Product Units of Measure

Modified on Thu, 17 Jul at 11:07 AM

Units of measures (UoMs) allow you to purchase and sell the same product in different sizes and quantities without any manual conversion. For example, you purchase a bulk case/carton/drum/roll/sheet/length of product and sell or use them as an individual unit (each, meter, litre etc) on projects, production jobs and stock sales. UoMs when set up and used correctly is an important mechanism to ensure your stock on hand is always consistent. Regardless of which unit you buy, use or sell, UoMs automate the conversion by removing any manual calculation between units for the product.

Units of measure are comprised of the following:

  • The "parent" or primary unit - usually the smallest unit of the product you use or sell on projects and/or stock sales.  Eg, a Can of Beer.
  • The 'child" or UoM- A separate SKU defined by the quantity of the parent unit it is composed of.  Eg, Six-pack or Carton.
  • Quantity of Base Unit - The number of primary products that comprises the UoM.

For example, if I have a product setup as a parent with two units of measure:

  • Parent Unit - a can of beer (unit is each or can)
  • UoM 1 - a six pack of beer UoM, x 6
  • UoM 2 - a carton of beer, UoM x 24

If you receive a carton on a purchase order, WorkGuru will move 24 cans into stock on hand, and display the UoM availability as 4 six packs and 1 carton. If you sell or use one can of beer, there will be 23 cans in stock on hand and update the UoM availability to 3 six packs and 0 cartons.


The UoM is treated as a virtual product, it is technically never "in stock", the UoMs quantity of the parent product is. There is no limit to what units you can use, as long as the base unit is consistent with the UoMs quantity. UoMs also allow you to manage pricing independently of the quantities. Etc a six pack doesn't have to be 6 x the unit cost of the base product. UoMs can be identified in your product and stock dashboards by the link back to the parent product:

UoMs can be used purchase orders, quotes, projects production jobs and stock sales identified by SKU and Name. In this example adding a quantity of 24 of the parent SKU and a quantity of 1 of the Carton UoM will receive into stock on hand exactly the same quantity.

Adding Units of Measures

To create or manage UoMs in WorkGuru, from the parent unit product's details page, click Edit Product and click on the Units of Measure tab of the product's detail page. Note: A product's details page will only display the Units of Measure tab if it has UoMs saved or is a FIFO product. NonStock products CANNOT have units of measures.

Click Add UoM and fill out the following UoM fields:

  • SKU - UoM's unique product code. Recommend using the base product's SKU with a suffix indicating the number in the UoM.
  • Name - UoM's Name. Recommend using a name similar to the base product with the unit name (carton, sheet, length, roll etc)
  • Supplier Code - UoM's supplier code
  • BarcodeUPC, EAN or your own barcode on the UoM's packaging.
  • Quantity of Base Unit - The number of the primary unit that exists in this UoM. It is extremely important that the base unit is consistent so the quantity applies correctly.
  • Cost Price Supplier price for the UoM
  • Sell PriceYour price for the UoM

Repeat the process if the product has multiple UoMs ie - pack and carton, or square m, carton or pallet etc. If you need to remove a unit of measure, before saving, click on the "X" on the end of the UoM row. Click Save to create the UoMs. Note: Multiple UoMs can also be imported from a template to assist in setting up your UoMs quickly. 

Editing Unit of Measures

Once created, UoMs can be edited independently from the parent product.  A UoM has it's own product details, click Edit Product and you can manage all normal product options (barcodes, pricing, category, supplier etc).  Note: Do NOT change the UoM's Tracking Type from FIFO.

Unlinking and Deleting Unit of Measures

If a UoM is no longer required, it can be unlinked from the parent product. Edit Product and on the Units of Measure tab click the "X" on the UoM no longer needed.

This unlinks the UoM from the parent SKU, but the product still exists. The product will no longer show the link back to the parent SKU on the product dashboard or details page. This product can now be used as a stand FIFO product moving forward (Note: does not inherit the UoMs stock on hand) or if no longer required, can be deleted by making the product inactive.


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