Inventory
What Is Inventory?
The Inventory module is your shop’s parts catalog — the single source for every part you add to a Repair Order. It works for shops that carefully track on-hand stock quantities and for shops that just want a reusable name-and-price list without counting anything. Both approaches use the same list.
What Gets Stored Per Item
Name, SKU, and Category
A name and optional internal SKU identify the item. Category places it in your catalog tree — CSM ships with a starting taxonomy (Brakes, Engine, Electrical, Fluids, and more) that you can extend with your own sub-categories.
Cost and Price
Unit cost is what you paid for the part. Unit price is what you charge the customer. When you set a markup percentage, the price calculates automatically from the cost.
Manufacturer and Part Number
Optional fields for the part’s brand (Manufacturer), the manufacturer’s product line (Model), the OEM or manufacturer part number, and your supplier or source. These are searchable from the inventory list.
Vehicle Fitment
Mark an item as vehicle-specific and add year range, make, model, trim, and engine. Vehicle-specific items can be filtered on the Inventory page by Year, Make, and Model — helpful when a parts associate needs to find all parts that fit a car currently in the shop.
Track Stock Quantity — On or Off Per Item
Each item has a Track stock quantity toggle. Turn it on for parts you actually count on a shelf. Turn it off for parts you want to list in the catalog by name and price only, without managing a count. Both types of items show up in the same catalog and can be added to a Repair Order from the same picker.
When Stock Tracking Is On
The item shows its on-hand count, how many units are reserved to open Repair Orders, and how many are available to allocate. Adding the item to an RO reserves that quantity immediately. The available count drops at once so the same unit can’t be double-booked. The count is permanently decremented when the RO is completed. You can set a reorder threshold — when on-hand stock hits or falls below it, an amber warning icon appears on the item.
When Stock Tracking Is Off
The item works like a price-list entry — name, SKU, and price fill in on the Repair Order parts line, but no count is reserved or decremented. This is ideal for items you order on demand or buy in bulk without tracking units.
Receiving Stock from a Supplier
When a supplier shipment arrives, go to Inventory → Receive Stock to log it. This is how on-hand counts grow — each receipt adds to the shelf quantity for that item and creates a cost record tied to that specific shipment.
Recording a Receipt
Choose the item from your stock-tracked catalog, enter the date received, the vendor or supplier name, the quantity in this shipment, and the unit cost you paid. An optional Notes field holds a PO number or any other reference. When you save, the item’s on-hand count increases immediately by the quantity you entered.
FIFO Cost Tracking
Each shipment is saved as its own cost layer. When a Repair Order is completed and parts are consumed, CSM uses FIFO (First In, First Out) — the oldest shipment’s cost is applied first. This gives you the actual cost of goods for every job, accounting for price fluctuations between orders. The Recent Receipts table shows how many units from each shipment remain unconsumed and how many have already been applied to completed jobs.
Catalog Cost vs. Receipt Cost
Receiving a shipment does not automatically update the item’s catalog unit cost or selling price. That gives you control — a change in what you paid doesn’t force an immediate price change on customers. When you’re ready to re-price an item, edit it directly on the Items page. The receipt cost is used only for internal cost-of-goods tracking, not for the price shown on Repair Orders.
Reallocating Parts Between Jobs
If a high-priority job needs a part that is already reserved for another RO, a technician can request a reallocation from the lower-priority job. A user with Inventory edit access reviews and approves or denies the move. Only one reallocation request per item can be open at a time. The Allocated Parts page under Inventory shows all active allocations, pending requests, and recent decisions.
Importing Inventory in Bulk
If you have an existing parts list, go to Account Settings → Data Migration → Inventory to import from a CSV file. Name and category are required. A category that doesn’t exist yet will be created automatically. Optional columns cover SKU, manufacturer info, quantity, cost, markup, reorder point, and vehicle fitment. Pro plan required.