Quantity-Based and Unit-Based Projects
As of v18, you have the choice of creating Quantity-Based Projects or Unit-Based Projects. Prior to this you could only create Unit-Based Projects. Any Projects created prior to v18 will remain Unit-Based on upgrade.
Quantity-Based Projects allow you to have less line-items in your Project Editor and will improve your experience during the quoting phase of a Project allowing you to easily adjust quantities for similar items in a Project.
Quantity-Based Projects can be converted to Unit-Based Projects at any time. Once converted to a Unit-Based Project, a Project cannot be converted back to a Quantity-Based Project.
Quantity-Based Projects
There is a Project Rule you must set if you wish to create quantity-based projects:
When you add a quantity greater than one of items to a Quantity-Based Project, it will display as one line-item and list the quantity. There are two columns, Quantity and Total Quantity, in the project grid. The Total Quantity field is for Accessories and Package items to accurately reflect how many are in the Project. Example: Product A has two of Product B as Accessories and a quantity of 4 of Product A is added to a Project. This will display as shown below:
A maximum quantity of 1,000 can be added per line item for Products/Labor Items, 100 is the limit for Packages.
The quantity can be edited directly in the project grid or you can modify the Quantity field when in the Edit Product interface.
When an Accessory or an item in a Package are open for edit, Quantity and Total Quantity fields will display:
Quantity can also be changed via Mass Update.
Drawings
Only one shape/block will drop on a drawing page when an item with a quantity > 1 is dragged and dropped. There is a Project Setting on whether you want to be prompted when you attempt to add an item with quantity > 1 to a drawing.
If you want separate shapes/blocks for each item you must convert them to a quantity of one. See Converting Items section, below.
Purchase Orders
You must choose to allow for Purchase Orders to be created for Quantity-Based Projects via Project Rules:
The reason for this is that since there is only one line item for items with quantity > 1, there is only one instance of the following fields: Order Status, Order Number, Ordered Date, Expected Delivery Date Received Date, Tracking Number. If you need to track these fields for each individual item you must convert the items to a quantity of 1 prior to creating the Purchase Order. See Converting Items section, below.
In addition, if you enter Serial Number, MAC Address 1, or MAC Address 2 when creating Item Receipts, there is only one instance of these fields for items with a quantity > 1.
If none of the above matter to you, then you can certainly create a Purchase Order for items with quantity > 1.
Tasks
You must choose to allow for Tasks to be created for Quantity-Based Projects via Project Rules:
The reason for this is that since there is only one line item for items with quantity > 1, there is only one instance of the following fields: Task Number, Picked, Picked Date, Installed, Installed Date, and Install Notes. If you need to track these fields for each individual item you must convert the items to a quantity of 1 prior to creating the Task. See Converting Items section, below.
Converting Items
If at some point you want to convert a line item with qty > 1 to all single line items or just some of the items to single line item, there are two functions for this. You may want to do this if you need separate line items to create a Visio or AutoCAD drawing, or if you need to order only a select number of an item.
Select the items you want to convert and from the Tools tab click the Quantity button and make your choice.
Convert to a Quantity of 1
This one is straightforward. All items will be convert to individual line items in the Project and will maintain the Location and/or System assigned to the line item(s) you are converting. You will need to click Yes on the following prompt to proceed.
Custom Convert
Here you can choose to convert the items into any quantity and assign those quantities a Location and/or System within the Project.
Unit-Based Projects
At any point in time you convert a Quantity-Based Project to a Unit-Based Project. You may want to do this when the Project is Approved and you want to order products or add them to Tasks as it will open up additional racking fields specific to each item, e.g. Serial Number, IP Address, etc. This will convert all items in the Project with a quantity > 1 to their own individual line items in the Project.
To do this, select the Project in the Project Explorer and click the Convert to Unit-Based Project button on the ribbon:
There is also a Project Rule you can set to automatically convert Quantity-Based Projects to Unit-Based Projects when you Approve a Project:
Bulk Items
If you do not want an item to be convert into individual line items in the Project when it is converted from a Quantity-Based Project to a Unit-Based Project, tick the "Bulk Item" checkbox for the item:
This can be set at the Catalog-level or the Project-level. This can be used for items that you don't need to convert out into individual line items in the Project, e.g. 2000 J-Hooks, 18,000 RJ-45 connectors.
If you change your mind after the Project has been converted to a Unit-Based Project you can still convert Bulk Items into individual line items in the Project using the convert function as described above in the Converting Items section above.
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