Quick Reference: Item Types & Behaviors
Knowing the different item types is essential for accurate inventory tracking and clean financial reporting. Each type—whether matrix, parent-child, kit, or no count—controls how items are counted, sold, and expensed. Using the right type streamlines workflows and ensures consistency across your team.
Item Types (9 mins)
Item Types in Yellow Dog Inventory
Individual SKU
- A single item, created and managed as a standalone product.
Matrix Items
- Used for Retail items with multiple variations (e.g., hats with different sizes and colors).
- A matrix profile sets defaults and builds a grid of related SKUs.
- Each variation is its own SKU, tied to the matrix.
On-Hand/Other Size Items (Parent/Child Items)
- Links items that exist in different units of measure. Ex. Buy glasses by the case, sell by the each.
- Both case and each are SKUs, but inventory combines for accurate counts.
Kit/Recipe Items
- An item that is a combination of other inventory items.
- When creating a Kit or Recipe item, the assigned behavior will dictate how the items functions. The behaviors include:
- Retail Kit - Allows inventory items to be combined into a selling unit (e.g., gift baskets).
- Purchasing Kit - Allows bulk purchased items (e.g., variety pack) to be disassembled into individual items.
- Production Recipe- Used for recipes produced in-house in advance. These items will have an on-hand that are managed though manual adjustments.
- Batch Recipe - Used for recipes produced in-house in advance. Will not have a on-hand, when counted in physical inventories on-hands are represented in the ingredient items.
- POS Menu Item - Serves as a placeholder for made-to-order recipes in the POS (e.g., a burger). These items do not have their own on-hand count—only the ingredient items are reduced when the item is sold.
- Production Transfer Item - Let you manage scenarios where production and consumption happen in different places, ensuring that ingredients are reduced in the producing location and finished goods appear in the receiving location only after transfer.
Sold by Weight Items
- Items that are sold in the Point-of Sale by weight.
- Yellow Dog determines the quantity sold by the Retail price of the item at time of sale.
No Count Items
- Items without inventory impact (e.g., shipping, gift wrapping, services).
- Always show on-hand as zero but can still carry a price.
Auto Zero Items
- Typically expensed items like trash bags or office supplies.
- Received normally, but a nightly routine resets on-hand to zero.
- The cost is booked to a designated expense account.
Auto Transfer Items
- Used when items are physically moved to another location that doesn’t track inventory (e.g., gift shop supplying pool bar).
- A nightly routine transfers stock based on sales automatically then resets on-hands to zero.
Note: An item can fall into more than one item type. For example, a single SKU might also be designated as a No Count item.
Related Articles
Recipe User Guide
What is a Recipe? This document will provide a comprehensive overview of the Recipe Module in Yellow Dog. Let’s start with the basics – What is a Recipe? A recipe is a group of items that are combined to be sold as a single item in the Point of Sale. ...How To: Create a Retail Item (Individual SKU)
Creating a retail item correctly ensures accurate counts, reliable reporting, and smooth POS syncing. It sets the foundation for trustworthy data across the entire Yellow Dog system. Retail Clients Retail Item Overview (6 min) Note: The below steps ...How To: Create Production Recipes
This article explains how to Create Production Recipes in Yellow Dog Prerequisites: Access to create and manage recipes in Yellow Dog The ingredient items needed to be built out in Yellow Dog Step-by-Step Instructions Creating the Batch/Full Recipe ...Feature Overview: Stand Items - Item Types
Assigning an item type to stand items ensures the right items are counted in and out (items that are not assigned an item type will never appear in your count ins/count outs). Concessions The item type is set on the Size Behavior Tab. Figure 1. The ...Recipe Behavior Flow Chart
Recipe Behavior The Kits/Recipes tab makes assigning behaviors to your kit/recipe items simple with a dropdown menu of recipe item behaviors: A Batch Recipe item is made ahead of time but not produced in Yellow Dog using manual adjustments. When ...
Popular Articles
How To: Find Your Yellow Dog Inventory Version
Understanding which version of Yellow Dog Inventory you're using is essential when exploring new features, as some enhancements and functionalities are specific to certain versions. All client types can benefit from knowing their Yellow Dog Inventory ...How do I use Par & Re-Order Points?
What is a Reorder Point? The minimum quantity you would like inventory of the item to be before ordering more. Items must go below this level to trigger reorder. Items set to 0 will not reorder until you go into negative stock. This is not ...Tips & Tricks: How do I download and install drivers for my Zebra Printer?
**As a note: Admin rights will be required to complete this task. If you do not have admin rights on your PC, please contact your IT for assistance** ZD410 Desktop Printer Support Site 1. Navigate to Drivers: 2. Select Zdesigner V. 5 Driver for ...How To: Swap the On-Hand/Parent Size (Edit Base Unit)
When managing items with multiple sizes, it’s essential to configure them correctly. The on-hand/parent size should always represent the base unit or smallest measurement, while additional sizes should be created for purchasing or counting sizes. If ...Food and Beverage Core Features User Manual
The Food & Beverage Core Functions User Manual is your key to understanding the potential of Yellow Dog. Whether you're a first-time user or a seasoned pro, this detailed manual will help you understand how to best utilize your Yellow Dog Inventory ...