Create alternative units of measure (UOMs)

Create alternative units of measure (UOMs)

Overview

Find out about alternative units of measure (UOMs), how to create, purchase, and sell them, and their stock levels.

Alternative units of measure (UOMs) are multiples or fractions of a single unit of product. They make it easy to buy and sell different quantities of the same product at varying costs and prices.

By default, when you buy or sell a product, you deal in the product’s “base” UOM, which is always 1 unit. If you buy or sell 4 base UOMs, you in effect buy or sell 4 units (4 x 1 = 4). The line item’s unit cost or price is the cost or price of the base UOM too.

However, if the product has an alternative UOM, such as 100 units, you can choose to transact using this instead. If you buy or sell 4 of these alternative UOMs, you in effect buy or sell 400 units (4 x 100 = 400). The line item’s unit cost or price is the cost or price of the alternative UOM divided by the number of units in it.

Alternative UOMs belong to product options. Each product option is a base UOM. If your product has multiple options, each option will have its own set of alternative UOMs. Alternative UOMs are not compatible with products with size grids.

Enable alternative UOMs

You must enable alternative UOMs before creating them:

  1. Log in to Cin7 Omni as an administrator.

  2. From the user menu, open Settings.

  3. Under Products, open Product Settings.

  4. Set Show Alternative Units of Measure (UOMs) to Yes.

  5. Select Save.

Create alternative UOMs

There are two ways to create alternative UOMs:

  • Alternative UOMs for simple products

  • Alternative UOMs for products with options

Create alternative UOMs for simple products

Simple products are products with only one option (the default option) and no size grid. To create an alternative UOM for a simple product:

  1. From the navigation, open Products.

  2. Open or create the product.

  3. Under Product Options, select Add UOM.

The alternative UOM will show up beneath the option (now, the “base UOM”). You can add as many alternative UOMs as you like.

  1. For each alternative UOM, enter the number of base units in it in the column UOM Qty. Enter the value as a numeral. The value must be a positive integer or fraction with 6 decimal places or fewer.

  2. For the base UOM and each UOM:

    • Enter a unique Code.

    • Enter the number of units in the UOM in the Option 1 Label column. This value is purely descriptive, so it can be a numeral or a word or phrase, such as:

      • 10

      • Ten

      • Pack of 10

  3. Ensure that Option 1 Label has no name—you should be able to see the placeholder text, “Option 1 Label”.

  4. Under Pricing, give each UOM a price (if you sell this UOM) and cost (if you buy this UOM).

  5. Select Save.

This image shows how a simple product with alternative UOMs should look:

Create alternative UOMs for products with options

Products with options are products with more than one option (and, therefore, at least one option label) and no size grid. To create an alternative UOM for a product with options:

  1. From the navigation, open Products.

  2. Open or create the product.

  3. Under Product Options, on the option you’re creating an alternative UOM for, select Add UOM.

The alternative UOM will show up beneath the option (now, the “base UOM”). You can add as many alternative UOMs as you like for each option.

  1. For each alternative UOM:

    • Enter the number of units in it in the column UOM Qty. Enter the value as a numeral. The value must be a positive integer or fraction with 6 decimal places or fewer.

    • Copy its base UOM’s values for each option label exactly.

  2. For the base UOM and each alternative UOM, enter a unique Code.

  3. Ensure the active option labels have names.

  4. Under Pricing, give each UOM a price (if you sell this UOM) and cost (if you buy this UOM).

  5. Select Save.

This image shows how a product with options and alternative UOMs should look:

Example: Buying alternative UOMs

Here’s how to purchase alternative UOMs:

  1. Create a new purchase order.

  2. Add your product with alternative UOMs as a line item. You’ll see three new columns shown: UOM Size, UOM Ordered, and UOM Price.

  3. In the UOM Size column, select Alt UOM to display a list of alternative UOMs.

  4. From the list, select the alternative UOM you want to purchase.

  5. In the UOM Ordered column, enter the number of units you want to buy of this alternative UOM.

In the Qty Ordered column, you’ll see the total number of units of this product you’re purchasing. It’ll equal the UOM Size multiplied by the UOM Ordered.

In the Unit Cost column, you’ll see the per unit cost of the line item. It’ll equal the cost of the alternative UOM at the selected Cost Tier (UOM Price) divided by the number of units in it (UOM Size).

This image shows how an alternative UOM on a purchase order should look:

Example: Selling alternative UOMs

Here’s how to sell alternative UOMs:

  1. Create a new sales order.

  2. Add your product with alternative UOMs as a line item. You’ll see three new columns shown: UOM Size, UOM Ordered, and UOM Price.

  3. In the UOM Size column, select Alt UOM to display a list of alternative UOMs.

  4. From the list, select the alternative UOM you want to sell.

  5. In the UOM Ordered column, enter the number of units you want to sell of this alternative UOM.

In the Qty Ordered column, you’ll see the total number of units of this product you’re selling. It’ll equal the UOM Size multiplied by the UOM Ordered.

In the Unit Price column, you’ll see the per unit price of the line item. It’ll equal the price of the alternative UOM at the selected Price Tier (UOM Price) divided by the number of units in it (UOM Size).

This image shows how an alternative UOM on a sales order should look:

Alternative UOM stock levels

Alternative UOMs don’t have their own stock levels. Their availability depends on the availability of the underlying product (that is, the base UOM).

For example, say your product has an alternative UOM of 100 units. If you buy 1 unit of that alternative UOM, the stock level of the base UOM will increase by 100. This increases the effective availability of the alternative UOM by 1.

Conversely, if you sell 1 unit of the alternative UOM, the stock level of the base UOM will decrease by 100. This decreases the effective availability of the alternative UOM by 1.

The effective availability of any sibling alternative UOM, too, will change in proportion to the number of base units in it.

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