➡️ How to create a Purchase Order for Tools
In Purchasing, go to Purchase Orders.
Click Create New.
Fill in all the basic information fields.
Go to Add More Items.
5. From the menu, select Tools.
6. Add the tools you need to the PO and send it!
🔧 Tools & Equipment | 📦 Materials |
Durable assets — drills, meters, ladders, gauges | Consumable stock — filters, wire, fittings, refrigerant |
Tracked in the Tools inventory (not Materials stock) | Tracked in Material stock by location |
Can have serial numbers, warranty dates, and assignments | Managed with min/max thresholds and replenishment |
Added to a PO via Add Items → Tools | Added to a PO via the standard item search |
Reconcile flow is identical to materials | Reconcile flow is identical to tools |
🔧 Tools are in the Tools Section | 📦 Materials Stay in Stock |
After reconciling, your tools appear under Tools in the navigatio, not in Stock. You can view them by location, check assignment, and see serial numbers there. | Any material line items on the same PO update in the usual Stock section as expected. The two inventories are kept separate. |
You can mix tools and materials on the same PO
A single Purchase Order can contain both tool line items and material line items; just add each from their respective section in the Add Items menu.
Common Reasons to Order Tools via a PO
Reason | Description |
🚛 Outfitting a new truck | New tech joining — order a full set of tools and assign them to their van |
🔨 Replacing broken equipment | A multimeter or drill failed — order a replacement through Ply for a clean record |
📋 Keeping an audit trail | Track every tool purchase in one place for accounting and asset management |
🏭 Warehouse equipment | Order shop equipment or storage hardware through a supplier on your account |
➡️ How to reconcile
Reconciling tool POs is the same as with materials:
First, mark the PO as Received.
Then, click Reconcile.
3. Mark the items as received in the locations where they physically arrived.
4. Edit the qty if needed.
5. Once reconciled, the items will be reflected in your inventory!
➡️ Can I unreconcile a PO?
Yes, you can correct the reconciled status from the POs by clicking on the three dots and selecting the option "unreconcile."
➡️ Video
That’s it! You can now manage tools seamlessly through the same purchasing and reconciliation flow you already use for materials.
➡️ Best practices
✅ Decide Tool vs. Material before creating the item, not after.
The item type isn't something you can switch yourself later from the UI, see Common issues & fixes below if you find items were set up as the wrong type.
✅ Use serial numbers for anything you'd want to track individually, drills, meters, or other tools that get assigned to a specific tech or truck. This makes warranty tracking and loss/theft follow-up much easier down the line.
✅ Assign tools to a truck or tech right after reconciling, especially when outfitting a new hire, it keeps your Tools inventory accurate to who actually has what.
➡️ Common issues & fixes
"An item is showing up as a Material when it should be a Tool" (or vice versa).
This happens sometimes when items are bulk-loaded or added quickly without double-checking the type. Reclassifying an item's type (Material ↔ Tool, or converting to/from a Serialized Material) isn't a self-service toggle in the UI, it needs to be done on the backend. Reach out to our support team with the item name(s) and which type they should be, and we'll coordinate with our data team to get it corrected across every location where the item currently exists.
"I converted an item to a Serialized Material, but the serial numbers for my existing stock didn't populate automatically."
That's expected, converting to Serialized Material doesn't retroactively assign serial numbers to units you already have on hand. You'll need to add those manually:
For existing stock: Go to Stock, find the item, click Edit Availability, and enter the serial number(s) for the quantity currently on hand (done per location).
For future stock: When you reconcile a new PO for that item going forward, you can enter the serial number directly in the reconciliation form under Edit QTY.
See Serialized Materials for the full walkthrough.
"I need to bulk-import a whole tool list at once."
Our support and data team can help load a tool list into your account and assign it to the correct locations, just send over your spreadsheet with tool names and locations/trucks they belong to.
💡 There's an open feature request for a self-serve bulk upload option for tools, consistent with the bulk upload experience for materials, you can add your vote here: Bulk Upload Support for Tools.
➡️FAQs
Can I put tools and materials on the same PO?
Yes, add each from its respective section under Add Items (Tools vs. the standard material search), and they'll both appear as line items on the same PO.
"Can I run a cycle count or inventory count on my Tools?"
Not currently, Ply's Cycle Counts feature is built for materials, and doesn't extend to Tools or Consumables today. If you need to verify tool quantities or locations, you'll need to do that manually for now (e.g., checking each location's Tools list against what you have on hand).
💡 There's an open feature request to add inventory counting for tools and consumables, you can add your vote here: be able to do inventory count of tools and consumables.
"Do tools show up in the same Stock view as materials? "
No, tools live under the Tools section in navigation, separate from Materials Stock, even though they go through the same PO and reconciliation flow.
"Can I change an item's type myself if I set it up wrong? "
Not directly from the admin today, reach out to support and we can get it corrected. See Common issues & fixes above.
💡 There's an open feature request to let users reclassify item types directly (Consumable ⇄ Material ⇄ Kit ⇄ Tool) without needing support's help, you can add your vote here: Allow Item Type Reclassification (Consumables / Materials / Kits / Tools).
Still need help? Contact Support!
Questions about ordering tools or setting up your Tools catalog? We're happy to help.