➡️ Regular Material vs. Serialized Material
| 🔶 Regular Material | 🔷 Serialized Material |
Tracking | Track how many you have (e.g., 12 capacitors) | Each unit has a unique serial number (e.g., SN-00142) |
Unit identity | Units are interchangeable, one is the same as another | Know exactly which unit is where and on which job |
History | No individual unit identity | Full history: received → stocked → assigned → installed |
Best for | Screws, filters, wire, consumables | Compressors, furnaces, equipment with warranties |
💡 Rule of thumb: If the item has a manufacturer sticker with a serial number, has a warranty tied to the specific unit, or costs over $200, it's a good candidate for serialization in SureStock.
➡️ Add Serialized Materials to Your Catalog
Go to the Catalog.
Create or open a material, click the three dots (⋯) next to an existing material, or create a new one.
Click Edit and check the box for "Material Serialized" to enable serialization on that material.
➡️ Adjust Serial Numbers to Materials in Stock Locations
Go to the Stock tab and navigate to the location (Warehouse/Truck) where the material is stored.
➡️ Assign Serialized Materials to a Job
Navigate to the Jobs tab and open the desired job.
Click Add Items within the job.
Choose the location (Warehouse/Truck) where the material is stored.
Search for the material and select it.
Choose the correct serial number associated with that material.
Click Save to confirm the addition of the serialized item to the job.
Once saved, the material with that specific serial number is associated with the job and ready to be tracked.
➡️ Why This Matters
Serialization gives you unit-level visibility instead of just a quantity count. For high-value equipment: compressors, furnaces, anything with a warranty tied to a specific unit, this means you always know exactly which unit is where, which job it went to, and who installed it.
➡️ Common Issues
"I can't find the option to add a serial number for a material."
Make sure serialization is enabled first, open the material in Catalog, click Edit, and check the "Material Serialized" box. Serial numbers can only be added at the stock location level once that box is checked.
"I need to assign a specific unit to a job but only see a quantity field, not serial numbers."
Confirm the material is marked as serialized in the Catalog. If it's set up correctly, selecting it on a job should prompt you to choose a specific serial number instead of just a quantity.
"I want to make an existing material serialized, but it already has stock."
Check the material's Edit screen to enable "Material Serialized," then go to the stock location to add serial numbers to the existing on-hand units. If you run into issues assigning numbers to stock that predates serialization, contact Support.
➡️ FAQs
What kinds of materials should I serialize?
High-value equipment with individual warranties or manufacturer serial numbers, like compressors or furnaces, generally anything over $200 or with a sticker-printed serial number is a good candidate.
Can I track the full history of a serialized unit?
Yes, serialized materials keep a full history: received → stocked → assigned → installed, so you always know where a specific unit has been.
Does serialization apply per material, or per unit?
It's enabled per material (the "Material Serialized" checkbox), but once enabled, each individual unit gets its own unique serial number.