Inventory and purchasing
CrewBarn answers three questions about your stock: where it lives, how much is in each spot, and what moved. Then it gets the right parts ordered from the right supplier, and puts them on the job that was waiting for them.
The intro, in words
From the shelf to the job, and back
This is inventory and purchasing in CrewBarn, followed one part at a time: used, run low, ordered, received, and set aside for the job.
At Harlow and Finch, Sam and Jo carry parts on their trucks, and Dana does the ordering.
Where it lives: Walk straight to the part
Dana set up the shop and each truck as locations, and the racks and drawers inside them as bins. Build structure laid out the whole valve rack in one go.
Each stock row says what's on hand, what's set aside for jobs, what's available, and what that spot should carry.
Where it lives: Loading the truck is on the record
Monday morning, Sam loads his truck. He presses Transfer stock, picks the shop and his truck, types how many of each, and presses Transfer.
The movement is written down with his name on it. Rows are never edited: a mistake is fixed with a new movement, so the history always adds up.
Running low: Used on the job, off the truck
Tuesday at the Patels', Jo needs a relief valve. She scans the label on the box with her phone, and it goes on the job's line items at its price.
The scan takes it off her truck's count, as an install on the Patel job. Now Harlow and Finch has two left in the whole company, and the reorder point is three.
Running low: It shows up on Needs ordering
In the product catalog, the valve's stock turns red, and it lands on Needs ordering, with a suggested quantity.
The row shows how many are in the shop and on each truck, what it last cost, who sold it, and the one job already waiting on a valve.
Running low: The draft writes itself
Dana turned on auto reorder in the inventory settings. Within the hour, CrewBarn puts the valve on a draft purchase order to Coastal Supply, who sold it last.
The draft is marked Low-stock reorder, and Dana's bell says: Draft P O for Coastal Supply, stock ran low. Nothing goes to Coastal yet.
Running low: Dana checks it, then places it
Dana opens the draft from the bell. She changes six to ten, because valves go fast in winter, and checks the vendor.
She places the order with Coastal, then sets the status to Ordered. Picking a status saves straight away.
Running low: Received onto the shelf
Thursday, the box arrives. Dana opens the order, goes to Receive the delivery, and presses Fill remaining, because everything came.
She presses Receive selected. The valves go into Rack A, Bin 2 under her name, the order turns Received, and the count is back above the reorder point.
Running low: Take part now, the rest later
If only half the box had come, Dana types five, and the order turns Partially received. She receives the rest when it turns up.
When Coastal's bill comes in, she enters it on Vendor bills and links it to the order. Then she marks the order Completed.
Running low: Nobody counted, nobody forgot
From Jo's scan to the shelf, nobody counted bins or kept a list. The valve was reordered before anyone noticed it was low.
For a job: Sam asks for it from the job
Now a part for a job. Mrs. Rivera needs a new thermostat next week, and there's none on the shelf.
On her job, Sam presses Parts needed and asks for one. The job's Parts panel says: in the parts cart, waiting to be ordered. Sam didn't have to pick a supplier.
For a job: Every ask, one list
Dana opens Order parts. It's grouped by part, with who asked and which job it's for. Anything low can join the same list.
For the thermostat, suppliers who sold it before come first, with what it cost and how long it took. Her preferred one has a star, so she presses Use preferred for all.
If one supplier couldn't cover it, Split with another supplier would share it out, and any extra goes to the shelves.
For a job: One order per supplier
She presses Create purchase orders, and gets one draft for each supplier. The thermostat line remembers the Rivera job.
She places the order and sets it to Ordered. On the job, the thermostat now shows as on its way.
For a job: Set aside before anyone grabs it
When Dana receives it, the thermostat is set aside for Mrs. Rivera. The job's Parts panel says: held for this job, so it no longer counts as available to anybody else.
Tuesday, Sam fits it, scans it onto the job, and the hold is used up. When a job is done or cancelled, its holds simply stop counting.
Other branches: The shop is asked for the difference
Each truck can have a par: what it should carry. With Restock vans to par switched on, a truck carrying fewer than its par gets a transfer request from the shop for the difference.
Jo's truck should carry two valves and has none, so the shop is asked for two. Jo confirms them when they arrive, and it's written down like any other move.
Other branches: Used, then explained
And if a tech uses a part the count says isn't there, and Dana's rules allow it, the job isn't held up. The shortfall goes to the Reconciliation queue.
Dana picks what really happened: We had it, just didn't track the receive. Or, We lost it, accept the loss. Each one takes a short note.
The whole tree: Shelf, job, order, shelf
That's one part, start to finish: used on a job, low, drafted, ordered, received, and closed.
And every branch had an answer: a part asked for from a job and held for it, a supplier split, half a box, a van below par, and a count that was wrong.
Nothing is counted on a clipboard, nothing is ordered twice, and the part is there when the job is.
Inventory & purchasing: Ordered once, on the right job
That's inventory and purchasing in CrewBarn.
CrewBarn is in beta, and free for life for trades that help test it.
Stock by shop, truck and bin
Locations are the big places stock lives: a warehouse, the shop, each truck. Bins are the racks, shelves and drawers inside them, so anyone can walk straight to a part. Build structure lays out a whole rack or cabinet in one go. Each stock row shows what's on hand, what's set aside for jobs, what's available, and what that spot should carry.
Transfer stock to load a truck from the shop. Every move is recorded with who made it, and rows are never edited: a mistake is fixed with a new movement. A barcode scanner works anywhere, or scan with the phone's camera. Track serial numbers when you need to, and every serialized unit is listed with where it is. When a van carries less than it should, the shop is asked to send the difference.
You set how strict it is: whether every row needs a bin, whether a tech can use a part the count says isn't there, and whether stock can only come in on a purchase order. A part used when the count said none goes to a reconciliation list to be explained.
What needs ordering
Needs ordering lists every stocked item at or below its reorder point, with a suggested quantity. Each item shows your SKU, the maker's part number and your supplier's own number for it, how many are in the shop and on each truck, what it last cost, who you bought it from, and any jobs waiting on it. Turn on auto reorder and low items go onto a draft purchase order for their vendor. Nothing is sent until you check it and mark it ordered.
The parts cart and purchase orders
Anyone can put a part in the parts cart from anywhere in the app: a catalog page, a job, an estimate or an item. Order parts gathers it all, grouped by part, with who asked and which job it's for. Suppliers who sold it to you before are listed first, with what it cost and how long it took, and your preferred one is starred. Create purchase orders makes one order for each supplier. Every line remembers its job, so when you receive the order, the parts are set aside for the right job.
Vendors keep their contact details, your account number with them, their terms, and your discount off their list price. Vendor bills can be linked to the purchase order they're for.
Supplier catalogs as PDFs
Add a supplier's price book or a manual as a PDF, and it opens like the printed copy, with tabs down the edge. Search every page for a part number. Press Order to open the parts cart beside the book and pick parts as you read. Turn a part on the page into a reference card, so it opens wherever its number comes up. Drop in a supplier's catalog and CrewBarn can turn it into price book rows for you to check. You can share a catalog with customers in their portal, if you're allowed to, and they can send you an order from it.
How it works
- Add your shop, warehouse and trucks, then the bins inside them.
- Receive stock on purchase orders, or add it by hand.
- Techs use parts on jobs. Low stock lands on Needs ordering.
- Anyone puts what they need in the parts cart.
- Pick suppliers and create one purchase order per supplier.
- Receive the order, and parts are set aside for the jobs waiting on them.