Your parts list is the database of every part and appliance your business buys, fits and sells. Each part holds its cost, markup, tax rate and supplier prices, so when it is added to a job, proposal, estimate, purchase order or invoice, the pricing is filled in for you. A well-maintained parts list saves your office team from checking names and prices every time, keeps pricing consistent, and gives your technicians recognisable part names on the mobile app.

How your parts list is structured

Every part in Commusoft belongs to a hierarchy. A part sits in a subcategory, which sits in a category, which sits in an industry.

Industry → Category → Subcategory → Part

Setting up your industries, categories and subcategories first gives your parts list a logical structure. It makes parts easier to search, filter and report on, and these values must already exist before you can add or import parts that use them.

Part cost, markup and supplier prices

Each part has a main cost and a markup percentage, which together set the selling price. For example, a £10 part with a 150% markup sells for £25.

You can also store supplier prices against a part. These record each supplier's own product code and price for that part, so you can buy the same item from several suppliers. When a supplier price is used, the part's main markup is still applied. Supplier product codes and prices are also needed to use the supplier integrations.

You can add and manage parts one at a time, or in bulk by importing a CSV file from Advanced options at the bottom of the parts list.

Part statuses

Once a part is added to a job, it moves through these statuses.

Status	Description
Requested	The part has been identified as needed and requested, but has not been ordered yet. This is usually the first step.
On order	The part has been ordered from a supplier but has not been delivered yet.
Available	The part has been delivered and is in stock or ready to be used. It can be picked up by a technician or assigned to a job.
Picked up	The technician has collected the part from the stock location, supplier or warehouse and it is ready for installation.
Installed	The part has been fitted at the job site. This is the final stage for a part used as intended.
Cancelled	The part request or order has been cancelled and will not be processed further.
Returned	The part was not needed or not used, and is being returned to the supplier or back to stock.

Parts in an active status (Requested, On order or Available) cannot be archived or deleted until they are Installed, Cancelled or Returned.

Where to go next

We have broken down the parts articles by topic.

Setting up

Managing parts

Parts on jobs and in stock

Reporting

Reporting: Parts

Common questions

Why can't I delete a part?

Parts that have been used on a job, invoice or estimate cannot be deleted, to protect your historical records. You can archive them instead, which removes them from selection lists for future work.

Do supplier prices have their own markup?

No. When a supplier-specific price is used for a part, the main Markup percentage set on that part is applied.

Should I add parts one at a time or import them?

Add parts one at a time for occasional new items. Use a CSV import when you are loading your full parts list for the first time, or updating cost or markup for many parts at once. See Importing and updating your parts list.