# Getting Started with Products & Inventory Products & inventory is on for every workspace. This guide sets it up in the order that avoids re-doing work: locations and the stock rules first, then products, then people. If a store already sells for you, read this far as **Settings**, then go to [Connecting Shopify or WooCommerce](/help/inventory/shopify-woocommerce) before importing anything — the store import creates the products for you. ## What you'll need - A login with **Manage Inventory Settings, Locations & Stores** (`inventory:config:manage`). The seeded **Manager** role has it; **Admin** has everything. - To add products and stock: **Manage Products** (`inventory:products:manage`) and **Adjust Stock, Transfers & Counts** (`inventory:stock:adjust`). **Member** has both. - The **Inventory** menu in the top bar. If it is missing, the module may be hidden for the workspace — a tenant admin checks **Settings (the gear icon) → Workspace → Modules** — or your role lacks the keys above. ## 1. Settings: locations, numbering, what an order does **Inventory → Setup → Inventory Settings** (`/inventory/settings`). ### Locations Every level and every movement names one location, so create them before any stock exists. 1. In **Locations**, click **Location**. 2. Enter the name (and a code and address if you like). Click **Save**. 3. Repeat for each place that holds stock. Use the star to **Make default**; the default is where stock lands when nothing says otherwise. A workspace gets a location named **Main** flagged as the default the first time inventory is used; rename it rather than creating a second one. ### Numbering & currency - **SKU prefix** — a minted SKU reads `PREFIX-00042`. Set it once; changing it later does not renumber existing products. - **Currency** — blank means the workspace's reporting currency. Set it only when the catalog is priced in another one. - **Default location** — overrides the starred location if you prefer to pick it here. ### Orders & stock - **Stock leaves the count when the order is** — *fulfilled* (default), *paid* or *created*. This is the single most important setting: it says when a sale becomes a deduction. - **Reserve stock when an order is created** — on by default. A new order holds its units so `available` already says they are spoken for. - **Allow stock to go below zero (oversell)** — off by default. Off, a sale that would take a level negative is refused with the figures. Orders a connected store sends are facts: they move stock as the store's authority setting says, even past zero, whatever the oversell switch says. ### Reorder arithmetic The plan computes *quantity = demand over (lead time + safety days) + reorder point − (available + incoming)*, at the sales pace of the window. Set **Sales window (days)**, **Default lead time (days)**, **Safety stock (days)** and a **Default reorder point** for products with none of their own. A product or variant can override the point, quantity and lead time. Click **Save** at the top right when done. ## 2. Products **Inventory → Catalog → Products** (`/inventory/products`). ### One at a time 1. Click **New product** (or press **N** then **P** anywhere in the app). 2. Fill in **Name**, **SKU** (leave blank and one is minted), **Barcode**, **Category**, **Brand**, **Supplier**, **Tags**, **Short description** and **Description**. 3. Set the **Price**, **Compare-at**, **Cost** and **Currency**. 4. Set **Opening stock** and the **Stock location** it is at. Opening stock is written through the ledger as a receive, so it shows in the product's history. 5. Optionally set a **Reorder point**, **Reorder quantity** and **Lead time (days)**. 6. Click **Create**. A product created this way has one default variant. Open it to add sizes and colours — see [Products, Stock and the Reorder Plan](/help/inventory/products-and-stock). ### From a spreadsheet 1. Click **Import** and choose a CSV or Excel file. 2. The preview shows each **Column**, a **Sample** of its values and the **Field** it will land in. Columns the importer recognises are pre-filled; when [AI assistance](/help/inventory/ai-assistance) is on for the workspace, the rest are suggested too. Change any target, or leave it blank to skip the column. 3. Choose the **Stock location** a quantity column counts into. 4. Click **Import**. Existing SKUs are updated; new ones are created; a quantity column sets stock *as a count* (the ledger writes the difference), so importing the same file twice does not double the stock. **Export CSV** at the top of the page gives you the current catalog with its stock figures, the same shape the importer reads. ## 3. People Roles are set under **Settings (the gear icon) → Access & security → Roles & Permissions**. The seeded roles already carry inventory permissions: | Role | Can | |---|---| | **Viewer** | View products, stock and orders | | **Member** | Everything a viewer can, plus manage products, adjust / count / transfer stock, create and fulfil orders | | **Manager** | Everything a member can, plus locations, stores and settings | | **Admin** | Everything | A custom role picks from the six keys under **Inventory** in the permission catalog. Workspaces created before 2026-10-26 keep their seeded roles as they were: an admin adds the inventory keys to **Manager**, **Member** and **Viewer** once (or re-applies the defaults) — see the troubleshooting line below. ## Troubleshooting - **"The Inventory menu is not there."** Either the module is hidden (**Settings (the gear icon) → Workspace → Modules**, tenant admins) or the role lacks `inventory:products:read`. A hidden module's pages still open by direct link and show an amber banner saying so. - **"Members can see products but not add stock."** On a workspace created before this feature shipped, the seeded roles were not re-seeded. Open the role under **Settings (the gear icon) → Access & security → Roles & Permissions** and tick the Inventory keys. - **"Opening stock was refused."** The product is set not to track inventory, or the location no longer exists. Check the variant's **Track stock** box and the Locations list. ## Next steps - [Products, Stock and the Reorder Plan](/help/inventory/products-and-stock) — variants, counts, transfers, the ledger and purchase orders from the plan. - [Sales and Purchase Orders](/help/inventory/orders) — what each order does to stock and when. - [Connecting Shopify or WooCommerce](/help/inventory/shopify-woocommerce) — who owns the count, and the directions.