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Inventory Management Data Panel

See Frequently Asked Questions about this item.

This is a panel that is included in several different pages.

Inventory management data consists of one or more pieces of data:

Provide the management type: either supplies, durables, or apparel.
If you're adding a new asset, enter how and when the asset will be activated.
Provide a lifetime.
If the management type is "supplies" or "apparel", provide a usage rate. Of course, you probably won't know what it is at first, so just take a good guess at it, and MakeLifeEasy will help you zero in on the correct rate.
If the management type is "apparel", also provide a number of uses. Just as for the usage rate, take a good guess.
Using the "More..." link, you can also specify lead times for reordering the asset, if desired.

Management Types

MakeLifeEasy manages three types of assets: supplies, durables, and apparel. With these basic types you can also manage other types of assets, including services and re-used assets:

Supplies are consumed: things like groceries, drugstore products, and copier paper. You use up supplies by taking a portion at a time. For supplies, you provide a usage rate. Relax! We don't expect you to know your usage rate. Who would, anyway? At first, you just take an educated guess at your rate. Okay then, just take a wild guess. You can do it! MakeLifeEasy will help you calculate the starting usage rate and, over time, will learn what your actual usage rate is.
Durables are things like furniture and appliances. Durables don't run out and have a virtually unlimited number of uses, but they often have a limited lifetime. An asset's lifetime will vary widely depending on actual usage, maintenance, and repairs. For durables, you enter a lifetime or expire date and update it as needed. Just as for the usage rate, you will often just take a guess.
Apparel assets are things like clothing and shoes. They have a limited number of uses, and you wear out apparel assets after you've used them several times. For apparel, you provide a usage rate and a number of uses. Okay, okay, calm down! Who on earth would know this? Take a wild guess at this one, too. You can do it! MakeLifeEasy will help you calculate the starting number of uses and will improve it over time. That's the point. Over time, you'll learn how much you can use apparel assets, and you'll reduce your costs and look better, too.

How about these assets?

Services are things like haircuts, oil changes, and computer repairs, etc. You can use the durables management type to manage these, and specify an expiration date. For example, you just got a haircut and it lasts five weeks. Or one week or six months, whatever. You can record it as a durable to get a record of the purchase and a reminder when you need another.
Reusable assets occupy that middle ground between durables and supplies: they're not used up, but they're not very durable. After some amount of uses, they wear out. Use the apparel management type to manage these.

Activation Option (Only Available When Adding a New Asset)

When adding a new asset, you can specify when the asset becomes active, that is, when you start using the asset. Usually, you'll just want to use the default "when needed" option. The other options are for special situations, such as when you're covering a newly entered need for the first time. Here are your options:

When needed. You can use this option for most situations. Do use this option when you're buying the asset before it will be used. MakeLifeEasy will activate the asset if and when the need it covers is uncovered by any other asset(s). Note that this could occur immediately. For example, if you're adding an asset for a new need or an existing uncovered need, the asset will be activated immediately, on the date acquired.
When acquired. Use this option when you started using the asset on the day you acquired it.
On a specific past date. If you choose this option, you will be prompted to enter a date in the past when the asset was activated. Use this option when you started using the asset after you acquired it.
When entered (today). Use this option when you started using the asset today (the day you're adding the asset in MakeLifeEasy).

See In Depth: The Life Cycle of an Asset for more information .

Lifetime ("Expires in")

An asset's lifetime is how long you expect it to last before it expires, becomes obsolete, goes out of style, or otherwise comes to the end of its usefulness. You can take an educated guess at this item's lifetime. Then MakeLifeEasy will help you "home in" on the actual lifetime.

NOTE that you only need to provide an accurate lifetime when it will matter, and you can enter any long lifetime when it doesn't matter. Here are some examples:

Vitamins. You'll want to enter a accurate lifetime, unless you're absolutely sure you'll consume them all before the expire. This is the case with any perishable asset.

Cars and other Durables. It's useful to enter an accurate lifetime if you want to get useful cost per day information or if you want to be reminded when an item is nearing a certain age. Otherwise, it's not very important. You can just enter a very long lifetime, say 10 or 20 years. This is often true for durables.

Shampoo. It's extremely unlikely that shampoo will "expire" before you use it all up, and who knows how long it lasts, so you can enter a very long lifetime (say, 10 or 20 years).

Usage Rate

You can take an educated guess at this item's usage rate. Then MakeLifeEasy will help you "home in" on the actual rate over time.

You may find it easier at first to enter an asset's usage rate using a typical rebuy interval.

Usage Rate Units

Your usage rate units must be compatible with your product units, or MakeLifeEasy won't be able to age (deplete) your assets. In most cases, they're the same, so it won't be an issue. MakeLifeEasy will make sure that you enter compatible units, and it will help you to do so. For reference, you can check the table of units compatibility. Don't try to memorize it, though.

Notice (Lead Time)

See lead times. Lead times are assigned for needs, but not for assets, since assets have already been purchased. Lead times assigned to folders will be inherited to folders and needs created beneath them.

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