General Tab of the Items Master Form or Dialog Box

Use the General tab to set up purchasing and inventory items and basic information for them such as item number, description, and notes.

If you have multiple companies, all of the fields above the Available for use in company <xx> check box on this tab apply at the system level for all of the companies in your enterprise. If you want an item to apply for the active company, select the Available for use in company <xx> check box, and complete the remaining fields on this form. These fields apply at the company level for the active (current) company.

If you are entering a purchasing item on the fly from the Equipment hub, this tab and the Items Master screen are displayed in a dialog box. You cannot enter inventory items from the dialog box.

Field	Description
Item Number	Enter an identifier for the item.
Description	Enter a phrase that describes the item.
Manufacturer	Enter the name of the item's manufacturer, or select one from the drop-down list. The list includes all the manufacturers that were previously entered in this field.
Extra Notes	Enter other information about the item. This information appears on reports and forms in the Purchasing & Inventory application.
National Stock Number	Enter the National Stock Number. This number consists of the four-digit Federal Supply Classification (FSC) number and the nine-digit National Item Identification Number (NIIN). Use this number to mark and group the items that you keep in inventory.
Internal Notes	Enter internal data regarding the item. This data shows on purchasing reports, but not on purchasing forms.
Available for use for company xx	If you have multiple companies, select this check box to make the item available to the active company. When you select this check box, the fields below the check box become active and apply for the active (current) company.
Category	From the drop-down list, select a category for the item, which applies when the item is used in the active company. The drop-down list displays a category's ID and description. Item categories are set up for a company on the Item Categories tab in Settings > Purchasing & Inventory > Company. In Company Settings, general ledger accounts and other information, such as whether an item category is taxable, are specified for item categories. These settings help automate data entry and processing of items throughout Vantagepoint.
Substitute Item Number	Enter the item number for an item that is a satisfactory substitute, if the usual item is not available.
Purchasing Unit of Measure	Select the usual unit of measure to use for the item in Purchasing > Purchase Requisitions, Purchasing > Request for Price Quote, and Purchasing > Purchase Orders. This field applies only if you have the Purchasing application activated.
Primary Vendor	From the Vendor lookup, select the active company's primary vendor for this item. This field applies only if you have the Purchasing application activated.
Last Purchased from	This field shows the last vendor from whom the active company purchased this item. Vantagepoint re-calculates this data each time the item is purchased by this company. Users cannot change the data in this field. This field applies only if you have the Purchasing application activated.