Introduction

Completed

In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can use inventory items, service items, and non-inventory items. Inventory items are physical items (tables, chairs, and computers), while service items are services (consulting services and freight). Non-inventory items are physical items that you would prefer not to track in inventory. From the item list, you can access the item card to modify existing items or create new ones.

To access the item list, select the search for page icon in the upper-right corner of the page, enter Items, and then select the related link. The item list can be displayed in three different layouts:

  • List - With this layout, you can find information such as a description, quantity on hand, unit of measure, unit cost, and unit price.

  • Tiles - Use tiles with a combination of small pictures and five important fields.

  • Tall tiles - Focus on large pictures and basic information.

Screenshot of the item list displayed as tiles.

The following sections closely examine the item card.

Screenshot of the item card with item and inventory details.

Item cards hold the information that is required to buy, store, sell, deliver, and account for items. The Item FastTab displays the item's basic item information such as description, base unit of measure, type (inventory, service, or non-inventory), and item category code.

If you select Show more, additional fields will be displayed, such as the Common Item No. and the Automatic Ext. Text fields.

The Inventory FastTab shows the inventory in the base unit of measure but also the quantity on sales and purchase orders, assembly documents, and job orders.

Other than viewing these quantity values, you will also find the following important fields that are related to inventory configuration:

  • Stockout Warning - Specifies if a warning is displayed when you enter a quantity on a sales document that brings the item's inventory below zero.

  • Prevent Negative Inventory - Specifies if you can post a transaction that will bring the item's inventory below zero.

On the Costs & Posting FastTab, you can find information on the posting groups, the item unit cost, and costing method. Available costing methods include FIFO and average. You can select different costing methods for each item.

On the Prices & Sales FastTab, you can enter the unit price and configure the profit percentage, discounts, and the sales unit of measure.

On the Replenishment, Planning, Item Tracking, and Warehouse FastTabs, you can enter information such as how to organize item replenishment and inventory planning. By assigning an item tracking code, you can keep track of serial and/or lot numbers. On the Warehouse FastTab, you can assign warehouse-related information such as the put-away template.

You can add a picture of an item when you manually create a new item. However, you can also import multiple item pictures at once during data migration process. To import multiple pictures, name your picture files (all common file formats are supported) with names that correspond to your item numbers, zip (compress) them to a .zip file, and then use the Import Item Pictures page to manage which item pictures to import.

You can import pictures as follows:

  1. Select the search for page icon in the upper-right corner of the page, enter Inventory Setup, and then choose the related link.

  2. On the Inventory Setup page, select the Import Item Pictures action.

  3. In the Select a ZIP file field, select the relevant .zip file and then select the Open button. A line for each item and picture is created on the Import Item Pictures page.

  4. For items that already have a picture, the Picture Already Exists option is selected. If you don't want any existing pictures to be replaced, clear the Replace Pictures option. If you don't want individual existing pictures to be replaced, delete the lines in question.

  5. Select the Import Pictures action. The Import Status field will be updated to show if the picture import was skipped or completed.

    Screenshot of the Import Item Pictures page.

Create a new item

Watch the following video for a demonstration of how to create an item in Business Central.