Inventory Management

Overview

Inventory Management is your garage's central hub for tracking parts and supplies. It lets you:

• See exactly how much stock you have on hand at any time
• Get alerted before you run out of critical items
• Assign parts directly to jobs so usage is tracked automatically
• Import hundreds of items at once using a spreadsheet
• Scan barcodes to find items or assign them to jobs instantly
• Transfer stock between garages in your organization
• Review detailed activity logs showing every stock change

Whether you run a single workshop or manage multiple locations, this feature helps you avoid costly downtime caused by missing parts and gives you clear visibility into where your money is going.

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How to Access Inventory

1. Log in to the autoGMS dashboard.
2. Open the sidebar menu and select your garage.
3. Click Inventory in the sidebar navigation.

You will land on the main Inventory page, which shows all of your items in a searchable, filterable table.

Good to know: Inventory is available to garage owners, garage admins, and organization owners. Technicians can view items assigned to their jobs but cannot modify the inventory list.

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What You Will See: The Inventory Dashboard

When you open the Inventory page, you will see several areas:

Summary Cards (Top of Page)

Four cards at the top give you a quick snapshot:

• Total Items -- The total number of inventory items in your garage.
• Active Items -- How many items are currently active and available for use.
• Low Stock -- Items that have fallen below their minimum threshold and need restocking soon.
• Out of Stock -- Items with zero quantity remaining. These need immediate attention.

The Inventory Table

Below the summary cards is your main inventory table. Each row shows:

• Item name
• Category (e.g., Filters, Oils, Brakes)
• Current stock level
• Unit type (pieces, liters, kilograms, etc.)
• Cost price and selling price
• Stock status (a color-coded badge showing In Stock, Low Stock, or Out of Stock)

Items that are out of stock are highlighted in red. Items that are low on stock are highlighted in amber. This makes it easy to spot what needs attention at a glance.

Filtering and Searching

Above the table, you will find:

• Search bar -- Type any part of an item name to filter the list instantly.
• Category filter -- Select a specific category to narrow down results.
• Stock status filter -- Show only items that are low stock, out of stock, or all items.

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Step-by-Step Guide

1. Adding Inventory Items

You can add items one at a time or in bulk.

Adding a Single Item

1. Click the Add Item button (the "+" button at the top of the inventory page).
2. A form will appear with the following fields:

Field	Required?	Description
Item Name	Yes	The name of the part or supply (e.g., "Oil Filter", "Brake Pad Set")
SKU	No	A unique code for this item. Click "Generate" to create one automatically.
Barcode	No	The manufacturer barcode. You can type it in or use the scan button to capture it with your camera.
Brand	No	The manufacturer or brand name (e.g., Bosch, Mobil, NGK)
Category	Yes	Choose from common categories like Filters, Oils, Batteries, Tires, Brakes, Electrical, and more
Primary Vendor	No	Select from your saved vendors list
Current Stock	No	How many units you currently have on hand
Minimum Threshold	No	The stock level at which you want to receive a low-stock alert
Unit Type	No	How this item is measured: pieces, liters, kilograms, meters, rolls, gallons, sets, bottles, tubes, or other
Cost Price	No	What you pay for this item
Selling Price	No	What you charge customers for this item
Emergency Purchase Price	No	The price you pay when you need to source this item urgently
Description	No	Any additional notes about this item

3. Click Save to add the item.

Good to know: Turn on the "Add and create another" toggle at the bottom of the form if you are adding several items in a row. The form will stay open after each save, keeping your category and unit type selections so you can add the next item faster.

What You Will See

As you fill in the cost and selling price, the form automatically calculates and displays:

• Profit margin -- The percentage you earn on each unit sold.
• Per-unit profit -- The exact amount earned per item.
• Total inventory value -- The value of your current stock based on cost price.

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2. Editing an Item

1. Find the item in the inventory table.
2. Click on the item row or the edit icon.
3. The Edit Item form will appear, pre-filled with all current values.
4. Make your changes and click Save.

You can update any field, including toggling an item between Active and Inactive status. Inactive items are hidden from job assignment lists but remain in your records.

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3. Deleting an Item

1. Find the item you want to remove.
2. Click the delete icon on the item row.
3. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Good to know: If an item is currently assigned to any active jobs, the system will warn you before allowing deletion. This prevents accidental removal of items that are still in use.

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4. Managing Stock Levels

Quick Stock Update

To adjust stock for a single item:

1. Click the stock update button on the item row.
2. Choose the operation:
   • Add Stock -- When you receive new inventory from a supplier.
   • Remove Stock -- When you need to manually reduce stock (e.g., damaged goods, corrections).
3. Enter the quantity.
4. The system will show you a preview of the new stock level before you confirm.
5. Click Add Stock or Remove Stock to apply.

What you will see: A preview showing "New stock level will be: X units" so you can verify the change before committing.

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5. Categories

Categories help you organize your inventory into logical groups. autoGMS comes with common garage categories pre-loaded:

• Filters, Oils, Batteries, Tires, Brakes, Electrical, Cooling, Engine, Transmission, Suspension, Body Parts, Accessories, Consumables, Fluids, Tools, and more.

You can also create your own custom categories. When importing items via CSV, any new category names are created automatically.

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6. Low Stock Alerts

The system continuously monitors your stock levels against the minimum thresholds you set for each item.

On the Inventory Page

Items below their threshold are marked with an amber "Low Stock" badge. Items at zero show a red "Out of Stock" badge. These items appear at the top when you use the stock status filter.

On the Garage Dashboard

An Inventory Alerts card appears on your garage dashboard showing:

• A health summary with four statistics: Total Items, Healthy, Low Stock, and Critical (Out of Stock)
• A list of the most urgent items needing attention, with out-of-stock items listed first
• A quick "Reorder" button next to each item that takes you to the inventory page

Good to know: When all your items are adequately stocked, the dashboard card shows a green "All systems healthy" message instead. This is your at-a-glance confirmation that everything is in good shape.

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7. Assigning Parts to Jobs

One of the most powerful features of inventory management is the ability to assign parts directly to service jobs (bookings). This automatically deducts stock and tracks exactly which parts were used for each job.

How to Assign Parts

1. Open a booking (job) from the Bookings page.
2. In the job detail view, look for the inventory/parts section.
3. Click Assign Inventory (or the "+" icon).
4. A dialog will appear showing all available inventory items.
5. Use the search bar to find items by name, or use the category tabs to browse.
6. Check the box next to each item you want to assign.
7. For each selected item, use the plus/minus buttons or type in the quantity.
8. Click Assign Items.

What you will see:

• Each item shows its category, available stock, unit cost, and selling price.
• Items with low stock are marked with a warning icon.
• Only items that have stock available are shown (out-of-stock items are filtered out).
• A count at the bottom shows how many items you have selected.

Good to know: Stock is deducted immediately when you assign items. If an item does not have enough stock for the quantity you requested, the system will prevent the assignment.

Editing an Assignment

After assigning items to a job, you can adjust the quantity:

1. Find the assigned item in the job's parts list.
2. Click the edit button.
3. Change the quantity up or down.
4. The system shows a preview of the change (e.g., "Increasing by 2 pieces" or "Decreasing by 1 piece").
5. Click Update Assignment.

If you increase the quantity, additional stock is deducted. If you decrease it, the difference is returned to inventory.

Confirming Usage on Job Completion

When you complete a job, the system prompts you to confirm how much of each assigned part was actually used:

1. A confirmation dialog appears showing each assigned item.
2. For each item, the "Quantity Assigned" is shown alongside an input for "Actual Quantity Used."
3. Adjust the used quantity if it differs from what was originally assigned.
4. Click Confirm for individual items or Confirm All & Complete to finish.

Any unused quantity (waste) is automatically returned to your inventory stock. The system tracks and displays waste percentages to help you improve efficiency over time.

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8. Barcode Scanning

autoGMS supports barcode scanning to speed up inventory lookups and job assignments.

Scanning a Barcode When Adding or Editing an Item

1. In the Add Item or Edit Item form, click the barcode scan icon next to the Barcode field.
2. Your device's camera will activate.
3. Point the camera at the product's barcode.
4. The barcode number is captured automatically.
5. Confirm the captured barcode or scan again if needed.

Scan-to-Assign: Adding Parts to Jobs

This streamlined flow lets you scan a barcode and assign the item to a job in a single step:

1. Open a job and use the barcode scan option.
2. Point your camera at the product barcode (or enter it manually).
3. The system looks up the item in your inventory and shows its details: name, brand, stock status, available quantity, and selling price.
4. Adjust the quantity you want to assign.
5. The line total updates automatically.
6. Click Add to Job to assign it.

What you will see: The found item displayed with its stock status badge (In Stock, Low Stock, or Out of Stock), the selling price per unit, and a quantity selector with plus/minus buttons.

Good to know: If your device does not have a camera, or if the camera cannot read the barcode, you can switch to manual entry mode at any time. Just click "Enter barcode manually" and type the number in.

Supported Barcode Formats

The scanner supports the most common product barcode formats:

• EAN-13 and EAN-8 (European Article Number)
• UPC-A and UPC-E (Universal Product Code)
• Code 128

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9. Bulk Import via CSV

If you have a large number of items to add, you can import them all at once using a CSV spreadsheet.

Step-by-Step: Importing Inventory

1. On the Inventory page, click the Import button.
2. The Import dialog opens with a three-step process: Upload, Review, Complete.

Step 1 -- Download the Template

• Click Download Template to get a pre-formatted CSV file with example data and reference notes.
• Open the file in any spreadsheet application (Excel, Google Sheets, etc.).
• Fill in your item data following the examples provided.

The template includes these columns:

Column	Required?	Notes
name	Yes	The item name
sku	No	Used to match existing items for updates
category	Yes	One of the common categories, or a new category name
currentStock	No	Defaults to 0 if left blank
cost	No	Your purchase price per unit
sellingPrice	No	Your customer-facing price per unit
minimumThreshold	No	Defaults to 0 if left blank
unitType	No	Must be one of: pieces, liters, meters, rolls, kilograms, gallons, sets, bottles, tubes, other
description	No	Any notes about the item
supplier	No	Supplier or vendor name

Step 2 -- Upload and Review

• Drag and drop your CSV file onto the upload area, or click to browse for the file.
• The system will parse your file and show a preview of the data.
• You will see a summary: total rows found, any validation issues, and any new categories that will be created.
• Rows with issues are flagged and will be skipped during import. Valid rows will still be imported.

Step 3 -- Import and Results

• Click Import X items to start the import.
• After completion, a results screen shows exactly what happened: how many items were created, updated, and skipped.
• If any rows were skipped, the specific row numbers and reasons are listed.

Good to know:

• Maximum file size is 5 MB.
• Maximum of 500 rows per import.
• If an item in your CSV has a SKU that matches an existing item, the existing item will be updated with the new values rather than creating a duplicate.
• New categories found in your CSV are created automatically -- you do not need to set them up in advance.
• Categories are normalized automatically (spaces become underscores, text is converted to lowercase).

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10. Cross-Garage Inventory Transfers

If your organization has multiple garages, you can transfer inventory between locations.

Creating a Transfer Request

1. On the Inventory page, click the Transfer button.
2. The Transfer Management dialog opens with three tabs: Create Request, Active, and History.
3. On the Create Request tab:
   • Select the source garage (where the item is coming from).
   • Select the destination garage (where the item is going).
   • Search for and select the item to transfer.
   • Enter the quantity.
   • Set the priority: Low, Normal, High, or Urgent.
   • Write a reason for the transfer (required).
4. Click Create Transfer.

Transfer Approval Workflow

Transfers go through an approval process:

1. Pending Approval -- The transfer request has been submitted and awaits approval.
2. Approved / Awaiting Pickup -- A manager has approved the request. The item is ready to be collected.
3. Completed -- The receiving garage has confirmed receipt of the items.

Managers can approve or reject transfers from the Active tab. When a transfer is approved, click the complete button once the items have physically arrived.

Transfer History

The History tab shows all completed, rejected, and cancelled transfers. Each entry shows the item name, SKU, the source and destination garages, quantity, status, priority, and date.

Good to know: You can only transfer items that have available stock in the source garage. The system validates this before allowing the request.

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11. Inventory Activity Log

Every change to your inventory is recorded in a detailed activity log. This gives you a complete audit trail of what happened, when, and who made the change.

The activity log tracks events such as:

• Items created or updated
• Stock added or removed
• Items assigned to jobs
• Usage confirmed on completed jobs
• Waste returned to stock
• Transfers between garages

You can filter the activity log by:

• Date range -- See changes for a specific period.
• Event type -- Focus on a specific kind of change (e.g., only stock additions).
• Item -- See the full history of a specific inventory item.
• User -- See all changes made by a particular team member.

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12. Stock Reports and Statistics

Inventory Statistics

The inventory dashboard provides key statistics including:

• Total items and active items count
• Low stock and out of stock counts
• Total jobs using inventory
• Items assigned across all jobs
• Waste percentage -- An overall measure of how much assigned material goes unused

Usage Reports

For any individual item, you can view a usage report that shows:

• How frequently the item is used
• Which jobs it was assigned to
• Average usage per job
• Waste trends over time

You can filter these reports by date range.

Stock Reports

Generate stock reports filtered by:

• Category
• Low stock items only
• Date range

These reports help you plan purchasing decisions and identify items that are consistently running low.

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13. Over-the-Counter (OTC) Sales

OTC Sales let you record direct parts sales to walk-in customers or existing customers -- separate from workshop job usage. This is ideal for garages that sell parts over the counter in addition to performing service work.

Recording an OTC Sale

1. On the Inventory page, click the Record OTC Sale button.
2. A dialog appears with the following fields:

Field	Required?	Description
Inventory Item	Yes	Select the item you are selling. Only items with stock available are shown.
Quantity	Yes	How many units the customer is purchasing. Must not exceed available stock.
Unit Price	No	Pre-filled from the item's selling price. You can override it.
Customer	No	Choose an existing customer, create a new one, or leave as "Walk-in."
Reference	No	A receipt number or internal reference for your records.
Notes	No	Any additional notes about the sale.

3. The Line Total updates automatically as you adjust quantity and price.
4. Click Record Sale to complete.

Linking to Customers

You have three options for the customer field:

• Walk-in / No linked customer -- For anonymous counter sales.
• Select an existing customer -- Choose from your customer database. Their name and contact are auto-filled.
• Add new customer -- Create a new customer inline by entering their first name, last name, phone number, and optional email. The customer is created in your database before the sale is recorded.

What Happens After Recording

• The item's stock is reduced by the quantity sold.
• An activity log entry is created for audit purposes.
• If linked to a customer, the sale appears in their purchase history.

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14. Inventory Kits (Bill of Materials)

Kits let you group multiple inventory items together so they can be assigned to jobs as a single unit. When a kit is assigned to a booking, its components are automatically expanded into individual line items with the correct quantities.

Creating a Kit

1. When adding or editing an inventory item, look for the Kit Components section.
2. Click Add to add a component.
3. For each component, select an existing inventory item and set the quantity.
4. Components can be marked as Optional -- optional components are included by default but can be removed when the kit is assigned to a job.
5. Save the item. It is now a kit.

How Kits Work in Jobs

When you assign a kit to a booking:

• Each component is expanded into its own line item.
• Stock is deducted for each component individually.
• You can adjust quantities or remove optional components before confirming.

Good to know: Kits are a time-saver for common service packages. For example, create an "Oil Change Kit" containing an oil filter, drain plug washer, and 5 litres of engine oil. Assigning this kit to a job adds all three items in one step.

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15. Exporting Inventory Data

You can export your inventory data for use in other tools or for record-keeping. Use the export option on the Inventory page to download your current inventory list, including all item details, stock levels, and pricing information.

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Tips and Best Practices

• Set meaningful minimum thresholds. Think about how long it takes to restock an item and how quickly you use it. If an oil filter takes 3 days to reorder and you use 5 per day, set the threshold to at least 15.

• Use SKUs consistently. SKUs make it easy to search for items and are essential for the CSV import feature to match existing items. Use the auto-generate feature to create SKUs quickly.

• Review low stock alerts daily. Make checking your inventory alerts part of your morning routine. The dashboard card makes this quick and easy.

• Confirm usage when completing jobs. Taking 30 seconds to confirm actual parts usage keeps your stock levels accurate and helps you understand waste patterns.

• Use categories to stay organized. Assign every item to a category. This makes filtering faster and helps when generating reports.

• Start with a CSV import. If you are setting up inventory for the first time, list all your items in the CSV template and import them in one go. You can always fine-tune details later.

• Scan barcodes when adding new items. Storing the barcode when you first add an item means you can use scan-to-assign later to speed up job workflows.

• Keep selling prices up to date. Accurate selling prices ensure your job cost calculations and invoices reflect the right amounts.

• Use transfers instead of manual adjustments. When moving stock between garages, always use the transfer feature rather than manually removing from one and adding to another. Transfers create a proper audit trail.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I undo a stock change? A: There is no "undo" button, but you can make a corrective adjustment. For example, if you accidentally added 10 units, use the "Remove Stock" option to subtract 10. The activity log will show both changes for your records.

Q: What happens to inventory when I cancel a job? A: Any parts that were assigned to the job are automatically returned to your inventory stock.

Q: Can technicians add parts to jobs? A: Technicians can view parts assigned to their jobs. The ability to assign parts is available to garage owners and admins.

Q: What if I need a category that is not in the list? A: Custom categories are created automatically when you import a CSV with a new category name. You can also create categories through the category management options on the inventory page.

Q: Does the barcode scanner work on all devices? A: The scanner works on devices with a camera. It uses your browser's built-in barcode detection when available (Chrome and Safari), with an automatic fallback for other browsers. If scanning does not work on your device, you can always enter the barcode number manually.

Q: What units of measurement are supported? A: autoGMS supports: pieces, liters, kilograms, meters, rolls, gallons, sets, bottles, tubes, and a general "other" option. Countable units (pieces, sets, rolls, bottles, tubes) are always shown as whole numbers. Measurable units (liters, kilograms, meters, gallons) support decimal values.

Q: Can I see inventory across all my garages? A: Each garage maintains its own inventory. If your organization has multiple garages, you can use the transfer feature to move stock between locations. The organization dashboard provides cross-garage visibility into inventory health.

Q: How does the import handle duplicate items? A: The import uses SKU matching. If an item in your CSV has a SKU that matches an existing item in your garage, the existing item is updated with the new values from the CSV. Items without a matching SKU are created as new entries.

Q: Is there a limit to how many items I can track? A: There is no hard limit on the number of inventory items. The system is designed to handle large inventories efficiently with search, filtering, and pagination.

Q: What currencies are supported for pricing? A: Inventory pricing uses the currency configured for your garage. autoGMS supports AED, SAR, QAR, GBP, EUR, USD, and other regional currencies.

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Need more help? Contact your autoGMS account manager or visit the support section in your dashboard.