How Can I Search for an Inventory Item?

Being able to track inventory almost anywhere you go is one of ESC's greatest features.  You can add inventory items to dispatches and then transfer them to invoices.  You can put them on purchase orders when you need more or on quotes when a customer needs repairs.  But with hundreds - or even thousands - of available items in your system, there's no way to remember the part numbers for them all. That's where the Inventory Search screen comes into play.

How to Access the Inventory Search Screen

The Inventory Search screen is available to you anywhere you need to access inventory items.  You'll see a menu or drop-down arrow just to the right of the Item or Part field in which you need to enter the Part Number, simply click on that arrow to open the Search screen.

The Inventory Search screen can display any Inventory item, Billing Code or History Code (it will exclude any type of item that cannot be used in the field in which you triggered the Search screen).

Use the Search field at the top of the screen to type in a description of the item you are looking for.  You can enter any combination of keywords into the Search field; including Category or Sub-Category names, a section of the part number or Description, the Manufacturer, Model number, etc.

You can even search for items that have been made inactive by placing a check next to Show Inactive Items.

When you find the item you are looking for, you can double-click on it to select it and return to the screen that you accessed the Inventory Search screen from or you can highlight the item by clicking on it once.  More information about the item you selected will appear on the right side of the screen.  

The details that appear on the right may differ as the item information or item type differs.  History Codes and Billing Codes will definitely have less information available than Inventory items will.  Items will Flat Rate Pricing applied to them will show you a list of rates generated for that item, while Assembly items will include all sub-assembly items listed below that.  Stock and Serial items will also be able to show you a list of warehouses in which those particular items are in stock.