Who is this for?
Units of Measurement is built for merchants who buy stock in one unit but count or use it in another.
Merchants that have Units of Measurement switched on. We are releasing it to a small group of merchant first, so you may not see it in your BackOffice yet. If you would like to opt for it, contact support for assistance.
Overview
This feature allows you to buy, count, and use one product in different units. Set the conversion once, for example 1 carton (CTN) = 24 cans. After that, it converts every quantity for you - in purchase orders, receiving, stock transfers, wastage, stock takes, recipes, and reports.
Every product you track this way has one 'Base Unit'. That is the unit StoreHub counts your stock and cost in. Whatever unit you type, your stock always comes back to the base unit. Buy Coke by the carton, and your stock still reads in cans.
Turning this on does not change your prices, your stock numbers, or your other products. You choose which products use multiple units, one product at a time.
Already using recipes? Say you buy Sugar Syrup by the bottle and pour it as shots. Here is what changes.
| Before | With multiple units |
Your stock
| You had to hold it in the unit you use, not the unit you buy. So you changed your bottles into millilitres yourself. | Keep it in bottles. Set '1 bottle = 700 ml' once. |
Your recipe | You worked out the share by hand. One shot is 0.03 of a bottle. | You type 30 ml.
|
Before You Begin
Only available for Advanced and Pro Plan.
You have access to BackOffice.
'Track stock level' is turned on for the product. New to stock tracking? See How to Set Up and Track Product Inventory first.
The product's 'Inventory Type' is 'Simple'. Most standard products are Simple. Composite and Serialized products cannot be tracked in multiple units themselves. A recipe (composite) product can still use ingredients that have multiple units - see 'Use units in your recipes' below. 'Inventory Type' locks when a product is first saved, so if yours is Composite or Serialized you would have to create the product again to change it.
You know your pack sizes, for example how many cans come in one carton.
Note:
We are switching this feature on for a small group of stores first. If everything in the checklist above is done and you still do not see 'Track this product in multiple units', it may not be switched on for your store yet. Want to try it? Contact support via Live Chat and let us know you are interested.
Turn on Multiple Units for a Product
1. Go to 'Products', then click the product you want to edit.
2. In 'Inventory & Variants', tick 'Track stock level' if it is not ticked yet. The 'Units of Measure' section appears below it.
3. In 'Units of Measure', tick 'Track this product in multiple units'. The 'Base Unit' box appears.
4. Choose your 'Base Unit'. Pick the unit you count stock in.
If you buy Coke by the carton and sell it by the Can, choose 'Can'. The list shows each unit with its short code, so a can appears as 'Can (can)' and a carton appears as 'Carton (CTN)'.
When to use Base Unit Groups
Group | Units | Use It When | Example |
Weight | mg, g, kg, oz, Ib | You buy or sell the product by weight, even if the buying and selling amounts are different. | Buy chicken in kg, sell it by the 100g. |
Volume | ml, L, fl oz, gal | The product is liquid or semi-liquid, stored in bulk, and served in smaller amounts. | Buy cooking oil in gallons, use it in ml per recipe. |
Length | cm, m, in | The product is cut from a roll or a continuous length before it is sold. | Buy fabric by the roll, sell it by the metre. |
Count | Slice, Portion, Unit, Can, Tin, Bottle, Pack, Tray, Bag, Box, Dozen, Carton, Case | The product is sold as separate items or in bundles, and you decide the pack size yourself. | A carton holds 24 cans. |
Note:
The base unit is locked once you save the product with multiple units turned on. You cannot change it later. If your stock column reads 24 and that 24 means cans, pick 'can'. If this product is priced 'By Unit' (your own unit name on the price), pick the unit you sell in as your base unit.
Add your Unit Conversions
1. In 'Units of Measure', under 'Sub-unit Conversions', click 'Add conversion'. A new row appears.
2. Fill in how two of your units relate. Every row reads '1 unit = a number of another unit'. For Coke, set 1 'Carton (CTN)' = 24 'Can (can)'.
3. To add another unit, click 'Add conversion' again. A row can go the other way too, from your base unit down to a smaller one: 1 'Can (can)' = 750 'Millilitre (ml)'.
Note:
Your rows create a chain. Set 1 CTN = 24 can, then 1 can = 750 ml, and the line under your rows reads '1 CTN = 24 can = 18000 ml'. Read that line before you save - it is the quickest way to spot a wrong number.
4. Click 'Save'.
Standard pairs like 1 kg = 1000 g fill in by themselves and stay locked, so a wrong number cannot be typed. Each unit can be used once on a product. If you pick a unit that is already on the product, the row shows 'Each unit can only be used once.' Conversion numbers stay editable after you save.
Notes:
Need another unit later? Open the product and click 'Add conversion'. You can add a new row after you have saved, as long as that unit is not already on the product. On rows you have already saved, the unit boxes are locked and only the number can be changed.
No longer need a unit? Click 'Archive' on its row. StoreHub shows you what already uses that unit before you confirm. Archiving never changes your stock, cost, or past records. The unit stops showing up in new entries.
Which unit should be your base unit?
There is no single right answer. It depends on how you run your shop. The base unit is the one everything else points back to - your stock, your reports and your purchase orders all come back to it - so pick the unit you count in most.
A wholesaler selling Coke by the carton would pick 'CTN'.
A shop selling Coke by the can would pick 'can'
A shop making drink by the can of coke would pick 'ml'
A bakery that buys flour by the bag and bakes with it by the kilogram would pick 'kg'.
Still not sure? Pick the unit you would use if someone asked how much stock you have right now.
Set your Prices
Once multiple units are on, every money field on the product is anchored to your base unit. 3 fields matter here, and they answer 3 different questions.
Field | What it is | Which unit it uses |
'Price' | What your customer pays | Your base unit |
'Supplier Price' | What your supplier charges you | The unit you buy in - you pick it |
'Cost' | What the stock you are holding right now is worth | Your base unit |
Your selling price
The selling price is always per base unit. For Coke with base unit 'can', the price is per can. That holds for the tax-exclusive price, the tax-inclusive price, and for both 'Fixed' and 'Variable' pricing. There is one exception, for products priced 'By Unit' on your own unit name - see 'What happens to my old custom unit name?' in the FAQs.
Enter what your supplier charges you
1. Save the product first. 'Supplier Price' is not on the 'Add Product' form, so you cannot record it while you are creating the product.
2. Go to 'Products', click your product, and find 'Supplier Price' in the 'Pricing' section.
3. Pick the unit you buy in from the small unit box on the field. For Coke, that is 'CTN' or 'Can'.
4. Type the price you pay for that unit, for example 38.00. A line under the field shows what one base unit costs you, so 38.00 per CTN reads '= 1.58 /can'.
Note:
Cannot see 'Supplier Price' at all? It only shows for stores that are ticked in the 'Fix Supplier Price' setting. Go to 'Settings', then 'Account Settings', then 'Store Management' to check. Your units and conversions still work without it.
'Cost' is not the same as 'Supplier Price'
'Supplier Price' is what this supplier charges you. 'Cost' is what the stock you are holding right now is worth, per base unit. They answer different questions, so they will rarely match.
'Cost' is a weighted average. Weighted means a big delivery counts for more than a small one. Receive 10 cartons at one price and later 2 cartons at a higher price, and your Cost sits nearer the price you paid for most of your cans. StoreHub works it out again every time you receive stock, and keeps it to six decimal places.
Order and Receive Stock in your Supplier's Unit
Units work the same way whichever route you take. What changes is where you record the delivery, and that depends on whether your store has Goods Received Notes.
Unit of Measurement without Goods Received Notes
You record the delivery on the purchase order itself.
1. Go to 'Stock Management', then 'Purchase Orders', then click 'New Purchase Order'.
2. Choose your 'Supplier' and your 'Target Store', then create the order.
3. Click 'Add Item' and pick your product. 'Qty' shows what you hold now, in your base unit.
4. In 'Qty to Order', pick the unit you are buying and type how many.
5. Fill in 'Supplier Price' for that unit. 'Total' works itself out.
6. When the delivery arrives, click 'Receive Order'.
7. Type what actually came in 'Received Qty', in whichever unit you like. Tick 'All Products Received' if the whole order turned up.
8. Click 'Save and Mark Completed'. Your stock and your cost update at this point, in your base unit.
Unit of Measurement with Goods Received Notes
It is a receiving document used to confirm what your store actually received from a supplier against a Purchase Order. The main purpose of GRN is to keep stock accurate, record delivery differences, and create a clear audit trail for receiving. You can receive full or partial deliveries, track quantity differences, and update inventory as soon as you confirm the GRN.
Contact StoreHub Support team if you're interested to opt for Goods Received Notes.
1. Go to 'Stock Management', then select 'Purchase Orders', then click 'New Purchase Order'.
2. Choose your 'Supplier' and your 'Target Store', then click 'Create'. A supplier is already filled in for you, so check it is the right one before you carry on.
3. Click 'Add Item' and pick your product. Only products from that supplier are offered.
4. In 'Qty to Order', pick the unit you are buying from the unit box, then type how many. A line underneath shows the same amount in your base unit.
5. Check 'Unit Price'. It shows the price for the unit you picked, with the per base unit figure underneath. StoreHub fills it in from your 'Supplier Price', and you can change it.
6. Click 'Continue', then confirm. Your order moves from 'Draft' to 'Open'.
Receive the Delivery with GRN (with Unit of Measurement)
1. Open the purchase order and click 'Receive Order'. The 'Create Goods Received Note (GRN)' screen opens.
2. Fill in 'Supplier Invoice Number' and 'Delivery Order Number'.
3. In 'Accepted Qty', pick the unit and type what actually arrived.
4. Look at 'Variance'. It compares what arrived against what you ordered, and what you do next depends on it - see the table below.
5. Tick 'All Products Received' if the whole order turned up.
6. Click 'Create', then 'Create GRN & Update Inventory'. Your stock level and your cost update at this point, in your base unit.
7. Back on the purchase order, click 'Mark as Complete' when you are done with it. The order moves to 'Completed'.
Transfer Stock between Stores
A transfer moves in 4 stages: you create it, you mark it shipped, the other store marks it received, and then it is complete. Your stock only leaves the sending store when you mark it shipped, and it only lands at the other store when someone there marks it received.
1. Go to 'Stock Management', then select 'Stock Transfer', then click 'New Stock Transfer'.
2. Choose your 'Source Store' and your 'Destination Store', then create the transfer.
3. Click 'Add Item' and pick your product. 'Qty at Source' and 'Qty at Destination' both show in your base unit, so you can see what each store holds before you decide.
4. In 'Ordered Qty', pick the unit you are moving and type how many.
5. Click 'Save and Mark Shipped', then set the 'Shipped Date' and click 'Confirm'.
6. When the stock arrives, open the transfer and click 'Mark Received'. The stock lands at the destination store, in its base unit, and the transfer moves to 'Completed'.
Record Wastage
You build a wastage record one product at a time, then submit the whole record in one go.
1. Go to 'Stock Management', then select 'Wastage Record', then click 'Record Wastage'.
2. Pick the store the stock is being written off from, then click 'Create New Record'.
3. Click 'Add Item', search for your product, and pick it. The 'Add Wastage Item' window opens.
4. Choose a 'Reason'. You pick from a set list.
5. Pick your 'Unit'. The list only offers that product's own units. It starts on your base unit, so change it if you are writing off a bigger pack.
6. Type the amount in 'Quantity'. The label shows the unit you picked, so it reads 'Quantity (can)'. If you picked a bigger unit, a line underneath shows the same amount in your base unit.
7. Click 'Add Item'. The product is added to the record with the amount and the unit you chose.
8. Add any other products the same way. Write a note if you want one, then click 'Submit Record'. Your stock drops in your base unit.
Do a Stock Take using More than One Unit
A stock take has 2 lists. Everything starts in 'Uncounted Items'. As you count each product it moves up into 'Counted Items'. Your stock on hand does not change until you mark the whole stock take as completed.
1. Go to 'Stock Management', then open 'Stock Take', then click 'Start Stock Take'. Choose the store you are counting, and a supplier if you only want that supplier's products.
2. Find your product in 'Uncounted Items'. 'Expected Qty' shows what StoreHub thinks you have, in your base unit.
3. In 'Counted Qty', pick the unit you counted in and type how many. A line underneath reads 'Total:' followed by the same amount in your base unit.
4. Counted it in more than one unit, or in more than one place? Click '+ Add unit' for each extra line. Count 30 can, then 1 CTN, then another 40 can, and the 'Total:' line adds them up as 94 can. You can use the same unit more than once, so counting shelf by shelf is fine.
5. Click 'Confirm'. The product moves up into 'Counted Items'.
In 'Counted Items', 'Counted Qty' shows the base-unit total with what you actually counted underneath it, so 94 can with '30 can + 1 CTN + 40 can' below it.
'Difference' shows Counted minus Expected in your base unit, so -4 can if StoreHub expected 98. A minus number means you are short.
7. When you have counted everything you want to count, click 'Mark As Completed'. Your stock on hand updates at this point, and not before.
Return Stock to your Supplier
A return has 3 stages: you create it, you mark it shipped, and then it is complete. Unlike your other stock records, a finished return keeps the unit you sent the goods back in.
1. Go to 'Stock Management', then select 'Stock Return', then click 'New Stock Return'.
2. Choose your 'Supplier', and in 'Return From' choose the store the stock is leaving, then click 'Create'.
3. Click 'Add Item' and pick your product. 'Qty on Hand' shows what that store is holding, in your base unit.
4. In 'Qty to Return', pick the unit you are sending back and type how many. A line underneath shows the same amount in your base unit, so 1 CTN reads = 24 can.
5. Check 'Supplier Price'. It switches to the unit you picked, so returning cartons shows the price for one carton, with what that comes to per base unit underneath. 'Total' is your quantity times that price.
6. Click 'Save and Mark As Shipped'. Your stock drops and the return moves to 'Completed'.
7. On the finished return, 'Returned Items' keeps the unit you chose in a column of its own, next to the quantity and the price for that unit. Send back 1 CTN at RM 72.00 and the record reads 'Returned Quantity' 1.000, 'Unit' CTN, 'Total' RM 72.00.
Use Units in your Recipes
A recipe product has no base unit of its own. Each ingredient keeps its own units, so you can measure one in cans and another in grams.
1. Go to 'Products', click your recipe product, then open 'Inventory & Variants'.
2. In the components table, click 'Add Component' and pick your ingredient.
3. In 'Default Usage', type how much you use and pick the unit. If that is not the ingredient's own base unit, a line underneath shows what will come off your stock - 6 slice of Banana reads = 6 g.
4. Click 'Save'. When you sell the recipe, each ingredient comes off in its own base unit.
Read your Stock Value
Reports read in each product's base unit: 'Stock Value', 'Stock Movement', and your product's inventory history. In 'Stock Value', 'Quantity On Hand' shows the number with your base unit beside it - '9.5 ctn', '0 can', '-15 kg'.
Products you do not track in multiple units just show a plain number, so you can tell the 2 apart at a glance.
'Stock Value' shows one store at a time.
Your cost per base unit is stored in full, to as many as six decimal places, and 'Stock Value' shows it that way in the 'Cost (RM)' column. The money totals are worked out from that same full figure, so if you re-do the sum with a rounded cost you can land a cent or two out. The total on the report is the correct one.
'Total Items' at the top adds up products that use different units, so it can read something odd like '-22.500'. It is not a stock count in any one unit, and it is not a mistake.
Need the numbers in a spreadsheet? Click 'Export to CSV' and the list downloads as a file.
FAQs
1. Will my prices change if I turn this on?
No. Your POS prices stay exactly as they are. Turning on multiple units never changes a price.
2. Can I set a different price for each unit, for example one price per can and another price per carton?
No. A product has one selling price, set on its base unit. To sell it under another unit at a different price, create a separate composite product that points to your original item.
Example: Coke has base unit 'can' with conversions for CTN, bottle, and ml. Create a new composite product, 'Coke (bottle)', set its component's unit to 'bottle', and price it accordingly. Selling the composite then deducts the converted amount from your original product's stock, at the price you've set here.".
3. Will my stock numbers change?
No. Your stock number stays exactly as it is. Today it is just a number with no unit attached to it. Turning this on gives the product a real unit system for the first time: you pick the 'Base Unit', your existing number is read in that unit, and your conversions work from there. Nothing is re-counted, so pick the unit your stock is already counted in. Your stock columns then show it - 'Quantity (can)'.
4. Can I change the base unit later?
No. The base unit locks once you save the product with multiple units turned on. Pick the unit you count your stock in before you save.
5. Do I have to set this up for every product?
No. It only applies to products that use multiple units.
6. Can I order or receive half a pack?
Yes. Donut Mix is counted in kg and bought by the bag. Enter 2.5 bags and StoreHub converts it to 56.25 kg.
7. Can I add a new unit after I have saved the product?
Yes. Open the product and click 'Add conversion'. You cannot reuse a unit that is already on that product, and you cannot change the unit on a row you have already saved. Your base unit stays permanent either way.
8. Why can't I view the Units of Measure feature?
Unit of Measure is available on the Advanced and Pro Plans only. If your plan does not include it, you will not see 'Track this product in multiple units' in your product settings. To check your plan, go to 'Settings', then 'Billing'.
Need Help?
Contact StoreHub Support via live chat in your StoreHub app or email [email protected].
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