What's the difference between bulk items and individual items and consumables?
Individual items
They are used for unique, high-cost items you want to track individually. Individual items each have their specific bar code and their specific characteristics. Examples: camera bodies, computers, lenses, tablets, microphones,...
Bulk items: Items that you own in large quantities. They are often low-cost items. They might not be expensive, but they are key in supporting your other equipment. When one of these breaks, you will most likely not bring it in for maintenance but throw it away and take it out of your inventory.
Examples: camera batteries, sandbags, apple boxes, power strips, cables, clamps, chargers, and other accessories
Consumables are a type of bulk item that is intended to be used up and not necessarily returned on check in. Consumable is a characteristic of a bulk item. When a consumable item is returned as part of a check-in, a user can mark all or part of the checked out quantity as ‘consumed’ thus reducing the quantity of the bulk item overall.
Examples: Office supplies like paper or pens, swag items like T-shirt that are handed out at an event, disposable items, food or beverages meant to be consumed
Differences between individual items and Bulk items
Bulk items differ from individual items in a couple of ways:
You can keep track of the quantity of the bulk item in your inventory via the 'quantity field.' You just add one Bulk item and mention how many of those you own
Bulk items share the same characteristics. Let's say you have 20 XLR cables. You'll add them as one Bulk item with a quantity of 20. Each of the wires will have the same QR code and characteristics. No need to differentiate between them
It's not possible to flag a bulk item.
You cannot track purchase dates and deprecation for bulk items. These low-cost items are often bought regularly, making calculating depreciation unnecessary.
Need some help deciding if an item should be tracked as an individual or bulk? Check this help article.
Adding an item as 'Bulk'
Click on Add item
Fill in the information
Fill in the quantity in which you want to create the Bulk Item.
Then select the type on the 'add item' screen. For Bulk Items, select 'as a Bulk Item.'
Click on "Add."
Marking a Bulk Item as Consumable
To indicate a bulk item is consumable, change the setting of “Allow consumable” to on.
Go to Item Detail
In Settings enable “Available for Consumption”
Note this setting is only available for bulk items
Consumable items can also be uploaded via the Item Importer. Use the below configuration to upload consumable items via spreadsheet.
Column “Kind” -> Bulk
Column “Quantity” -> Amount (ex 50)
Column “Consumable” -> Yes
For more information see How to Import Items.
Bulk Items are part of your item quota.
Every Bulk item will count toward the overall item limit. For instance, a set of XLR cables will be treated as a single Bulk Item, and there is no limit to the number of items in the same set.
👉 Business Plus and Academic Pro can add a maximum of 20 items as Bulk Items.
👉 Business Premium and Academic Master can add a maximum of 50 items as Bulk Items.
Bulk items & kits
Right now, including a bulk item in a kit is not possible. However, if this is relevant to you, do let us know. We might pick it up as our next improvement! Send us an email at support@cheqroom.com.
Bulk items & assigning custody
Right now, assigning a bulk item in custody is not possible. However, if this is relevant to you, do let us know. We might pick it up as our next improvement! Send us an email at support@cheqroom.com.
Bulk items and switching locations
It is impossible to update a bulk item's location. You can create a new item at another location with the same characteristics. However, if this is relevant to you, do let us know. We might pick it up as our next improvement! Send us an email at support@cheqroom.com.