so on the cut list your users see the term you entered with a numeric quantity. So if you use the term 'BOX' as your Level A unit of measure, then Crate Pro will say you need xx number of boxes but not quantity further the quantity of staples that are in each BOX. Probably not what you intended.


  • But if you select Level A as your Tracking Level as well, you may find figuring out your each cost and weight for a staple can be time consuming.  Who wants to figure out the each price when there are 10,000 staples in the box? So you will have Level A values as what appears on your cut lists, and another Level for your Tracking Level to manage hoe you buy this item. Crate Pro will allow you to easily enter the quantity of EACH item that make up your Tracking Level unit of measure. 



Example 2: Lumber.  Your options for the Tracking Level 'unit of measure' for lumber are restricted to LINEAR FOOT in Level A, or BOARD FOOT  in Level B


  • Level A: if you select this as your TRACKING LEVEL, you will enter your costs and weights based on the cost of each linear foot (linear meter) of your lumber board.  Your cut lists and your Managers Reports will provide usage in Linear Feet (linear meter).  
    • Consider how you buy your lumber. Is it easier to determine the total linear footage purchased?  If you purchase your lumber boards by the piece, say a 2x4x 8 is $10. You have 8' and its easy to determine your cost per linear foot is .80 cents. You can do his for each different size lumber board you buy no matter the length. 
    • But if you need to provide ISPM15 reports or other usage information by Board Foot - you'll have to manually calculate the board foot usage manually.  Click Here to see the formula's to convert linear foot to board foot.
    • There are many websites that offer conversion calculators if you are using Linear foot values as your Tracking Level and you need conversions to Board Feet.


  • Level B: if you select this as your TRACKING LEVEL, you will enter your costs and weights based on the board foot of your lumber boards. Your cut lists will show linear foot and your Managers Report will show board foot. ISPM15 reporting will also show in board foot.
    • Depending on the dimensions of a lumber board, the board foot values change.  For a 1x4 each BF equals 3 linear feet, for a  2x4 each BF equals 1.5 linear feet. 
    •  Board Feet is most commonly used in the commercial crating industry for purchasing lumber no matter the length, but Crate Pro 6 gives you the flexibility to use what's best for you.





HINT!! Using Board Foot as your Tracking Level allows you to enter your costs based on board foot but perhaps you also want to see your costs based on Linear Foot too, since by Linear Foot is what's used in the Design module.


1> The cost per BF that you entered

2> Level A and Level B 'Unit of Measure' displays Linear Feet and Board Feet

3> In the 'Markup' column for both, set the value to '0' (zero)

4> The 'Sell' column will display your costs without any markup by Linear Foot and Board Foot (The Board Foot Sell value should equal the value you entered in #1

5> The 'Pricing when applied to designs' value should equal the 'Sell' value for level A with the addition of your markup (shown here is a 20% markup based on a linear foot cost of .33 cents)


If you don't sell this material on a PROJECT by Linear foot or Board foot, you don't need to change the zero markup. The ;Sell' column is only to display the selling price when this material is sold on a Project directly from the Inventory module. Not what is used in your crate designs.














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