Inventory in Pulse — Part 1: items & stock on hand
Pulse inventory is items-first and perpetual: you create an item, set an opening balance, and your on-hand quantity is always the sum of every stock movement — never a stored number that can drift. This part covers adding items, units, count vs measure mode, and reorder levels.
Pulse · 14 Jun 2026
Pulse inventory is built on two simple ideas: items come first, and everything is a movement. An item is the thing you track; its quantity on hand is always calculated as the sum of every transaction against it, so the number can never silently drift out of sync. This first part gets you from an empty list to a tracked item with a real balance.
The model in one minute
- Items first. An inventory item is a standalone record — name, unit, optional SKU and category. A supplier is optional.
- On hand = the sum of movements. Pulse never stores a running total on the item. Every receive, issue, adjustment, or write-off is a ledger row, and your balance is their sum.
- Count vs measure. Count items move in whole units (each, box). Measure items can move in fractions to three decimals (kg, litre, metre) for materials you cut or weigh.
Add your first item
- Open Inventory from the sidebar and click Add Item.
- Enter a Name and choose a Unit (each, kg, litre, box, m…). The unit decides whether the item is count or measure.
- Optionally add a SKU, Category, and Cost price (used for valuation).
- Set a Reorder level if you want an early low-stock alert — leave it blank if you're happy to be warned only once an item hits zero.
- Save. The item appears with an on-hand of 0 until you post its first movement.
Set the starting balance
To tell Pulse how much you already have, post an Opening balance from the item (there is exactly one opening balance per item). From there, on-hand goes up and down automatically as you receive and issue stock. The on-hand figure is colour-coded: green when you are above the reorder level, amber at or below it, and red at zero. An item always alerts once it reaches zero, even with no reorder level set — the reorder level just lets you get warned earlier, and it's used to suggest a sensible reorder quantity when you buy more.
Who can do what
Inventory has three permissions: View (see items and history), Manage (create items and post received / issued / opening movements), and Adjust (post counted adjustments, write-offs, and stocktakes). Adjust is deliberately separate and must be granted explicitly — see Part 4, which also covers counting many items in one pass instead of one at a time.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my on-hand always zero on a new item?
Creating an item does not set a quantity. Post an Opening balance (or receive stock) and the on-hand updates from the ledger.
What is the difference between count and measure units?
Count units move in whole numbers (each, box). Measure units allow up to three decimals (kg, litre, metre) for materials you weigh or cut.
Can I get alerts when stock runs low?
Yes. Set a reorder level on the item and Pulse flags it (and shows a low-stock banner) when on-hand falls to or below that level. Even without a reorder level, an item always flags once it reaches zero.
Related guides
- Inventory in Pulse — Part 2: suppliers, the catalog & purchase ordersThe buy side of Pulse inventory lives under Inventory: add Suppliers, keep their products in the Catalog, and raise Purchase Orders. When you mark a PO received, Pulse posts the stock straight into the ledger for you.
- Inventory in Pulse — Part 3: the stock ledger (receiving, issuing & movements)Every stock change in Pulse is an immutable ledger entry: opening, received, issued, adjustment, or write-off. On-hand is always their sum, movements can be attributed to a project or job, and sending an invoice can issue stock automatically.
- Inventory in Pulse — Part 4: stock counts, adjustments & write-offsWhen a physical count differs from the system, you post an adjustment: enter what you counted, Pulse calculates the variance, you pick a reason and confirm with your password. Write-offs work the same way. Every correction is permission-gated and permanently audited.
- Inventory in Pulse — Part 5: the catalog & cross-branch SKUsIf you run multiple branches, a head-office catalog of Shared SKUs lets each branch link its own items to a shared product. The Cross-Branch view groups stock by SKU, showing per-branch quantities and a total, and lets you transfer stock between branches — while every branch keeps its own names, costs, and ledger.
- Inventory in Pulse — Part 6: pieces, offcuts & the usage reportFor materials you cut, Pulse can track individual pieces and offcuts: each piece carries a remaining quantity and status, issuing can split a child offcut, and a usage report shows received, issued, written-off and waste. Pulse records what is left — it never calculates what to cut.