How to change one detail on many items at once in Inventory

Bulk edit lets you change one detail on many items in a single step. For example, you can move fifty items into a new item group, raise the MRP on a set of products, or mark old items as inactive. You choose the items, choose the detail to change, check a preview, and then apply.

Before you start

• You need permission to change items. Without it, you can still filter and preview, but the apply button stays off.
• Decide which single detail you want to change. Bulk edit changes one field at a time.

Open Bulk edit

Open Items in the top menu and select Bulk edit. The page is called Bulk edit items.

Find the items you want

1. In Search items, type a name, alias, SKU or barcode.
2. Use the group list (it starts on All groups) to show one item group only.
3. Use the status list to show Active or Inactive items.
4. Tick the box beside each item you want to change. The ticked items are counted for you.

Choose what to change

1. In Field to update, pick the detail. You can change Item group, Stock category, Brand, MRP (the maximum retail price), Minimum stock, Maximum stock, Reorder point, Reorder quantity and Status.
2. In New value, pick or type the value. A line under the box tells you if the value is fine or what is wrong with it.

HSN / SAC is listed as "read only". Smart Books looks after this code because it uses it for tax returns, so you change it there, not here.

Preview and apply

1. Select Preview changes to see every item that would change, with its value before and after. If nothing would change, Inventory tells you so.
2. Select Apply changes to your number of items. A box asks you to confirm and repeats the field, the new value and how many items will change.
3. Confirm. Inventory shows how many items were updated. Items that already had the value are left alone and counted separately.

If you set Status to Inactive, those items stop appearing on new documents. Existing stock, history and valuation are not touched.

Good to know

• You can change at most 500 items in one go. If more are ticked, narrow the filters or work through the list a page at a time.
• If you try to leave after setting up a change but before applying, Inventory asks "Leave without applying?".
• If you repeat the same kind of change often, select Save as template. A template remembers the field, value and filters, but never the list of ticked items. Templates are saved in this browser only.

Related articles

• How to change the status of several batches at once in Inventory
• Reorder point and safety stock: how to set them and read the report