I wrote previously about using Multiple Units of Measure and how it can simplify your Items list and make receiving and ordering simpler. However, printing the tags for those different units of measure is not so simple. POS will print just the default selling unit of measure. So what do you do?

Let's look at our light bulb example again. We order them by the case (containing 48 individual bulbs), but can sell them individually, in packs of 3 or 12. Since pack of 3 is the default selling unit, that's the tag that will print. What if the single or pack of 12 don't have barcodes and you want to scan these items at the cash register?

Here's a work-around for printing the other units of measure. Create a group of 1 for each unit of measure. I like the idea of a group because it doesn’t pull from your regular inventory numbers. Normally a group is used as quick way to sell several items at once - perhaps a lampshade, light bulb and extension cord could be a group. Instead of entering each item on a sales slip, you just use a group that contains those 3 items. However, we just need a tag to print for an item, so our "group" will contain only 1 item. So, for our example, we'll create a group for the single light bulb and the pack of 12.

To create a Group, click on Add New Item. Instead of the default Inventory, select Group. You'll need to enter the Dept and a description.

Next, click on Edit/Add Items in Group

Select the item AND the unit of measure for this "group"

Click on Save when done.

POS can create a barcode based on an item number, so this "group" will have its own unique barcode. Then you can print tags for the group and scan them at the register. Remember to use the original item, Light bulbs, for your Purchase Orders and Receiving Vouchers.