In Ply, Catalog and Stock are two distinct but connected parts of your materials management system.
Your Catalog is your library of materials, it contains detailed listings of all the items you work with, regardless of whether you currently have them in stock or not. Think of it as your master reference of everything you could ever need for a job. The catalog stores reference information about each material, which you can edit at any time. This includes:
Name
Item #
Brand
Manufacturer
Category
Measurement Unit
Description
Tags
Variation Name
Variation Description
Cost for Client
Cost for Business
Your Stock refers to the actual quantities of those materials that you have on hand across your different locations, whether that's a warehouse, a truck, or any other stock location. This is your real, physical inventory available for use. Each material in your stock tracks the following:
Repl — whether replenishment is enabled for that material
Min Amount — the minimum quantity before a replenishment is triggered
Max Amount — the maximum quantity to reorder up to
Qty — the current quantity on hand
Position — the physical location within the stock location (e.g. shelf, bin)
Barcode — the barcode or QR code associated with the material
Common Questions
Can I add a barcode to a material in the Catalog? No, barcodes are managed at the stock level, not in the catalog. To assign a barcode to a material, you'll need to do it from the stock location where that material lives.
Can I track stock quantities in the Catalog? No, the Catalog is purely a reference guide for your materials. Inventory quantities are tracked at the stock level, inside your warehouses and trucks.
Where do I manage prices? Prices are managed at the catalog level.
Where do I set positions for my materials? Positions are also managed at the stock level (warehouses and trucks), not in the catalog.