How does ShopView handle part numbers in inventory management?

Overview of Inventory Cataloging in ShopView

ShopView's inventory management system is designed to efficiently catalog and organize parts based on unique part numbers. This approach ensures clarity and prevents duplication, helping businesses maintain an accurate inventory.

Rules for Part Number Handling

Prevention of Duplicate Part Numbers - When adding a part to the "New Inventory" section, ShopView checks whether the part number already exists in the system. - If the part number is already in use, it will not appear as a valid option to add as a new inventory item. This rule prevents duplicate entries and maintains consistency within the inventory database. Instead, users should search for the existing item to update its quantity or modify details if necessary.
Automatic Attribution of Received Parts - When a received part has a part number matching an existing inventory item, the system attributes the new quantity to the existing catalog entry. This means the received part does not create a separate inventory line but rather increases the quantity of the matched item. - For example, if a part like "High Temp Stud" has the same part number as "Thermostat," the system will add the received quantity to the "Thermostat" entry instead of creating a new standalone entry.
1. How matching works: ShopView matches part numbers as an exact, case-insensitive string match after trimming leading/trailing spaces. It does not normalize punctuation, dashes, or leading zeros — so A-1234 and A1234 are treated as different part numbers, but stud-100 and STUD-100 are treated as the same one. If two different physical parts share the same part number as entered in ShopView, they will always be attributed to the same catalog entry.

Common Scenarios and Solutions

How to Update a Part Number Without Creating Duplicates

To proactively manage part numbers and avoid duplicates, you can edit the Catalog Part directly. Follow these steps:

Navigate to the Catalog section in ShopView.
Open the part you want to update.
Click the Edit (pencil) icon on the left.
Update the Part Number and/or Part Name as needed.
Click Save to apply the changes.

Issue: A part doesn’t appear when attempting to add it to inventory

Reason: The part number already exists in the system, and duplicate entries are not allowed. This behavior ensures accurate tracking and avoids redundant cataloging.
Solution: Search for the part directly in the existing inventory and update its details if required. Use the search tool to locate the part by number, name, or other attributes. To update the part number without creating duplicates, follow these steps:
1. Navigate to the Catalog section in ShopView.
2. Open the part you want to update.
3. Click the Edit (pencil) icon on the left.
4. Update the Part Number and/or Part Name as needed.
5. Click Save to apply the changes.

Issue: Received parts appear under another item in the inventory

Reason: The part number of the received item matches an existing entry, so the system increases the quantity of the existing part instead of adding a new line.
Solution: To correct errors in part numbers, follow these steps:
1. Create a New Part: Add a new part in the system with the correct name and part number. Receive the item under this newly created part.
2. Adjust Inventory for the Incorrect Part: Perform a cycle count to reduce the quantity of the incorrectly matched part by 1.
3. Update Pricing (if necessary): Part pricing is set on the Catalog Part in ShopView (Catalog → open the part → Edit) — this is separate from any pricing in your accounting software. If the incorrectly-matched part had a different price than the new part, update the price on the Catalog Part directly so future work orders pull the correct amount. This does not retroactively change pricing on work orders or invoices that already used the incorrect entry — those must be corrected individually if needed.

By understanding these guidelines for part number management in ShopView, users can navigate inventory cataloging scenarios more effectively, resolve potential overlaps, and maintain a well-organized system.