Categories, SKUs, reorder levels and locations
Keep a growing item list usable — auto-generated SKUs, low-stock alerts, and where things are stored.
Twenty items need no organisation. Two hundred do. These are the four tools PrintERP gives you, and when each starts to matter.
Categories
Categories group items — Paper, Ink, Finishing, Packaging. They filter the item list and, more usefully, they drive SKU generation. Create them as you need them; there is no fixed set.
SKUs
Every item needs a unique code within your business. PrintERP suggests one from the category name — the first three letters plus a running number, so an item in *Paper* becomes PAP-0001, then PAP-0002. Items with no category fall back to ITM-0001.
The suggestion appears as soon as you open the form and updates if you change category — until you type your own, at which point PrintERP stops overwriting you.
Tip
Numbers already in use are skipped, so deleting an item never causes a clash later. If you have an existing coding scheme from another system, just type it in — nothing depends on the generated format.
Reorder levels
The reorder level is the point at which an item counts as low. When current stock falls to or below it, the item appears in the low-stock filter on Inventory and is counted on the dashboard.
Set it to cover your lead time, not to zero
A reorder level of zero tells you an item is finished — far too late to act. Set it to roughly what you consume while waiting for a delivery: if a ream a week is normal and your supplier takes two weeks, three reams is a sensible level.
Locations, warehouses and bins
Each item has a free-text location for a quick note such as “Rack B, shelf 2”. Separately, Warehouses lets you define storage locations and bins, which can be recorded when receiving goods against a purchase order.
For a single-room shop the location field alone is plenty. Warehouses earn their keep once stock is genuinely split across places.
Keeping the list clean
- Mark items you no longer buy as inactive rather than deleting — history and old recipes stay intact.
- Search matches name and SKU, so a consistent naming convention pays for itself.
- Review low-stock items before raising a purchase order; ordering everything at once saves on delivery.
Open Inventory
See stock levels, low-stock items and recent movements.
Related guides
Adding inventory items and opening stock
Create the materials you buy, set their unit and cost, and record what you already have on the shelf.
Reading the stock movement trail
Every change to every item, what each movement type means, and how to trace a discrepancy.
Raising and sending a purchase order
Build a PO from your inventory items, send it to the supplier, and track what is outstanding.