Inventory - FAQ

inventory

FAQ - frequently asked Questions

 

 

 

How is the BBD expiration date monitored ?

Each time the app is started, it is checked whether the stored best before date BBD has been reached or exceeded for any stock. If this is the case, a list of the stocks for which this is the case is displayed before the actual basic menu. In the settings, you can also define a number of days to be warned BEFORE the BBD.

In addition, in the Quick Search - Stocks by BBD menu, you can display a list of all stocks that contain an BBD, sorted in ascending order by BBD, i.e. the top one whose BBD is reached earliest.

This automatic display of expired stocks can also be switched off in the settings.

 

 

what is the difference between quantity and number in the product mask ?

Depending on the product type, the volume ('l' or 'ml') or the weight ('kg' or 'g') of a single article is specified under 'quantity' - possibly also a multiple specification (10 bags, ) for multiple packaging. In any case, there may be text here that is not checked further.

Under 'Number' the number of single articles is indicated, which one wants to buy / has deposited in the storage place. Therefore, only a number can be entered here - with decimal places if necessary.

 

how can I specify a stock in several versions with different BBD ?

To do this, you have to call up an existing stock with 'Edit product' and click the button to create a copy. All data is copied. It is then displayed 'new' in the header line. You can then change all the data in the copy, including the BBD, and save the copy with OK.

 

how can I store 2 copies of a stock in different storage locations ?

To do this, you have to call up an existing stock with 'Edit product' and click on the button to create a copy. All data is transferred. It is then displayed 'new' in the header line. You can then change all data in the copy, including the storage location, and save the copy with OK.

 

why sometimes the BBD is missing in the mask ?

The field BBD is missing in the mask if the mask does not contain a stock but only a known product. The BBD only makes sense if the product is in stock.

 

can I also enter the BBD, number etc. by voice input ?

All textual fields can be easily entered by voice with special keywords .

 

how does the interaction of shopping list, place of purchase and storage location work ?

A shopping list is in principle not linked to the place of purchase. You can bundle several places of purchase in a shopping list - depending on your taste (that's why a shopping list is usually sorted by place of purchase if there are several places of purchase).

If you want to link this, you have to create several shopping lists via the configuration (e.g. with the same name as the place of purchase) and then add the products to the desired shopping list. The best way to do this is to call up the shopping list first and then add the products you want to add to this shopping list.

Ticking a product in a shopping list does not yet determine the storage location (this is not necessarily linked to the article), but only indicates that the article is now in the shopping cart and no longer needs to be purchased.

To which storage location he then goes, you first decide at home (e.g. which freezer compartment is still free), e.g. by calling up 'to storage locations' in the shopping list and then selecting the storage location for all checked items one after the other.

 

how can I create, rename or delete categories / storage locations / purchase locations / shopping lists ?

All this data can be structured in 2 levels according to your own requirements. With the button configuration the desired selection can be accessed.

 

what are the markings for ?

Markings can be used to give a rating to products that are not covered by the standard terms such as category or similar.

Example: Marker 1 is for all the supplies I want to buy every second Saturday of the month at the local market.

After this marking I can then search for the matching items or, if necessary, put them straight into a shopping list.

Since the (also searchable) field 'Remarks' has been available, the markers are not used as often anymore, though.

 

how can I backup my data ?

group or joining a group. This way all data is stored on the stock manager's own server and can be restored at any time, even after purchasing a new mobile phone. So a group makes sense even if you are the only member. The data on the server is additionally backed up daily.

In the Pro version you can also export the entire stock as a CSV file. and send it e.g. by email. In the free version, this function, reduced to 5 products, is available for testing purposes.

 

how can I organize 2 purchasing groups - household and business ?

It is best to divide this into 2 separate groups - one for the household, one for the business - then nothing gets mixed up

 

how can I organize shopping for several other people ?

There is a special interface for this - the Collective Shopping List, which makes it possible to keep separate shopping lists for several groups of people at first and still be able to shop with a single cumulative total shopping list afterwards.

 

how can I recognize in which group I just enter ?

If you set an individual .s photo for each group as group logo, you can see in which group you are currently active when you start the app and again and again in the basic screen.

 

why are some characters so funny when importing in Excel ?

The data is output by the app in the universal code Unicode UTF-8 during CSV export.

Pretty Excel is very faulty when importing - it always requires Windows code, among other things.

You can tell Excel about this via the import wizard by proceeding as follows (version 2010 - for other versions analogously):

  1. data
  2. from text
  3. choose CSV-Datei
  4. import
  5. Unicode (UTF-7) (or UTF-8 )
  6. separator tabulator
  7. complete

 

how can I transfer my data to a new mobile phone ?

You should always be a member of a group - even if you are the only member of the group. Then you can send an invitation from your old mobile phone to yourself, to join the group, and then, by accepting the invitation on your new mobile phone, you can join the group and thus take over the data of the group. Should it happen that the old mobile phone 'dies' before you could send yourself an invitation, you can send an email to inventory@sebag.de to transfer the group to the new mobile phone.

 

what additional benefits do I get by purchasing the Pro Version ?

The Pro Version costs a one-time fee of 4,99 € : The purchase turns off the advertising at the bottom of the display and supports the further development of the app, but also has functional advantages compared to the free version:

  • Barcodes can be used indefinitely (not only 20)
  • own product photos can be used unlimited (not only 10)
  • the export by CSV file is possible for an unlimited number (not only 5 articles)
  • you can be a member of a group with an unlimited number of members (not only you and 1 other device)
  • you can be a member of up to 30 groups (not only 1)
  • in shopping lists you can have copies of the same name combined (with display of total amounts)
  • all products can be provided with a minimum stock level etc. for requirements planning (not only 5)
  • all product and stock lists can be sorted according to several criteria

 

how can I set a minimum stock level for a product ?

In the Pro version, you can define some sizes for each product for requirements planning with minimum stock monitoring and automatic shopping list filling. In the free version you can test this for 5 products. The exact interaction of minimum stock / purchase container / desired stock etc. is described here.

This function must first be enabled in the settings (with stock monitoring)

 

can I add a product photo to my inventory ?

In the Pro version, you can assign to each product / stock a photo taken by yourself or taken from your own gallery. These photos are also synchronized via the server. In the free version you can assign up to 10 photos for testing purposes.

 

why do I get the message 'there is a new version' but I can't 'update' it in the Play Store  ?

 

edit the same shopping lists etc. with several persons

To be able to access the same shopping lists and stocks with several people (e.g. family or shared flat) :

  1. one of the persons must found a group
  2. this person must invite all others to the group (a group code will be given)
  3. the other persons must join the group with the group code

After that, all members of the group have the same database, and this is automatically synchronized. Each time the entry screen is opened (when the app is started and also when it falls back by exiting one of the subroutines), all new/changed data is uploaded to the server, and all changes made by other people are downloaded.

It is even possible to edit the same shopping list at the same time: while one is adding new products to the shopping list, the other is already shopping with this shopping list. The only requirement is the ability to synchronize via the Internet.

 

how many Pro versions do I have to buy for multiple devices ?

In principle, each device requires its own Pro Version if you use functions for which the Pro Version is required. However, if 2 or more devices are running under the same Google account, you only need to buy the Pro version once - the other devices will automatically get the Pro version.

 

how can I 'move' a supply from one freezer compartment to another ?

It is sufficient to change the storage location in the stock mask of the associated product by selecting another one from the storage location menu.

 

how can I 'move' a product from one shopping list to another ?

It is sufficient to change the shopping list in the supply mask of the associated product by selecting another one from the shopping list menu. This is e.g. time-saving if you want to bring products from the list -reserve- back into a 'normal' shopping list.

 

how can I print out a shopping list ?

In the shopping list menu, select the item 'Show shopping list in HTML'. In the then shown selection of display apps you choose the Chrome browser. There you can choose 'share' in the menu and set the printer as destination. You can also use a CSV file export.

 

by which I remove a stock from a storage location ?

Here 2 cases are to be distinguished: :

  1. all copies have been consumed from the storage location: then you can use the Delete from storage location option in the product-specific menu to remove the stock
  2. only a number of copies is removed - the rest remains in the storage location : then you can reduce the number in the stock mask.

 

can I turn off the annoying commercials ?

Since the app is free of charge, the development of the app must be financed through advertising. If the advertising is too annoying for you, you can completely remove it by inApp- purchasing the Pro Version in the options menu of the basic page.

 

I accidentally emptied my shopping list even though I was not done shopping yet

No need to panic: all products not yet marked as purchased have been automatically moved to the shopping list -Spare- so that shopping can continue normally. Only when the list-Spare- is emptied, the information about what has to be bought has disappeared.

 

can I manage stocks that have nothing to do with livelihood ?

In principle yes - but it makes sense to create a completely separate group for it (Pro Version required), so that you can create all elements such as categories, storage locations, etc. separately new, and the search for individual products is not mixed with the food, etc. In such an additional group the community data will not be mixed in.

 

 

why does the synchronization not work for me ?

There can be several reasons for this :

  1. an error message appears: please search for it
  2. the switch AutoSync can be switched off : please switch on
  3. one's self or the other person is not a member of any group
  4. no internet access is possible because the flight mode is switched on
  5. the mobile data connection is turned off on the phone and no WLAN is accessible
  6. one is in a different group than the other
  7. one does not go back to the home screen of the app : only there the synchronization takes place
  8. frequent error : the app is not always closed properly by multiple 'back' but by 'close all' : then Android doesn't give the app a chance to sync

The synchronization is always done via the server as an intermediate station. One must take this offset via the server into account if one wants to check their procedure. In normal operation, one will not notice the offset at all, but when specifically checking it, one may.

Here is the synchronization procedure with an example :

  • Mobile 1 changes data
  • Mobile phone 2 changes data
  • Mobile 1 synchronizes - now the server has the changed data from mobile 1
  • Cell phone 2 synchronized - now the server has the changed data of cell phone 2 and cell phone 2 has the changed data of cell phone 1
  • Cell phone 1 synchronizes again - now cell phone 1 also has the changed data of cell phone 2

If you ever get an asynchronicity due to something, it won't fix itself, but you can always correct it by manually completely synchronizing all phones with the server :
'Basic menu' -> 'Group' -> 'Menu' -> 'Download from server'.

Multiple manual synchronization or longer waiting, on the other hand, is of no use: either it works in less than 1 second, or something has already gone wrong before.

 

No response as to whether the synchronization was successful

If the synchronization was successful, this is not reported, because this is the standard case and the positive feedback could be disturbed too often. If it was not successful, this is displayed. If you also want to get a positive feedback about the synchronization, you can do this in the menu Group - menu Synchronization: there is always a feedback given.

 

how can I work with the data on the PC or laptop ?

There are two possibilities for editing the stock data on the PC or laptop :

  • you can exchange the data between Inventory Manager and PC via the CSV-Import / Export (Pro Version)
  • you can directly edit the data with a very comfortable and efficient mobile phone emulator - without manual intermediate steps

 

"Changes were not saved"

If changes were made in a mask (e.g. product mask or configuration, etc.), but the mask was not saved with the corresponding OK button, the system warns you that the changes were not saved, so that you can enter them again if you dont want to leave them.

 

"The synchronization was not successful ..."

If the synchronization was not completely successful due to a bad or even missing Internet connection, this is always displayed so that you can adjust to it. But you don't have to do anything (unless e.g. the flight mode was inadvertently still set), because the synchronization will be repeated automatically shortly.

 

"Place of purchase reachedt"

You can use this as a work aid when you 'just arrived in this shop'.

So if you want to carry out a series of activities, all of which relate to a specific place of purchase, you can achieve with this that you do not have to specify the place of purchase again for each of the steps. Whether you want to scan multiple items purchased from the same store, or manually add items from the shopping list to the warehouse, all from the same place of purchase.

 

"Mixed editing with free and Pro version can lead to data loss"

If a database (i.e. the data of a group) contains elements that are reserved for the Pro version (e.g. more than 20 barcodes), losses can occur if the data is modified by the free version of the app.
When working in a group with the Pro version, all members of the group should have the Pro version.

 

"The server request could not be executed ..."

A non-executable server request can occur if an Internet action was aborted in the middle of it, the server was not available for a short time, or otherwise an error occurred that may be resolved at the next attempt. However, it could also be that something fundamental went wrong. An example of this would be if a group has been deleted by the founder but a member believes he can still work with the group.

 

"invalid server request"

This message means that something has failed in the communication between the app and the server - this should not happen. In case of multiple occurrences please send an email to support@sebag.de

 

"Name xyz is already assigned"

If a description is used in one of the 2-step configurable elements (categories, storage locations, purchase locations, shopping lists) that is already defined at a different level, this error message occurs because, for example, all descriptions must be unique within the categories and subcategories.

 

"no Internet permission"

The app was (subsequently) denied permission to access the Internet. This means that no more sync processes etc. can be performed.

 

"you are not a group member"

This can happen if the founder of the group has removed the member from the group.

 

"invalid group code"

The group code entered to join a group is not a valid 6-digit number.

 

"unknown group code"

The group code entered to join a group does not exist. Either there is a typo or the group code has already been used.

 

Data to the Community

If you want to send data to the community in order to save the other users input work, the locally known own products are made available on the server for all other users. However, this does not affect their own stocks or other own data.

 

how do I get the community data of the other participants ?

With each synchronization, the server also checks if there are any community data that the respective user has not yet had. If this is the case, this data is downloaded together with the synchronization data of the own group.

If you are not in a group, and therefore no synchronization takes place, the check for new community data takes place at the start of the app.

 

 

barcode support

You can insert or identify stocks with the help of the barcodes. For this purpose, a barcode scanner app is started which supports this process. This function is available in the Pro version. In the free version, you can scan up to 20 barcodes for testing purposes.
Instead of a barcode scanner app via the mobile phone camera, an external Bluetooth barcode scanner can also be used (e.g. for tablets), which is controlled directly and not via an additional app.

 

why does my installed barcode scanner not work ?

If an installed barcode scanner is not accepted or does not work correctly, it is not due to the stock manager, but it is a feature of this particular barcode scanner app that refuses to be called and used by another app (mostly these are QR Code scanner apps that are desperate to show their own advertising in detail).

Help: 1. in the settings, switch off 'Barcode Scanner Selection', 2. scan again - then a working barcode scanner app is automatically installed. With some new Huawei mobile phones this does not work, the following error message appears:

 

this app is not yet available in the current region

The inventory app tried to install the matching barcode scanner app from the Google Playstore. On your (relatively new) Huawei mobile phone, however, the AppGalery from Huawei is already linked internally instead of the Google Playstore (you can recognize that by the word AppGalery on the error message, and it is probably a consequence of the Trump boycott against Huawei). Usually it helps to search the Google Playstore for an app called 'Barcode Scanner Lite' and install it manually.

 

Voice input even without Internet connection

Voice input can also be used without an Internet connection (i.e. also in the basement and in shielded shops). However, there are sometimes cases in which the recognition accuracy with an Internet connection is somewhat greater. Since this is a Google service, you have no influence on it.

 

are there limitations in the app by any maximum numbers ?

There are no restrictions on the number of products, stocks, categories, members of a group or other data - not even in the free version.

The only restrictions are :

  1. without Pro Version you can only be a member of one single group
  2. without Pro version, a group can only contain 2 members, if more than 2 members, ALL must have the Pro version
  3. without Pro Version a maximum of 10 product photos can be taken
  4. without Pro Version a maximum of 20 barcodes can be scanned
  5. without Pro Version a maximum of 5 articles are imported / exported when importing and exporting the stock as CSV file
  6. without Pro Version some sorting/grouping services are not available
  7. in the Pro version you can be a member in a maximum of 30 groups at the same time
  8. if group contents are not synchronized for more than 3 months, they are considered obsolete and no longer needed: they are then automatically deleted from the server.

There are some numerical limitations because the functions are actually intended for the Pro version, but are unlocked to a small extent in the free version so that you can try them out and check them out before buying.