When working with suppliers and warehouses, the way you order products might differ from how you store them. For example:
You might order fabric in meters from a European supplier but track it in yards at your US warehouse.
You might order fabric swatches in yards, but your warehouse tracks them as individual units.
Settle makes this easier by allowing you to define an Ordering Unit of Measure (UoM) and apply a conversion rate at the catalog level. This ensures consistency across Purchase Orders and Bills without requiring manual calculations.
How does it work?
Editable fields for conversions
In Settle, you can define two optional fields in your Catalog Item's Purchase Source:
Ordering unit of measure: The UoM you use when placing purchase orders (e.g., meters).
Conversion rate: The ratio to convert the Ordering UoM to the Inventory UoM (e.g., 1.0936 yards per meter).
Settle uses these fields to manage conversions automatically, ensuring consistency across purchasing and billing workflows.
What happens when you use UoM in Settle?
Catalog Item
Your base unit of measure is stored directly on the Catalog Item. This serves as the default unit for reporting and pricing consistency.
Purchase Orders (POs)
When creating a PO, Settle pre-populates the Ordering UoM based on the vendor and catalog item.
If a vendor has multiple Purchase Sources, you can select the appropriate source (and its specific UoM) when adding items to a PO.
Bills
Bills display quantities in the Ordering UoM for easier reconciliation with supplier documentation.
For bill matching, Settle converts PO and Bill quantities using the defined conversion rate to ensure accurate comparisons.
Example
Imagine you order green velvet cloth from Vendor ABC in Europe:
Catalog setup:
Inventory UoM: Yards
Ordering UoM: Meters
Conversion rate: 1.09361 yards per meter
Purchase order:
When you create a PO for Vendor ABC, Settle automatically sets the UoM to Meters.
GRN:
When you receive the cloth, the GRN will show the inventory in Yards.
Invoice:
The invoice will display the quantity in Meters for easy reconciliation with Vendor ABC.
Stock screen:
Your inventory will always be displayed in Yards, no matter how it was ordered.
Why is this helpful?
Global compatibility: Handle suppliers and warehouses with different UoM effortlessly.
Automatic conversions: Avoid manual calculations with built-in UoM conversions.
Accurate cost tracking: Keep purchasing and billing data consistent.
Streamlined operations: Manage POs, GRNs, and invoices seamlessly without extra hassle.
FAQs
Can I leave the UoM and conversion rate blank?
Yes! These fields are optional. However, if you enter one, you’ll need to enter both.
What happens to landed costs?
Landed costs on POs and in your catalog will still reflect the Ordering UoM. For example, landed costs per meter for Vendor ABC will remain unchanged, even if inventory is tracked in yards.
Will this change how I reconcile bills?
No. Settle automatically converts between units for reconciliation, ensuring accurate comparisons between Purchase Orders and Bills.