Adding or Editing an Inventory Item

This is usually a manager-level task

Adding items wrong throws off costing and counts across the venue. If you're not sure you should be creating an item, check with your manager first.

1

Click Items on the main toolbar. The window opens in New mode until you pick an existing item.

2

To edit, double-click an item in the left-hand list. To add, click New (or just start typing in the Description field).

3

Fill in the core fields (below), then complete the Case Size Information.

Search hard before you create

Try spelling variants, singular and plural, and the simple name as well as the supplier's name. A duplicate item is one of the most damaging mistakes in this system — counts and purchases get split between the two copies, and neither is ever right again. If you spot what looks like an existing duplicate, tell your manager — don't just pick one and carry on.

Search Description

The item's name. Keep it simple and clear. Suppliers often use long, cryptic names — you want something your team will recognise on a count sheet.

Inventory Group

The group it reports under (Produce, Liquor, and so on).

Main Location

Where most of this item's stock lives. This decides where it appears on count sheets.

How is it used?

One of the most important choices — it sets how the item behaves as a recipe ingredient:
• Weight — used by weight (grams, lb)
• Volume — used by volume (ml, oz)
• Unit — used as each

Reporting Unit

The unit you want it reported in.

Default Ingredient Unit

The unit it defaults to when added to a recipe.

Track Inventory

Leave on for anything you count. Turn it off for things you want in the system to order but never count (recipe tap water, small wares, cleaning supplies). Off = it won't appear on count sheets.

Key Inventory Item

Tick this for items you count every time. Non-key items can be left off a key-items count and calculated from sales and purchases instead. Use it for your high-value, high-movement stock.

Actualize Usage Values

A special case. Some items (fryer oil, napkins, straws) get used but aren't in recipes, so they'd always show a variance. Ticking this tells the system "whatever was used is what should have been used" — no variance. Actualized items show an asterisk (*) next to ideal usage.

Program problem — errors, crashes, failed saves, a report that won't run → TracRite support at Support@tracrite.net (they know their software best).

"How do I / why does my data look like this?" — missing items, vendors, recipes, or numbers that look off → your F&B manager or executive chef. These are operational questions, not software faults.

Hardware, network, a lost license, or OC missing from a workstation → that's the short list Argus IT handles.

See Optimum Control — Common Issues and How to Get Help (KB-210001) for the full "who to contact for what" breakdown before reaching out.