Inventory
TimberCloud tracks stock right on your products — there's no separate "inventory module" to switch on. Mark a part on a product attribute as an Inventory type, and TimberCloud starts keeping a running stock count for it at each of your locations. This page explains how inventory fits together and where each task lives.
Availability: Inventory tracking and editing are part of advanced product features — Build plan and up. The Shop → Inventory dashboard and multiple locations / transfers are Production plan (or Enterprise). See Subscriptions & Plans for the full breakdown.
How inventory works
Inventory lives on your catalog, not in a standalone screen. Here's the chain:
- Product Attribute — a template that defines the fields each item has (species, grade, size, and so on). See Attributes.
- A part marked "Inventory" — when you add a part to an attribute and set its type to Inventory, that field becomes a tracked stock quantity (for example, "Stock BF" for board feet).
- Product Options — the actual items under the attribute (Red Oak 1x6 Select, Walnut 1x4 Select, and so on).
- Location inventory records — for every inventory field on every option, TimberCloud creates one stock record per active location, each with a current stock value and a low-stock threshold.
Tip: Because inventory is attached to product attributes, the place you manage stock is the Product Attribute builder (Products → Attributes) — not the Shop dashboard. The Shop dashboard is for viewing only. This is the single most common point of confusion, so keep it in mind.
The two surfaces
There are two very different inventory screens, and it helps to know which does what:
| Surface | Where | What it's for | Can you edit stock here? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product Attribute builder | Products → Attributes | Create inventory fields, set current stock + thresholds, transfer between locations, batch-update, sync records | Yes — this is the editing surface |
| Shop → Inventory dashboard | Shop → Inventory | Browse and filter stock health across your catalog and locations | No — read-only overview |
For everything you do to change stock, see Managing Inventory. The rest of this page describes the read-only dashboard.
The Shop → Inventory dashboard (view-only)
Availability: The Shop → Inventory dashboard is a Production-tier surface (it lives in the Shop section). On Build, you still track and edit inventory from the Product Attribute builder — you just don't get this browse dashboard.
The dashboard is a redesigned, at-a-glance overview of your stock. It does not let you edit anything — it's built for spotting problems and jumping to the item you need to fix.
To open it, go to Shop → Inventory.
Location selector
A dropdown at the top lets you view All Locations (combined) or a single location. On the Build plan you have one location, so this simply shows your primary location. Multiple locations are a Production feature — see Multi-Location Inventory.
The four KPI cards
Across the top are four clickable cards:
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Total Items | How many tracked inventory items you have |
| Categories | How many product attributes (categories) contain inventory |
| Low Stock | How many items are below their threshold — click to filter the list to just those |
| Total Stock | Combined stock on hand, totaled by unit (e.g. board feet, each) |
Clicking a card filters the list below it — for example, tap Low Stock to jump straight to the items that need attention.
Search, filter, and sort
A filter bar under the cards lets you narrow the list:
| Control | Options |
|---|---|
| Search | Find items by name or category |
| Stock filter | All Stock, In Stock, Low Stock, Out of Stock |
| Category | Limit to a single product attribute |
| Sort | Name (A–Z), Name (Z–A), Stock (High–Low), Stock (Low–High), Category |
Grid or List view
A view toggle switches between Grid (visual cards, one per item) and List (a compact table). There is no separate "Card" view — just these two. Results are paginated so large catalogs stay fast.
The detail view
Click any item to open its detail modal. It shows the item's status, stock broken down by field and location, and each location's current stock, threshold, and Low/OK status. The modal is read-only — it has a View Details link that takes you back to the product attribute (where you can actually edit stock) and a Close button. There are no editable fields here.
Note: Product add-ons that carry stock also appear in the dashboard, grouped under a Product Addons category. Add-ons use a fixed "under 10 units" low-stock trigger rather than a configurable threshold.
Low-stock alerts
When an item's stock drops below its threshold, TimberCloud sends an in-app Low Inventory Alert to your team through the notification bell. There is no automatic reordering and no email or SMS alert. For the full picture — including how to see and reorder from a low-stock alert — see Low-Stock Indicators & Alerts.
How stock goes up and down
- Down — automatically, when orders are placed. Each inventory field deducts either a simple 1:1 quantity or a step-formula amount you define. See Inventory Calculations.
- Up — when you post a receipt against a purchase order. See Purchasing.
Next Steps
- Managing Inventory — set stock, thresholds, transfers, batch updates (the editing surface)
- Low-Stock Indicators & Alerts — thresholds, indicators, and the in-app alert
- Inventory Calculations — formula-based deduction on orders
- Multi-Location Inventory — multiple warehouses and transfers (Production)
- Purchasing — vendors, purchase orders, and receiving (Build)
- Subscriptions & Plans — what each plan unlocks