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Serial Numbers

VMX can track individual serial numbers for big-ticket items like mowers, tractors, and power equipment. Each unit's serial number is recorded when it's received, the cashier picks the exact serial being sold at the register, and every serial keeps its own history — which purchase order it arrived on, its cost, and the receipt it sold on.

Turn on serial tracking for an item

Serial tracking is enabled item by item:

  1. Open the item's page in Inventory.
  2. In the ⚙️ Other section, check Use Serials?.
  3. Save the item.

Once enabled, a Serials tab appears on the item page, the register requires a serial number whenever the item is sold, and (if enabled for your company) purchase orders let you key in serial numbers as units are received.

Look up serial numbers (Inventory → Serials)

The Inventory → Serials page lists every serial number in the system across all items. The page heading is Serial Numbers.

Columns:

  • Serial # — the serial number.
  • PLU — the item number; links to the item page.
  • Description — the item description.

Type in the filter box under Serial # or PLU to search — this is the fastest way to answer "did we ever sell serial X, and what item was it?" Use the pager at the bottom to page through results (page size 10/20/30/40 or All Rows). For a serial's full history (PO, cost, sold receipt), click through to the item and open its Serials tab.

The Serials tab on an item page

Items with Use Serials? checked (or with serials already recorded) show a Serials tab on the item page, listing every serial for that item:

  • Serial # — the serial number, with a pencil icon to correct/edit it.
  • PO# — the purchase order the unit was received on, if any; links to the PO.
  • Unit Cost — what that unit cost.
  • Retail $ — the unit's retail price.
  • In Stock — ✅ In Stock or ⬜ Out of Stock (sold).
  • Receipt # — the receipt the unit sold on; links to the receipt.
  • Note — a note on the serial, if any.

Use the + Serial button on the tab to add a serial number by hand (for units that didn't come in on a PO, or during initial setup). Each serial number must be unique per item — adding a duplicate shows the error "Serial already exists for this item."

Record serial numbers when receiving a purchase order

For companies with PO serial entry enabled, purchase order line items for serialized items have a Serial Numbers box:

  1. On the purchase order, add or edit the line item for the serialized item.
  2. In the Serial Numbers box, enter one serial number per line.
  3. The number of serials must match the line quantity — receiving 3 units means entering 3 serial numbers, or the save is rejected with an error stating the item "has quantity of 3 but only 2 serial numbers".

When the PO is received, each serial is created in stock and linked to that purchase order, so its cost and arrival history are tracked automatically.

Serial number entry on purchase orders is enabled per-client by VMX — if you don't see the Serial Numbers box on your PO line items, contact help@vmxllc.com.

Selling a serialized item at the register

When a cashier rings up an item with Use Serials? enabled:

  1. A Serial # window pops up. Start typing (or click into the box) to see the item's serials — in-stock serials are marked ✅ and already-sold ones ⬜, with how long ago each arrived or sold.
  2. Pick the serial for the unit being sold and click Enter.
  3. The serial is saved on the receipt line, and that serial is marked out of stock with a link to the receipt.

Rules the register enforces:

  • Quantity must be 1 — each serialized unit is its own line. Otherwise: "Quantity of 1 required for serial numbered items."
  • A serial is required — when editing a serialized receipt line, the Serial Number dropdown must have a serial selected, or the register shows "Serial number required for this item."

To change the serial on a line before ringing out (for example, the customer took a different unit off the floor), edit the receipt line and pick a different serial from the Serial Number dropdown.