Summary

Purchasing unit types are attached to purchase order line items and AP module invoice line items and are used to describe the type of units that are being purchased. For example, if a product is purchased by the dozen, create a unit type labeled DOZEN. When purchase orders are received (PO> Receiving), the receiving department will know how to receive the items. This applies even if you do not receive purchase orders in the PO module because the unit type displays on the printed version of the PO in a column labeled U/M.

Step by Step

1     View the unit types.

• Open the Purchasing Units Maintenance window (SS> Maintenance> Purchasing Units). 
• The Purchasing Units Maintenance window is used to maintain units that will be used in the AP, IC and PO modules.
• Select a unit type in the left section of the window and the fields in the Maintenance section will update with the information attached to the selected unit type.
• Right click on the unit types in the left section of the window and select Export grid contents to Excel if you would like to create an MS Excel spreadsheet of the unit types in the window.
• Highlight a unit type and click the Delete icon or press DELETE to delete the selected unit type. This will open a confirmation information box.
  • There is no validation on this procedure, so you can delete a unit type that is attached to a PO or invoice line item.
• Press INSERT or click the Create icon if you would like to create a new record. This will create a new line item in the left section of the window.

2     Create or modify a unit type.

• The Unit Type field is used to enter the unit type code. This is the value that will display in the Unit Type drop-down menu when you are attaching the unit type to a record. For example, enter EA if you would like to create a unit type for individual units.
  • The value in the Unit Type field can be up to 10 characters long.
  • If you will add this unit type to purchase orders, you may want to create a unit type that is less than or equal to four characters. Only four characters will display correctly on the printed version of the purchase order.
  • The Unit Type field must be unique within the AP, IC and PO modules. For example, you can create a unit type of EA in both the SS Units Maintenance window and the SS Purchasing Units window, but you cannot have two EA unit types in the same window. You will get a validation error if the Unit Type is not unique.
• The Multiplier field allows you to specify a multiplier value for an individual unit. For example, an inventory item that is counted individually but is stored 12 units to a box could have a unit type of BOX12 and a multiplier of 12.
  • This field has no function in the Accounts Payable and Purchase Order modules. Multipliers will not affect the quantity to be received or the total amount on the PO.
• The Description field is used to enter a description of the unit type. This field can be up to 128 characters long.
• Press ENTER or click the Save icon to save the unit type.