User guide

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correct. If you do import, you should perform an audit of your inventory
immediately after importing (before any transactions are performed on
the data). See Chapter 5 for more information on auditing your
inventory.
If you choose to import your inventory, you MUST run a backup of your
system BEFORE you import the inventory data. Name the backup file
something that indicates it was run immediately prior to importing
inventory so you can easily identify it if needed later. If you find errors in
your import file after you import inventory, you will need to restore this
backup to return the system i t to the pre-import state (your other
information will be there). Then you can fix the import file as needed
and re-import. ****DO NOT re-import after you have already
imported inventory without first restoring the backup.**** Re-
importing over existing inventory data will simply add more inventory to
your items, rather than fixing problem data. For example, if inventory for
an item was imported with a quantity of 20, but the quantity should have
been 22, fixing the file and re-importing without restoring the backup will
change the quantity of that item to 42, rather than 22 (the new quantity
will be added to what was already imported). Plus, all other items
included in the file will have additional inventory added to them as well.
Business Examples
Business Type: Distributing – Adding Inventory
Sebastian Distributing has been in business for many
years, and has used a different inventory system before
upgrading to InventoryControl. To add her inventory, Pat
considers importing the inventory, since she has many items to enter. She
knows that by manually entering her inventory she will be assured that all
information needed by InventoryControl to most accurately and efficiently track
her inventory and produce the best reports will be entered. With this in mind, she
decides to take the time to manually enter her items. To help speed the process,
she exports the data from her old system and prints it out so she can use it as a
guide. While she decides to create new item numbers following the pattern
described in this manual, s he also enters the old item number from the previous
system in the Alt Item Number field to use as a cross-reference during the
transition period.
Business Type: Reseller – Adding Inventory w ith No Prior
Inventory Software
Brady’s Reseller previously kept track of their inventory via Excel.
Because they had a complete spreadsheet containing all of their items and
inventory counts for those items, they can import this information. For details,
please refer to Chapter 3 – Importing into the Database.