Zoho Inventory: Adding Serial Numbers, Tracking, and Best Practices

How do I add serial numbers to Zoho inventory?

Implementing serial number tracking in Zoho Inventory allows for meticulous oversight of individual items, crucial for managing warranties, recalls, and precise stock control from procurement to sales.

Understanding Serial Number Tracking

Serial number tracking is a vital feature for businesses dealing with high-value goods, electronics, machinery, or any product where individual item identification is critical. Unlike batch tracking, which groups items by production lot, serial numbers provide a unique identifier for each single unit. This enables unparalleled precision in inventory management, allowing you to trace the complete lifecycle of a product, from its arrival in your warehouse to its final sale and beyond.

Why Serial Number Tracking is Essential:

• Warranty Management: Easily track warranty periods for individual products.
• Recall Management: Pinpoint specific affected units quickly in case of a product recall.
• Customer Service: Provide accurate historical data for specific items sold to customers.
• Loss Prevention: Enhance accountability and reduce theft by tracking each unit.
• Regulatory Compliance: Meet industry-specific regulations that require individual item traceability.

Prerequisites and Initial Setup

Before you can begin adding serial numbers, you must enable the feature within Zoho Inventory and configure your items accordingly.

1. Enable Serial Number Tracking in Zoho Inventory Settings:

• Navigate to Settings (gear icon) in your Zoho Inventory dashboard.
• Select Preferences from the left-hand menu.
• Click on Items.
• Locate the "Enable Serial Number Tracking" option and check the box.
• Save your changes. This global setting activates the feature across your organization.

2. Configure Items for Serial Number Tracking:

• Go to Items from the main menu.
• Either create a New Item or Edit an existing Item.
• In the item creation/editing screen, under the "Inventory" tab (or similar section depending on your Zoho version), you will find an option related to tracking.
• Select "Track stock for this item" if it's not already selected.
• Choose "Serial Number Tracking" as the preferred tracking method for this specific item.
• Ensure that the "Unit" field is correctly set (e.g., each, piece).
• Save the item.

Important Note: Once an item is marked for serial number tracking, you cannot change it to batch tracking or no tracking if there are existing transactions associated with it. Plan your item setup carefully.

Adding Serial Numbers During Purchase and Receipt

Serial numbers are typically recorded when items are received into your inventory. Zoho Inventory provides several methods to capture these numbers.

1. Receiving Items via Purchase Orders (POs) or Bills:

• Create a Purchase Order for your serialized items.
• When the items arrive, navigate to the relevant Purchase Order.
• Click on "Receive" or "Mark as Received".
• A pop-up window will appear, prompting you to enter the serial numbers for the received quantity.
• Manual Entry: For smaller quantities, you can manually type each serial number into the provided fields.
• Scan Barcodes: If you use a barcode scanner, you can scan each item's serial number directly into the fields.
• Import Serial Numbers: For large quantities, Zoho Inventory often allows you to import serial numbers from a CSV file. Look for an "Import" or "Bulk Add" option within the receiving screen. The CSV file should typically contain one serial number per line.
• Confirm the received quantity and the associated serial numbers.
• Complete the receiving process. The items, along with their unique serial numbers, will now be added to your stock.

2. Adjusting Inventory (Inventory Adjustments):

• If you need to add serial numbers for items already in stock (e.g., from a physical count or initial setup), you can use an Inventory Adjustment.
• Go to Items > Inventory Adjustments > New Adjustment.
• Select the serialized item and the quantity to be added.
• You will be prompted to enter the serial numbers for the adjusted quantity, similar to the receiving process.

Managing Serial Numbers During Sales and Fulfillment

When selling or shipping serialized items, you must specify which particular serial numbers are being moved out of your inventory.

1. Creating Sales Orders and Invoices:

• When you add a serialized item to a Sales Order or Invoice, Zoho Inventory will indicate that the item requires serial number selection.
• Before marking the order as "Packed" or "Shipped," you will need to "Select Serial Numbers".
• A list of available serial numbers for that item will appear.
• Manual Selection: Click on the specific serial numbers you are selling or shipping.
• Scan Barcodes: Use a scanner to quickly select the serial numbers.
• Ensure the number of selected serials matches the quantity on the sales order.
• Confirm your selection.

2. Creating Shipments:

• When creating a Shipment for a sales order containing serialized items, the system will prompt you to confirm or select the serial numbers being shipped.
• This ensures that the correct items are removed from your inventory and linked to the specific customer transaction.

Reporting and Auditing Serialized Inventory

Zoho Inventory provides tools to track and report on your serialized stock, offering full visibility into item movement.

1. Inventory Reports:

• Access the Reports section.
• Look for reports like "Stock Summary" or "Inventory Details".
• These reports will often allow you to drill down into serialized items to see which specific serial numbers are currently in stock, their location, and their status.

2. Transaction History and Audit Trails:

• For any serialized item, you can view its transaction history. This will show every movement of that specific serial number, including when it was received, transferred, or sold.
• Sales orders, invoices, and purchase orders will also link directly to the serial numbers involved, creating a comprehensive audit trail.

Best Practices for Serial Number Management

Effective serial number tracking goes beyond just enabling the feature; it requires consistent application and attention to detail.

• Implement Strict Receiving Procedures: Train your receiving staff to meticulously record every serial number upon arrival. Double-check quantities against physical items and documentation.
• Utilize Barcode Scanning: Whenever possible, use barcode scanners during both receiving and shipping. This significantly reduces manual entry errors and speeds up the process.
• Regular Audits: Conduct periodic physical inventory counts of serialized items and reconcile them with your Zoho Inventory records. Investigate any discrepancies promptly.
• Train Your Team: Ensure all team members involved in inventory management, from warehouse staff to sales personnel, are fully trained on the correct procedures for handling serialized items in Zoho Inventory.
• Backup Data Regularly: While Zoho handles cloud backups, maintaining good internal data management practices is always wise.
• Understand Your Workflow: Map out your specific business processes for serialized items to ensure Zoho Inventory's features align seamlessly with your operational needs.

By diligently following these steps and best practices, you can leverage Zoho Inventory's serial number tracking capabilities to gain unparalleled control and insight into your valuable assets.