Get started with units of measure in Intuit Enterprise Suite

Track your products in the units that match how you actually buy, stock, and sell them. For example, buying paint by the case, stocking it by the gallon, and selling it by the quart. With units of measure turned on, Intuit Enterprise Suite handles the conversions for you, so your inventory counts, costs, and customer invoices stay accurate.

Note: Once units of measure is turned on, it stays on for the company. You can deactivate individual units or unit sets you don’t need anymore.

Choose how you want to measure your products

Before you turn the feature on, decide which mode fits your business. You’ll be asked to pick one when you switch units of measure on.

• Single units: Use one unit per product or service. Best if every line on your transactions uses the same label, like each, hour, or pound.
• Multiple units: Use different units for the same product or service. Best if you need to convert between sizes, like buying by the case, stocking by the box, and selling by each.

You can switch modes later, but switching changes how your units appear on new transactions. Past transactions stay the same.

Turn on units of measure

1. Go to Settings and select Account and settings.
2. Select the Sales tab.
3. In the Products and services section, select Edit.
4. Turn Units of measure on.
5. Choose Single units or Multiple units.
6. Select Save and close.

Create a unit group

If you chose Multiple units, you build these groups so Intuit Enterprise Suite knows how your sizes relate. A unit group is a bundle of related measurements. For example, a soda group might include eaches, six-packs, and cases.

1. Go to Settings , then All lists, then select Units of measure.
2. Select New unit group.
3. Choose a Category that fits your products: Count, Length, Weight, Volume, Area, Time, or Other.
4. Set your Base unit. Pick the smallest unit you’ll track. Smaller base units keep counts and prices accurate when you convert between sizes.
5. Add your Related units. For each one, enter the name, abbreviation, and how it converts to the base unit (for example, 1 case = 24 each).
6. Select Save.

Note: Once a unit group is saved and used on a transaction, you can’t edit its conversion ratios or change the base unit. This protects your historical reports. If your packaging changes, add a new unit to the set or create a new set for future transactions.

Assign units to your products

After you’ve created a unit group, link it to the product it applies to.

1. Go to All apps , then Sales & Get Paid, then Products & services (Take me there).
2. Find the product you want to update, then select Edit.
3. In the Unit of measure section, choose the unit group you want to use.
4. If you chose Multiple groups, set the Preferred sales unit (what shows on invoices, estimates, and sales orders) and the Preferred purchase unit (what shows on bills, purchase orders, and item receipts).
5. Select Save and close.

What happens to inventory you already have

When you change a product’s unit set, Intuit Enterprise Suite moves your current quantity on hand 1-to-1 to the new base unit. The number doesn’t change, it’s just relabeled, so your counts stay consistent. Past transactions keep the units they were created with.

Use units in transactions

Once your products are set up, units appear automatically on the forms you use every day, like invoices and bills. We’ll use your preferred units by default.

• Automatic price math: If you sell 1 case instead of 1 each, Intuit Enterprise Suite multiplies the rate based on your conversion. You can override the rate on any line if you need to.
• Carry-over between forms: If you create an estimate for 5 cases and convert it to an invoice, the 5 cases carry over so you don’t have to re-enter anything.
• Stock visibility: When you check stock for a product with multiple units, Intuit Enterprise Suite shows quantity in the base unit (for example, 25 cases on hand).

Update or deactivate units

Rename a unit

You can rename a unit at any time. The new name shows on every transaction, past and future. Quantities and dollar amounts don’t change.

Change a conversion ratio

To keep your historical reports accurate, you can’t edit a ratio after the unit has been used. If your packaging changes (say, a case goes from 12 to 10 units), add a new unit to the set and assign it to the product going forward.

Deactivate a unit

You can’t delete a unit, but you can deactivate one you no longer use. Deactivated units don’t appear on new transactions. On older transactions, they’ll show with (deleted) next to the abbreviation so your records stay readable.

Frequently asked questions

Why can’t I edit my conversion ratio?

Conversion ratios lock once a unit has been used on a transaction. That’s on purpose: it protects the value of past sales and purchases from being changed by an edit you make today.

What happens to my reports?

When units of measure is on, supported reports add a unit column tied to the quantity column. Inventory valuation always calculates in the base unit, so your dollar totals stay consistent no matter which unit the transaction used.

Related links

• Add product and service items
• Set up and track your inventory