Setting Up Stock Items
A stock item is the master record for every product you buy, sell, or manufacture — from a packet of noodles to a machine part. Setting it up correctly in Udyot ERP (eByapari) is the first step before you can post any purchase bill, sales invoice, or stock movement. A well-configured item master saves you time on every transaction, drives accurate inventory valuation, and feeds the VAT figures that Nepal’s IRD expects on your tax invoices.
Before you begin
Make sure the Inventory module is enabled for your company. Go to Settings → Account Settings and confirm that Enable Inventory is toggled on. If you have just set up your company, this is on by default. You will also want at least one stock group ready (see the next section) and the correct unit of measure available under Masters → Units.
Organising items with stock groups
Stock groups are categories that sit above your items — think of them as the chapters in your stock register. You can nest them: for example, Electronics at the top level, with Components and Accessories underneath. Group-level inventory reports and valuation summaries roll up from items to groups, so plan the hierarchy before creating items.
To create a stock group, go to Masters → Stock Groups → New Stock Group, enter a name, and choose a parent group if this is a sub-category. Save.
Creating a stock item in Udyot ERP
- Go to Masters → Stock Items → New Stock Item.
- Enter the Item Name — use a name your team will recognise on invoices and reports.
- Enter an Alias (optional) — a short code, barcode number, or local Nepali name. On sales and purchase entry screens you can search by alias for fast lookup.
- Select the Stock Group this item belongs to.
- Select the Unit of Measure — for example, Pcs, Kg, Litre, Mtr, Box. Important: once any voucher (purchase, sale, or stock journal) has been posted against an item, the unit becomes locked. Choose carefully the first time.
- Enter the HS Code — the Harmonised System tariff classification code for this item. Nepal Customs and IRD use HS codes on tax invoices and import/export declarations. For example, an electronic widget might be 8473.30. If you are unsure, refer to your customs broker or the Nepal Customs tariff schedule.
- Enter the Purchase Rate and Selling Rate. These are default rates that auto-fill on new invoices, saving you from typing the price on every transaction. You can always override them line-by-line on any voucher.
- Set the Standard Cost (sometimes called cost price) if you want a fixed benchmark cost for manufacturing costing and variance analysis, separate from the live weighted-average purchase cost.
- Set the Reorder Level — the minimum on-hand quantity at which Udyot should alert you to restock. When stock falls below this level, the item appears in Inventory → Low Stock with a warning flag. Leave this blank if you do not want reorder alerts for this item.
- Tick Finished Good if this item is a product you manufacture and sell. Tick Raw Material if it is an input used in production. These flags link the item to the Manufacturing module — Bills of Material and Production Orders will filter items by these flags.
- Save.
Setting opening stock
If your business is already running and you have stock on hand when you start using Udyot ERP, you need to seed your opening balances. There are two ways to do this:
- During item creation: you can enter an Opening Quantity and Opening Rate directly on the stock item form. Udyot automatically posts the accounting entry — Dr Stock-in-Hand / Cr Capital A/c — dated to the first day of your active fiscal year.
- Bulk method: go to Inventory → Opening Stock. This page shows all your items in a table where you can enter the quantity and rate for each one in a single save. This is the recommended method when you have many items to initialise at once.
Once any purchase or sales voucher has been posted for an item, the opening quantity becomes locked — the system protects the audit trail. If you discover an error in an opening balance after that point, use a Physical Stock voucher to correct the quantity. Go to Vouchers → Physical Stock → New, enter the correct counted quantity, and save; the system posts the variance automatically.
Nepal note: Opening stock dates in Udyot ERP follow the Bikram Sambat (BS) calendar. The opening balance is always seeded on the first day of the active fiscal year — for example, 2082-04-01 (1 Shrawan 2082). Make sure the correct fiscal year pill is selected in the top-right header before entering opening stock, or the balances will land in the wrong year.
Field reference
| Field | What it does | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Item Name | Appears on invoices, reports, and search results | Yes |
| Alias | Short code or barcode for fast entry; searchable on voucher lines | No |
| Stock Group | Category for reports and valuation summaries | Yes |
| Unit of Measure | Locked after first movement — pick carefully | Yes |
| HS Code | IRD-required tariff code on tax invoices; used for customs declarations | Recommended |
| Purchase Rate | Default rate on purchase invoices; overridable per transaction | No |
| Selling Rate | Default rate on sales invoices; overridable per transaction | No |
| Standard Cost | Fixed benchmark for manufacturing costing and variance reports | No |
| Reorder Level | Triggers a low-stock alert when on-hand qty falls below this number | No |
| Finished Good | Marks item as a manufactured output; used by Bills of Material and Production Orders | No |
| Raw Material | Marks item as a production input; used by Bills of Material and MRP | No |
| Opening Quantity / Rate | Seeds the starting balance on the FY’s first day | If migrating existing stock |
Common questions
Can I change the unit of measure after saving?
Yes, but only before any voucher has been posted against the item. After the first purchase, sale, or stock journal line is saved, the unit field becomes read-only to protect the integrity of every historical stock ledger entry. If you genuinely need to change the unit, create a new item with the correct unit, write off the old item’s balance via a Stock Journal, and write it on under the new item.
What if I entered the wrong opening quantity?
If no vouchers have been posted yet, simply re-open Inventory → Opening Stock, correct the quantity, and save. If vouchers already exist for the item, use a Vouchers → Physical Stock entry to record the correct counted quantity; Udyot will post the variance to the Stock Adjustment ledger automatically.
How does the reorder level work across multiple godowns?
The reorder level is checked against the item’s total on-hand quantity across all godowns. If you keep stock in your main store and a secondary store, both balances are added together before comparing to the reorder level. To view which items need restocking, go to Inventory → Low Stock. You can also set automated reorder rules — see Reorder Rules and Low Stock Alerts.
Do I need to set VAT on each item?
VAT applicability in Udyot ERP is controlled at the invoice line level — you choose the VAT percentage (13%, 0%, or exempt) when you post each transaction. The item master itself does not have a fixed VAT flag, giving you flexibility when the same item is sometimes taxable and sometimes not. For a full overview of Nepal’s 13% VAT rules and how they apply in Udyot, see Nepal VAT Overview.