In Sage 50 and Peachtree, inventory related transactions all revolve around the Item ID. Since it st the unique identifier for each item, it’s always used for data entry. While you are limited to using the Item ID on screen, Sage 50 can substitute an item’s Part Number or UPC/SKU field for the item ID when printing forms such as purchase orders, sales orders, and invoices.
In Maintain – Inventory Items there is a field named UPC/SKU and (in Premium and Quantum) another named Part Number. They are intended as fields to store the number string for a UPC code and a supplier’s part number, respectively. Obviously you could use them however you want, but these two fields are different from the other fields because you have the option to substitute one of them for the Item ID field when printing forms. I’ll explain two methods for doing that.
This is the easiest method. If you use Sage 50/Peachtree Premium or Quantum, when you print a form, such as a purchase order, in the Print dialogue box there is an option labeled Replace Item ID With. There are 3 choices:
- Do Not Replace – means the Item ID will print like normal.
- UPC/SKU – will print the contents of the UPC/SKU field in place of the Item ID. Note that even though this field is labeled UPC, it won’t automatically print a UPC barcode. That requires customizing the forms and installing a barcode font.
- Part Number – will print the contents of the Part Number field in place of the Item ID.
You should know that if the field you choose to substitute is empty for an item on the form you are printing, the Item ID will not be printed in it’s place. The space will simply be left blank.
If you don’t want to depend on people choosing the right option when printing, you can also customize your forms so that they always use one of the other fields. Just go to the Reports & Forms menu, select the form you want, and click the Customize button. In the form designer, double-click on the line item detail area of your form. In the window that opens, click the Add Field button. With the Columns tab selected set the Field Type to Other Fields and choose Item Part Number (Premium and Quantum only) or Item UPC/SKU Number and click OK. Use the Move UP button to move your new field to the correct position in the table and then assign it the same width and title alignment as the Item ID field. Finally, click on Item ID to select it and click the Remove Field button. Click OK and you will see the form updated with your changes. Save the form with a new name and your custom form will be available to choose next time you print. When you customize a form in this way, the Replace Item ID With option will still appear but will not change anything on your printed form.
