V9 - Setup checklist for new, non-syncing SOS Inventory accounts

 

This section provides a step-by-step process for successfully setting up a new SOS account. It is designed for accounts that do not ever intend to sync with QuickBooks Online.

 

edit_noteNOTE: Any words highlighted in blue are links to other sections in the Help Center with more complete information.

 

We recommend that you register for live training! Everything in this article is covered in our free introductory classes:

 

 

Additional classes are available that provide detailed information on specific topics.

 

The following steps must be completed by the user who will serve as the master administrator for the SOS Inventory account:
 

Create your SOS Inventory account

  1. From the SOS website, www.sosinventory.com, click on Start Free Trial to create a new SOS Inventory account.
    1. SOS will navigate to a page where you must select a plan. Click the button under the plan you desire. Another page will ask you for your contact information. You must complete the reCAPTCHA before you click Start Trial.
    2. You will receive a message to please wait while SOS creates your account.
    3. Once your account has been created, you will placed on the Home landing page.
       
  2. During your trial period, if you plan to test the functionality of SOS Inventory:
    1. SOS recommends that you create any test items for transactions using the word TEST as the beginning of each item name and as the first part of the transaction's reference number.
      1. To set up a test item, go to the Items list (Operations > Inventory > Items) and complete the following steps:
        1. Create an item that you wish to use during your test.
        2. Add the word TEST at the beginning of the item name. Then save the item.
      2. Set up a test customer and vendor using the word TEST at the beginning of the customer or vendor name. Use these so you can see the transaction histories for both as you test.
      3. When creating a test transaction using that item, add the word TEST at the beginning of the transaction reference number field.
    2. Once testing is done, delete all TEST transactions and TEST items, as well as your TEST customer and TEST vendor.
       
  3. Since you are the only user on the account at this point, and SOS gave you a default password, you should update your profile. Under the User menu:
    1. Go to User settings. In the pop-up window:
      1. Set your Date format.
      2. Set your Time zone.
      3. Set your Notification method. Regardless of the option you choose, all notifications will continue to appear within the application under the Notifications icon.
        1. The default for notifications is to show them within the app. This option is Don't email or text me.
        2. If you would also like to receive an email whenever you are notified, select the Email me option. This option sends the notification to the email address you use to log in.
        3. If you would like to receive an SMS text message, select the Text me option. This option will send an SMS message to your phone number.
        4. You may also receive notifications by email and text by selecting Email me and text me.
      4. Change your Display name, if desired. This is displayed at the top of the User menu when you click the icon. The Display name also appears on transactions in the Assigned to dropdown list of users. 
      5. Email address which is used for your login and notifications.
      6. Enter your email address again in Confirm email.
      7. Select a Security question.
      8. Enter your Security question answer.
      9. If in your Notification method in 3a(iii), you selected that you want to receive text notifications:
        1. Check the box, Receive notifications via SMS.
        2. Optional: Choose your Mobile carrier from the dropdown.
        3. Enter your Mobile number.
      10. Select Save and close.
    2. We recommend that you update your password. Go to Change password to update your password. Save and close when finished. 
       
  4. Define additional users, if needed.
    1. Go to Company > Users. (This is a shortcut to the Users list, which is located under Tools & settings > Configuration > Company > Users.)
      1. Select +Add to add a new user.
      2. If, during the addition of users, you exceed the limit for your plan, you will see a message at the top of the User edit page letting you know that an additional fee will be charged.
      3. Enter the Name of the user.
      4. Enter the user's Email address and repeat it in the Confirm email field. Please ensure that no extra characters are before or after the email address (such as spaces or tabs).
      5. Select the appropriate privileges for the user, based on their role in your organization.
        1. Check the Administrator box if the user is an administrator.
        2. Check the appropriate privileges if the user is not an administrator. For example, if the new user is a sales representative, you might not want to give privileges pertaining to purchasing or manufacturing.
        3.  Go to More > Save and new to add another user, or select Save and close if you are done. (If you have made at least one user an administrator, they can add other users to the system.)
      6. Each user will receive an email with a system-generated password from SOS. The email will contain a link to the login page and ask them to log in and complete their profile.


The following steps may be completed by any user with appropriate privileges. Each step will annotate who can make the change. Also, use the links to get the details for each topic. For settings, use the notes on the right of each option for clarification.

  1. Administrator — In SOS, go to Company settings (Tools & settings > Configuration > Company) and complete the following as needed:
    1. General settings. 
      1. Company time zone (required).
      2. Automated date format (either month/day/year or day/month/year).
      3. Transaction edit mode.  Used for editing transactions with many line items.
      4. Star settings (yellow or red/yellow/green).
      5. Default lines (number of default item lines when creating a transaction).
      6. Default report format (select desired file format).
      7. Inactivity timeout (leave Off or choose desired interval by moving the slider).
      8. Additional recipient for payment receipts. Allows other people to receive the receipt for the SOS Inventory subscription, other than the master administrator.
    2. Accounting settings.
      1. Never connect. Check this box if using SOS Inventory in standalone mode.
      2. Multicurrency (required if you purchase or sell items to companies using other currencies).
      3. Home currency (the currency you currently use).
      4. Closing date (strongly recommended).
    3. Name and address settings.
      1. Company name.
      2. Company address (required for meeting compliance regulations).
      3. Company header (recommended).
    4. Logo settings.
      1. Logo width.
      2. Logo height.
      3. Logo file (recommended).
         
  2. Administrator — Account information. Go to Company menu > Account information and check to ensure the account is at the plan level you desire. If you need to change the plan, click on the pencil icon to select a different plan level. 
     
  3. Administrator — Locations. Go to Tools & settings > Configuration > Lists > Locations.
    1. Edit the default location so that you have its address and contact information for use on purchase orders and other transactions.
    2. If you are a Plus or Pro plan subscriber, add any additional locations you may need for your inventory management.
      1. Select +Add to create a new location.
      2. Enter the name, address, and contact information for that location.
      3. Complete the Sales tax rate % field, if desired.
      4. Check the appropriate settings for the location.
        1. Check Default if this location will be your default location.
        2. Check Bin tracking if this location will use bin tracking.
        3. Check Non-nettable if items stored at this location will not be considered available for sale. 
      5. Go to More > Save and new to add another location, or select Save and close if you are done.
         
  4. Any user with appropriate privileges — Go to Tools & settings > Configuration and complete the following to ensure all desired settings are enabled before loading any data. The settings you see are based on the plan you selected.
    1. Inventory settings
    2. Purchasing settings
    3. Sales settings
    4. Fulfillment settings
    5. Production settings 
    6. Rental settings (if enabled on Plus or Pro subscriptions)
    7. Payment settings
       
  5. Other settings.
    1. Select and configure additional settings under the Configuration mode (Tools & settings > Configuration). The most-used options include the following:
      1. Under Lists: 
        1. Administrator — Form templates. Allows you to modify the look and functionality of a form template used to produce a PDF. You will be able to customize existing templates to create a document that looks as you desire for customers and vendors. You may also register for our customer training course on form templates at sosinventory.com/customertraining.
        2. Any user with the Add/edit/delete permission for sales reps — Sales reps. Allows you to manage your sales reps and set their commission rates.
        3. Administrator — Shipping methods. Allows you to modify the list of shipping vendors. Includes additional support for EDI and ShipStation as well.
      2. Administrator — Under Connections:
        1. ShipStation. Allows you to set up a connection to ShipStation.
        2. UPS. Allows you to set up a connection to your UPS account(s). For continental US accounts only.
        3. Carts. BigCommerce and PayPal can be directly connected without further action. However, Shopify is temporarily disabled for new SOS accounts. Please contact Support if you have any questions.
        4. FTP. Allows you to set up connections to external FTP servers.
        5. API. Allows you to set up external connections using our SOS API. Please read the linked information for more details.
    2. Any user with the Add/edit/delete permission for items — If you set up any locations with bin tracking, add your bins (Operations > Inventory > Bins).
       
  6. Any user with appropriate permissions — Add your item data. You can register for 1002 — Data Import Basics and 1002.1 — Data Import Advanced Items courses to learn all the details needed for this process.
    1. Export your item data. Go to Tools & settings > Export data. 
      1. Under the Inventory tab, select Items.
        1. In the Columns block, click on the button Add all columns required for import.
        2. Under Retrieve your report: 
          1. Select Download.
          2. In the pop-up window, choose your desired file format. Options are Excel (.xlsx), Legacy Excel (.xls), or Comma-separated values (.csv). Then select Download.
          3. A blank Items spreadsheet will be downloaded according to your browser settings.
    2. Add your item data to the spreadsheet.
      1. Review information about Bulk editing items. 
      2. Make sure you are following the Guidelines for editing data as you complete the process.
      3. Refer to Item column descriptions for bulk edits as you enter your data. At minimum, you should enter data for the following columns:
        1. Name (must be unique)
        2. SalesDescription
        3. QuantityOnHand
        4. ValueOnHand (total value of stock)
        5. PurchaseDescription (optional, but if used, replaces the SalesDescription on purchasing forms)
        6. SalesPrice
        7. Cost
        8. TypeOfItem. Denotes the type of item. Options include Inventory Item, Non-inventory Item, Item Group, Service, Expense, Category, Assembly, Other. For Pro plan subscribers, Labor and Overhead are additional item type options.
           
          edit_noteNOTE: Items typed as Category must be entered on the spreadsheet before any items can be assigned to that category.
        9. IncomeAccountName, AssetAccountName, COGSAccountName (Cost of Goods Sold), and ExpenseAccountName, as appropriate to item type.
      4. If you are adding QuantityOnHand and ValueOnHand for your items, each sheet in your spreadsheet workbook should be limited to a maximum of 200 lines when imported back into SOS. If needed, add additional sheets to your workbook to accommodate all items you need to import. This step is needed due to a limitation in the adjustment transaction in SOS.
      5. Save the spreadsheet.
    3. Import your items into SOS Inventory.
      1. Go to the Import data page (Tools & settings > Import data).
      2. Under the Importing dropdown, select Items.
      3. Upload quantities as of the current date.
      4. In the File field, choose the Excel file containing your data, then select Preview.
      5. If importing items from a workbook with multiple sheets, you will need to select the appropriate sheet from a dropdown list.
      6. The first 10 rows of data will appear for your review.
      7. If everything looks correct, select Import. The system will begin to process the data and will send a notification to your Notifications list stating "Item import complete" if the import was successful. If the import is unsuccessful, the notification will state "Item import failed" and provide the reason for failure.
      8. If you need to import additional sheets from the same workbook, repeat Steps iv-viii.
         
  7. Now you can load any other data you need, such as vendors, customers—and if you created items typed as Assembly or Kit (item group), bills of materials (BOMs). These can be added using the bulk edit process, as you did with items. 
    1. Go to Tools & settings > Export data. 
      1. Under the appropriate tab, select Vendors (under the Purchasing tab), Customers (under the Sales tab), or BOMs (under the Inventory tab).
        1. In the Columns block, click on the button Add all columns required for import.
        2. Under Retrieve your report: 
          1. Select Download.
          2. In the pop-up window, choose your desired file format. Options are Excel (.xlsx), Legacy Excel (.xls), or Comma-separated values (.csv). Then select Download.
          3. The spreadsheet will be downloaded according to your browser settings.
        3. Save a copy of your spreadsheet as a backup.
    2. Edit and complete the spreadsheet with all the information that you know for each line.
      1. Review information about bulk editing vendors, customers, or BOMs.
      2. Make sure you are following the Guidelines for editing data as you complete the process.
    3. Go to the Import data page (Tools & settings > Import data) and upload your spreadsheet into SOS, selecting the appropriate data type (Vendor, Customer, or BOM).
       
  8. Review these Help Center pages to learn more about your workflows.
  9. As a reminder, see the Training registration page to take classes to further your understanding of what you have used in this checklist. See our Course Catalog for all classes offered and a summary of the topics included in each class.
     

If you have any questions as you are going through this, please contact SOS Inventory Support by email or phone. Email support hours are 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Central, Monday through Friday, as well as 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The SOS Support team is available by phone at 817-422-5909 from 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday.