One of the new features in the 2015.3 update of Sage 50 is the Copy button in the Customer, Vendor, and Inventory Item maintenance windows. When you need to set up a new customer, vendor or inventory item that is similar to an existing item, bring up the record you want to copy and click the Copy button. A window will pop up asking you for an ID for the new customer, vendor, or inventory item. Enter the new ID an Sage 50 will create and save a new record that is identical to the original except for the ID. Then you can make any other changes that may be needed.
This new feature is certainly convenient, but there is one situation in which it doesn’t work very well. One of the most common reasons people want to copy an inventory item is because it was set up with the wrong item type. For example, something that should have been a non-stock item was created as a stock item, or vice versa. Once you have saved an item you can’t change its Item Type. That’s important because the new copy feature automatically saves the new item, which means you don’t have a chance to change the type on the new item.
But don’t worry, there’s a simple procedure that existed before the copy button that still works. If you need to copy an item and change the type, start by bringing up the item to be copied in Maintain Inventory Items. Then simply type a new ID in the Item ID field. You have just started a new item with all of the details from the previous item. Now just change the Item Type, and anything else you want to change before saving the new item.
If you want the new item to have the ID that the original item used, then before creating the new item, use the Change ID button to change the ID of the original item. Most people put an X, or DNU (for do not use) or something similar at the beginning of the old item’s ID to make sure it isn’t confused with the new item. Then use the procedure described above so the new item can have the ID everyone is accustomed to using.
