Add or edit materials
Go to GLOBAL SETTINGS > Materials. Click New Material Item as displayed in the image below.
A box will then appear, enabling you to fill in the relevant fields to add a new material item.
The following information can be edited:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Code | A material (or 'stock') code for your item (optional - leaving blank will cause an auto generated code). |
| Name | A name for your material, that can be easily searched. |
| Material Category | The Category to which your material has been assigned. If you have not added your material categories. Read Global settings - Materials categories - Add or edit material categories. |
| Usage Unit | The unit used when using the material in a project. For example, for sheet steel this might be mm2 (i.e. mm x mm). |
| Pricing Unit | The unit used when pricing the material. For example, for sheet steel this might be m2 (i.e. the material is purchased on a m2 basis). |
| Unit Cost | The unit cost per Pricing Unit that you pay when purchasing the material. |
| Unit Charge | The unit cost per Pricing Unit that you charge when using the material in a project. |
| Supplier | A recommended or suggested Supplier (taken from the list of Suppliers). This will appear by default when adding a material to a specific project. |
| Reference | A free-form reference for the Material item, up to 255 characters. If you have long or complex stock codes, you can use this field as well as the Material Code to hold this information, then select a Purchase Order line style (see Company settings) that displays this information. |
Edit Existing Materials
Editing your existing materials is easy. To do this, click on the edit button and alter the relevant fields. The most efficient way to add materials to TidyWork is through a Bulk Import of materials.
To learn how to do this, read Global settings - Materials - Bulk import of materials.
Tips:
- Carefully design material categories before entering materials. Well organised categories simplify and help to flow business processes, as well as helping to improve purchasing practices and negotiations
- Name items using best practice, so that like items are always sorted and displayed in their groups. Example: Bolt galvanised M8 x 50 is named using the principal Object, description1 (least variation), description n (most variation), dimension(s), colour
- Dont name items like: 50mm stainless steel valve. This will group it with all other 50mm objects - balls, wood, pipes and so on. This will slow users down while they find thing