Inventory

The Inventory screen is where you keep track of the materials and stock your team uses. It shows every item in your workspace, what category each belongs to, how much you have on hand, and what is running low. This guide walks through reading the list, filtering it, adjusting quantities, archiving items, and managing your categories and the custom fields they track.

The item list

The main screen is a table of your inventory items. Each row is one item with:

Item — the item’s name. Select it to open the item’s detail.
Category — the category the item belongs to.
Quantity — how much you have on hand, with its unit (for example “50 ft”). This is editable in place — more on that below.
Status — whether the item is Active, Low stock, or Archived. The status is shown as a labelled badge, so it reads the same whether or not you can distinguish the colors.
Actions — a View link through to the item detail.

Filtering and searching

Above the table is a row of category filter pills. Each pill shows a category and how many items it holds; selecting one narrows the list to that category. All Items brings the full list back. Use the search box to filter by item name as you type.

By default the list shows your active items. Use Show Archived to bring archived items into view, and Hide Archived to go back. Archived items stay preserved for history; archiving just keeps them out of the working list.

Spotting low stock

QELM flags items whose quantity has dropped to or below the low-stock level so you can reorder before you run out. A low item carries a Low stock badge in the list, and a summary line at the top tells you how many items are running low. The badge is labelled text, so the warning is clear without relying on color.

Adjusting a quantity

You can change an item’s quantity right from the list — no separate edit screen. Select the Quantity cell, type the new amount, and press Enter to save it. The quantity updates immediately and the low-stock status re-checks against the new number. Press Esc to cancel without saving.

Reading an item

Open an item from its name or its View link. The detail screen shows:

The item’s name and category.
The current Quantity, with a Running low note if it is low on stock.
Custom Fields — the extra details this item’s category tracks (covered next).
Notes — any free-text notes recorded for the item.

Custom fields per category

This is the heart of how QELM inventory works: each category defines its own set of custom fields, and every item in that category carries values for them. A “Hardware” category might track Size and Voltage; a “Supplies” category might track something else entirely. On an item’s detail, the custom fields shown are the ones its category defines, with the values recorded for that item. If a category has no custom fields, the item detail simply notes that.

Archiving items

When an item is no longer in use, archive it to move it out of the active list while keeping it preserved for your records. You can select several items at once with the checkboxes and archive them together — a bar appears showing how many are selected, and the archive action asks you to confirm first (“Archive this item?”). Archived items can be restored at any time, and archiving never deletes anything.

Archiving is permission-controlled: only team members whose role includes the inventory archive permission can archive or restore items. If you do not see the archive option, your role does not include it — ask an admin if you need it.

Managing categories

Choose Manage Categories to open the category management view. It lists every category along with how many items and how many custom fields each one has, and shows each category’s custom field definitions — the field name, its type (text, number, long text, or choice), and any unit. This is where the custom-field model for each category lives: the fields you define here are the ones every item in that category will carry.

A note on what you see

The Inventory screen shows only your own workspace’s items and categories, and the quantities reflect what your team has entered. If the list looks empty, it usually just means nothing has been added yet; it fills in as you add items. For how the rest of QELM fits together, see the Guides overview.