Skip to main content
S
saavy
March 24, 2019
Solved

Quickbooks Enterprise U/M Set-up

  • March 24, 2019
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

I need help understanding the U/M in Enterprise Manufacturing.  If I purchase it by the pound and use grams, kilograms or ounces for manufacturing, how is the best way to set it up? 

 

 

Best answer by

Generally an item that needs multiple units is going to be an inventory type item. So you probably don't want to set a situation where your going to end up with odd-ball decimal values of stock. Nor do you probably want  stock quantities with 9 digits that wont print.  The 'base' quantity you set for the item will be the quantity in which the inventory tally & valuation is maintained.  Using gram as the base could mean you never deal with decimal stock, but who wants millions of item count on the inventory tally - that looks ridiculous. If you use both both pound and kilo units could lead to odd decimal leftovers (buy 10 kg and use 20 lb - whats in stock .92815?) If you must mix metric & imperial then maybe pound is a good base, as the ounce is an exact decimal 0.0625 and you can use 2.20x for KG. But if you try to be exact and use 2.20462x for KG then your stock is always going to be a 5 decimal number.

In the end its a pretty arbitrary decision as to the base and alternate units you use - choose what you like to work with. 

1 reply

A
Anonymous
March 24, 2019

You can create and use whatever units you wish - QB doesn't know what a gram or ounce is - you have to tell it all the units you use and define the factors between units - therefore you can also makeup your own units if you use something special in your business or trade. Cases, masterpacks, and pallet packs can be created for wholesale/retail merchants.

The general advice for working with UoM is to use the smallest unit you want to define as the 'base' and then make all the other units larger multiples. That might not be ideal if you normally work in kilos, but occassionally use a gram. 

If you do define alternate units that are less than the 'base' then try to ensure there is an exact decimal multiple between them. ie: don't create a sub-unit that is 1/3 of the base (0.33) - it can cause rounding errors.

S
saavyAuthor
March 25, 2019

I think I might be thinking this too hard.

For example, one ingredient we purchase is by the pound.  So I have the base as the pound and the other related units as Kilo, Gram and Ounce.  What am I not understanding if I am supposed to make the base a smaller unit? 

A
Anonymous
Answer
March 25, 2019

Generally an item that needs multiple units is going to be an inventory type item. So you probably don't want to set a situation where your going to end up with odd-ball decimal values of stock. Nor do you probably want  stock quantities with 9 digits that wont print.  The 'base' quantity you set for the item will be the quantity in which the inventory tally & valuation is maintained.  Using gram as the base could mean you never deal with decimal stock, but who wants millions of item count on the inventory tally - that looks ridiculous. If you use both both pound and kilo units could lead to odd decimal leftovers (buy 10 kg and use 20 lb - whats in stock .92815?) If you must mix metric & imperial then maybe pound is a good base, as the ounce is an exact decimal 0.0625 and you can use 2.20x for KG. But if you try to be exact and use 2.20462x for KG then your stock is always going to be a 5 decimal number.

In the end its a pretty arbitrary decision as to the base and alternate units you use - choose what you like to work with. 

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement