---
title: "Items"
space: "ERPNext"
url: "https://www.prilk.com/docs/erpnext/items"
updated: "2026-05-15"
---

## Items

Items are the products and services you sell or buy. Everything you put on an invoice, order, or stock movement starts with an Item record.

### Add a new item

**Item → New**:

| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| **Item Code** | Unique short ID — your internal SKU |
| **Item Name** | Customer-facing description |
| **Item Group** | Category (Raw Material, Finished Goods, Services, …) |
| **Default Unit of Measure** | Nos / Litre / Hour / etc. |
| **Maintain Stock** | Yes for physical goods, No for services |
| **Is Sales Item** | Yes if you sell it |
| **Is Purchase Item** | Yes if you buy it |

### Setting prices

There are two ways:

1. **Standard Selling Rate / Standard Buying Rate** on the Item — quick default, used when no Price List applies
2. **Item Price** records linked to a Price List — for customer-specific or volume pricing

For most businesses, set the Standard rates on the Item and don't worry about Price Lists until you have negotiated customer-specific pricing.

### Stock-tracked vs service items

| Stock-tracked (Maintain Stock = Yes) | Service (Maintain Stock = No) |
|---|---|
| Has quantity in warehouses | Doesn't appear in stock reports |
| Sales reduces stock | Sales generates revenue only |
| Purchase increases stock | Purchase generates expense only |
| Has reorder levels, valuation | Just price and category |

You can't change this setting after the Item has been used — pick correctly at creation.

### Tax handling

Set the **Item Tax Template** if this specific item always uses a non-default BTW rate (e.g., books at 9%, exempt items). For most items, leave blank and let the default tax flow from the customer/supplier.

### Adding images and details

Each Item form has tabs for:
- **Description** — long product description shown on PDFs
- **Image** — appears on Item lists, can show on Print Formats
- **Variants** — for products with size / color variations
- **Suppliers** — which suppliers carry this item (used for auto-matching incoming invoices)

### Bulk import

For migrating many items: **Data Import → New** → Document Type: Item → upload CSV.

### Item Groups

Item Group is more than just a label — it inherits defaults (tax, accounts, price list) down to child items. Plan your Item Group tree as part of setup.

### Common situations

- **Same physical item, different sizes** — one Item Template with size as a variant
- **Bundles** — define as a Product Bundle: one Item that consists of others; when sold, ERPNext reduces stock of each component
- **Custom-made / one-off** — Item Group "Custom"; rate set per quote