About the Purchase to Tracking Unit Conversion feature

Learn how your purchase amounts automatically convert into your tracking units

Your Purchase to Tracking Unit Conversion allows you to nominate the number of tracking units that are in a single purchase unit. This information allows the app to calculate the correct amount to increase your stock by when you add a new purchase and enter the purchase quantity.

EXAMPLE 1: If you track in grams but purchase in kilograms then you should add a conversion of 1 kilograms = 1000 grams. If you then add a new purchase of 2 kilograms, this will automatically increase your stock on hand by 2000 grams.

EXAMPLE 2: Say you purchase vinyl in sheets and each sheet is 6"x12". You need to figure out what your conversion would be between your sheet and your sq inch manufacturing unit. For each single sheet you purchase, you will want your quantity to increase by 72 sq inches (6 x 12) as this is the number of sq inches in a sheet. This would be the number you should use for Tracking Unit Conversion.

Some common conversions are supported automatically (e.g., ounces to pounds), so you will find that this box will automatically populate if the conversion can be done. For non-convertible units, you will need to define this manually.

Changing a conversion or unit on a material you already use

You can change a material's Purchase to Tracking Unit Conversion, tracking unit, or purchase unit at any time — Stocksmith doesn't lock these once you've started recording purchases, recipes, or manufactures against a material. But it's worth understanding exactly what a change does and doesn't affect before you make one, because the two kinds of change behave very differently.

Changing the conversion number only

If you just update the Purchase to Tracking Unit Conversion number — for example, correcting 1 kg = 1000 g to 1 kg = 998 g because you'd measured it wrong — this only changes how future purchases are converted. Every purchase you've already recorded for that material keeps the tracking-unit quantity it was given at the time, and isn't recalculated using the new conversion.

Switching a material's tracking unit (e.g., oz to grams)

This is the change that catches people out. Switching a material's tracking unit — say, from ounces to grams — doesn't convert your existing numbers into the new unit. It changes what unit those existing numbers are read in.

Stocksmith doesn't store a unit against each individual purchase, recipe line, or manufacture line for a material — only a plain quantity number. That number is always read using whatever tracking unit the material is currently set to. So the moment you switch a material from ounces to grams, every quantity already recorded for it is instantly read in grams instead of ounces, with no conversion applied. A recipe line that read "4" (meaning 4 oz) still reads "4" — it now means 4 g, a very different amount of material.

This affects every existing record for that material, including:

Current stock on hand — your on-hand quantity for the material doesn't change, but it's now expressed in the new unit
Past purchases — every purchase you've already recorded for the material keeps its original tracking-unit quantity, now read in the new unit
Stock adjustments — any manual stock adjustments you've made for the material are read the same way
Recipe lines — every recipe that uses the material keeps its existing quantity number, now interpreted in the new unit
Manufactures — every manufacture that has already consumed the material shows the same quantity number, now in the new unit

What to do after switching a tracking unit

Stocksmith doesn't have a bulk tool to convert these existing numbers for you, so you'll need to update the ones that matter by hand:

Before you switch, note your current stock on hand and any recipe quantities in the old unit — you'll need these to work out the new figures.
After switching, edit the material to correct your stock on hand to the right quantity in the new unit.
Open each recipe that uses the material and update the quantity on that recipe line to the correct amount in the new unit.
Past purchases, stock adjustments, and completed manufactures are historical records — you generally don't need to edit these, but be aware any reports covering that history will now display the old figures in the new unit.

If you're only changing units because you purchase in a different unit than you track in, you likely don't need to touch the tracking unit at all — set the purchase unit and the conversion number instead, and leave the tracking unit as it is. That way your existing recipes, manufactures, and stock history are never affected.

Video: Purchase to Tracking Unit Conversion

Need Help?

Still have questions about setting up manufactures? Please get in touch, and we'll be happy to help.