Overview

Unit of Measure lets you share inventory between multiple products.  For example, if you purchase a 24-pack of beer, you can split it into a 12-pack, 6-pack, 4-pack, or single units to sell.  

Repeating Barcodes lets you use the same barcode for multiple products.  The 24-pack example above applies here as well, and another common case is seasonal products.  These often reuse the same barcode, even though they are different products.

These two features are often used together because they both help manage products that share inventory and barcodes.

Before we dive into the details, here's a video that provides a great overview on how to use both features.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Unit of Measure
  • Creating UoM Relationships
• Alternate Barcodes
  • Other Barcodes
  • Repeating Barcodes
  • Alternative to Repeating Barcodes
• FAQs

Unit of Measure

This is used when you sell the same product in different package sizes, and the inventory comes from the same source.  For example, you might buy a case of beer from your supplier, and in your store, that case could be sold as a 6-pack, or broken down further into single units.  In this case, you will need to create a product for each package size.

When products are linked with Unit of Measure, the inventory adjusts automatically based on which product you look at.  For example, lets say you have 2 24 packs of beer on hand with the following relationship:

1. Single cans: When you look at the single product, its QOH will be 48 (2 x 24).
2. 6-pack cans: When you look at the 6-pack product, its QOH will be 12 (2 x 6).
3. 24-pack cans: When you look at the 24-pack product, its QOH will be 2 (2 x 1).

You may see a fractional number for a larger unit.  For example, if you have 3 6-packs left, the system will show 0.75 of a 24-pack.  That's because all the counts are tied together.

The Unit of Measure quantity is different from the supplier's Case Quantity.

Unit of Measure Quantity (How you sell it): How the product can be broken down to sell and tracking inventory.

Case Quantity (How you buy it): How many units come in the supplier's case.

Creating UoM Relationships

1. Create each product that will be in the relationship (e.g. 24pk, 6pk, etc.)
2. Open the largest product's edit page (e.g. 24pk)
3. Find the "Product Measures Data" section and add each product
4. Add the correct units (e.g. 24pk → 24, 6pk → 6, etc.)
5. Don't forget to save! Now each product's inventory will be linked as described above.

Alternate Barcodes

Other Barcodes

These are used when multiple barcodes exist for a single product.  For example, two distributors carry the same product, but the barcode on the product is a different number.  In your system, you will want to tie the 2 barcodes to a single product, instead of creating 2 identical products with different primary UPCs.

1. Navigate to the product catalog
2. Search for the product
3. Edit the product
4. Click on the "Alternate Codes" button
   
   
   
   
5. Type the new barcode into the blank product code field (1)
6. Set the type to "Other" (2)
7. Click the "Accept" button (3)
   
   
   
   
8. Click the "Save" button on the product edit page
   
    

Repeating Barcodes

These are used when the same barcode is used for multiple products.  For example, a 24-pack of beer is broken up into smaller pack sizes, and single cans.  Typically, the barcode on the 24-pack is the same one on the cans.  It's common to use repeating barcodes when tying inventory together through the unit of measures data.

When a repeating barcode is scanned at the POS, the cashier will be prompted to select the correct product being sold.

1. Navigate to the product catalog
2. Search for the product
3. Edit the product
4. Click on the "Alternate Codes" button
   
   
   
   
5. Type the new barcode into the blank product code field (1)
6. Set the type to "Repeating" (2)
7. Click the "Accept" button (3)
   
   
   
8. Click the "Save" button on the product edit page
   
   
   

Alternative to Repeating Barcodes

Repeating barcodes can be very useful, but they can also cause issues at the register if the cashiers don't notice the prompt to choose the right product.

If you would like to avoid the prompt altogether, we recommend this setup:

• Use the regular UPC for the 24-pack product
• For the single, set the product code as S + the UPC (S000000000000).
• You can do something similar for other pack sizes, such as 6 + the UPC (6000000000000).

This way, the system won't prompt cashiers to choose, and you just need to train your staff that if they're selling a single, they should press S before scanning the barcode.  If they're selling a 6-pack, they should press 6 before scanning the barcode.

FAQs

Q: The Sales by Department report on the EOD is missing some departments, why?

A: This usually happens because Unit of Measure departments can be displayed in two different ways: grouped or ungrouped.

• Grouped Unit of Measure:  Only the primary UoM product appears under its department on the EOD report.
  • Example: If your primary UoM product is a 24-pack of cans in the 24-pack department, and it has a child product of a 6-pack of cans in the 6-pack department, then selling one 6-pack will still show up in the 24-pack department.
    
    
• Ungrouped Unit of Measure: Child products appear under their own department. 
  • Example: Using the same setup, selling one 6-pack of cans will appear under the 6-pack department because child products are reported separately.

You can change this setting by navigating to the following:

Admin > Admin Catalog > Global Entity Settings > Reports > Units of Measure Display Logic

If you don't have permission to change this setting, please contact support@cloudretailer.com.

Some additional discussion about the above options is covered in this video: