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Intro to Items, Products & BOMs

Items vs. Products vs BOMs (Lots)

Before diving into endpoints, you need to understand Rackbeat's terminology:

  • Items: The generic term for anything trackable in inventory (both products and BOMs)
  • Products: Individual inventory items you buy, store, and sell
  • Lots: Bills of Materials (BOMs) - recipes for manufacturing products from components
  • Collections: Grouped items that appear as separate lines on documents

Understanding this distinction is important because the API endpoints reflect this structure.


Core Management of Items: Products, BOMs and Collections

Item / Product Groups

Item groups in Rackbeat are used to categorize your items in the system. This can include physical goods, services, freight, and taxes. By creating item groups, you gain better control over your inventory movements and tax regulations, as well as whether items can be sold or not. Every item must belong to a group. These should be created first as they're required for product creation.

Item refers to a specific inventory unit that can be tracked, managed, and sold. Items encompass both products and Bills of Materials (BOMs).

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Important note:

Before creating any kind of item (product or BOM), it is mandatory to create an ''Item group'' first to connect to your item.

Key Endpoints:

  • GET /product-groups - List product categories
  • POST /product-groups - Create new product group
  • GET /product-groups/{id} - Get specific group details
  • PUT /product-groups/{id} - Update group configuration
  • DELETE /product-groups/{id} - Remove group
  • POST /product-groups/drafts - Create draft group
  • POST /product-groups/{productGroup_number}/publish - Publish draft group

What you get: Item categorization with tax settings, inventory control flags, and business rules. This is a prerequisite for creating any products or BOMs.


Items (Generic Interface)

Read-only access to all trackable items regardless of type.

Key Endpoints:

  • GET /items - List all items (products and BOMs)
  • GET /items/{item} - Get item details
  • GET /items/{item}/inventory-overview - Stock levels across locations
  • GET /items/{item}/locations/available - Available storage locations
  • GET /items/{item}/locations/default - Default location settings

What you get: Unified view of inventory items with stock levels, location information, and transaction history.


Products

The core components of your inventory system. A Product in Rackbeat represents a discrete inventory item that can be tracked, purchased, stored, and sold within the system. Products are the fundamental units of inventory management and they can be simple standalone items like raw materials, finished goods, or components that exist independently in your warehouse.

Key Endpoints:

  • GET /products - List products with extensive filtering
  • POST /products - Create new product
  • GET /products/{number} - Get detailed product information
  • PUT /products/{number} - Update product
  • DELETE /products/{number} - Remove product
  • POST /products/{product_number}/copy - Duplicate product
  • GET /products/find-by-sku/{sku} - Find product by SKU
  • POST /products/bulk/barred - Bulk deactivate products
  • POST /products/bulk/delete - Bulk delete products

What you get: Complete product records including pricing, inventory levels, supplier information, physical properties, stock tracking, and location settings.


Bills of Materials (Lots)

A Bill of Materials (BOM) is a structured recipe or list that defines how to assemble or manufacture a finished item from multiple component products. For example, if you are making a table, you will need four legs, a tabletop, and screws. These components together form the BOM.

BOMs are primarily used in production but can also be useful in other contexts, such as selling kits (products made up of multiple items).

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BOMs vs. Collections

Bills of Materials: A collection of items sold as a single item. On documents such as invoices, bills of materials appear as one combined item, e.g., "Gift Basket 2024".

Collection: A quick way to add a group of items, where each item appears on its own line on documents like invoices.

Key Endpoints:

  • GET /lots - List BOMs with filtering
  • POST /lots - Create new BOM
  • GET /lots/{number} - Get BOM details with component list
  • PUT /lots/{number} - Update BOM configuration
  • DELETE /lots/{number} - Remove BOM
  • POST /lots/{lot_number}/copy - Duplicate BOM
  • GET /lots/{lot_number}/lines - List BOM components

What you get: Manufacturing recipes with component quantities, locations, costs, and production settings. Essential for manufacturing operations.


Collections

Quick way to group products for sales convenience. Collections allow you to group multiple items and sell them as a single unit, such as a gift basket or a set. A collection allows you to quickly add a collection of items to quotes, orders, and invoices in Rackbeat. This is useful if you frequently sell a group of items together.

Key Endpoints:

  • GET /collections - List collections with filtering
  • POST /collections - Create new collection
  • GET /collections/{number} - Get collection details
  • PUT /collections/{number} - Update collection
  • DELETE /collections/{number} - Remove collection
  • POST /collections/{collection_number}/copy - Duplicate collection
  • GET /collections/{collection_number}/lines - List items in collection
  • POST /collections/{collection_number}/lines - Add item to collection

What you get: Product groupings that appear as separate line items on documents. Useful for frequently sold item combinations without the manufacturing complexity of BOMs.

Key Difference: Collections show each item separately on invoices; BOMs show as a single combined item.


Warehouse Organization: Locations & Unit Types

Locations

Rackbeat allows you to link your products to different locations, specify default locations, or add specific sub-locations, such as rows and shelves so you always know where a given product is in a particular warehouse. Critical for inventory tracking and production planning.

Key Endpoints:

  • GET /locations - List warehouse locations with hierarchy
  • POST /locations - Create new location
  • GET /locations/{number} - Get location details
  • PUT /locations/{number} - Update location settings
  • DELETE /locations/{number} - Remove location
  • GET /locations/{location_number}/children - List sub-locations
  • GET /locations/get-stock-for-many - Multi-location stock query
  • GET /locations/{location_number}/get-stock/{lineable} - Stock for specific product/location
  • GET /locations/{location_number}/get-value/{lineable} - Valuation for specific product/location

What you get: Hierarchical warehouse organization with stock levels, valuations, and location-specific settings. Essential for multi-location operations.


Units of Measure

Units are used to indicate the quantity/volume of an item, e.g. pcs., kg., litre. Define how products are counted, weighed, or measured.

Key Endpoints:

  • GET /units - List units of measure
  • POST /units - Create new unit
  • GET /units/{number} - Get unit details
  • PUT /units/{number} - Update unit settings
  • DELETE /units/{number} - Remove unit
  • GET /units/{unit_number}/translations - List unit translations
  • PUT /units/{unit_number}/translations/{language_locale}/{key} - Update translations

What you get: Units like pieces, kilograms, liters with multi-language support. Required for proper inventory tracking.

Advanced Inventory Management

Batches

Batch management is very efficient when you resell items that have been purchased with a batch number or if you produce batches yourself. It is especially fitting for companies working with food, medicine or other products with a short expiration date. Based on your inventory and expiration dates you will get an overview of which batches should be next in line to leave the warehouse. Essential for products with expiration dates or quality control requirements.

Key Endpoints:

  • GET /items/{item}/batches - List batches for item
  • POST /items/{item}/batches - Create new batch
  • GET /items/{item}/batches/{number} - Get batch details
  • PUT /items/{item}/batches/{number} - Update batch information
  • DELETE /items/{item}/batches/{number} - Remove batch

What you get: Batch tracking with expiration dates, lot numbers, and quality control information. Critical for food, medicine, and regulated products.


Serial Numbers

Serial Numbers are used to enable easier tracking of distinct products. Get an overview of each product and where it is located. You can see which serial numbers you have in stock and on each invoice the serial numbers for the items sold will be visible. Track individual product instances for warranty and compliance.

Key Endpoints:

  • GET /serial-numbers - List all serial numbers
  • GET /items/{item}/serial-numbers - Serial numbers for specific item
  • GET /items/{item}/serial-numbers/download - Export serial number data

What you get: Individual product tracking with location and transaction history. Required for high-value items and regulatory compliance.


Variations

Variations refers to products with different attributes (e.g., size, color, flavor) that can be tracked. For example: A t-shirt available in different sizes (S, M, L) and colors (blue, green, red).

Key Endpoints:

  • GET /variations - List variation definitions
  • POST /variations - Create new variation
  • GET /variations/{number} - Get variation details
  • PUT /variations/{number} - Update variation
  • DELETE /variations/{number} - Remove variation
  • GET /variations/{variation_number}/types - List variation types (size, color, etc.)
  • POST /variations/{variation_number}/types - Add variation type
  • GET /variations/{variation_number}/types/{type_id}/options - List options (S, M, L)
  • POST /variations/{variation_number}/types/{type_id}/options - Add variation option
  • GET /products/{product_number}/variation-grid - Product variation matrix
  • GET /products/{product_number}/get-variations-by-sku/{sku} - Find variations by SKU

What you get: Complex product matrices for items with multiple attributes. Handles inventory tracking across all combinations.


Financial Management

Pricing and Budgets

Product Pricing:

  • GET /products/{product_number}/prices - List prices by currency
  • PUT /products/{product_number}/prices/{currency} - Update pricing

BOM Budgeting:

  • GET /lots/{lot_number}/budgets - List BOM budgets
  • POST /lots/{lot_number}/budgets - Create budget
  • POST /lots/{lot_number}/budgets/bulk-create - Create multiple budgets
  • DELETE /lots/{lot_number}/budgets/delete-all - Remove all budgets

What you get: Multi-currency pricing and detailed cost tracking for manufactured products.


Discount Groups

Organize products for pricing strategies.

Key Endpoints:

  • GET /item-discount-groups - List discount groups
  • POST /item-discount-groups - Create discount group
  • GET /item-discount-groups/{id} - Get group details
  • PUT /item-discount-groups/{id} - Update group
  • DELETE /item-discount-groups/{id} - Remove group

What you get: Product groupings for automated pricing and discount management.


Integration and Relationships

Cross-System References

Item / Product Relationships:

  • GET /items/{item}/orders - Orders containing this item
  • GET /items/{item}/purchases - Purchase history
  • GET /items/{item}/productions - Production orders using this item
  • GET /products/{product_number}/suppliers - Supplier information
  • GET /products/{product_number}/default-supplier - Primary supplier
  • GET /suppliers-for-products - Product-supplier relationships

What you get: Complete traceability across orders, purchases, production, and supplier relationships.


Customization and Localization

Custom Fields:

  • GET /products/{product_number}/fields - Product custom field values
  • GET /lots/{lot_number}/fields - BOM custom fields values

Multi-language Support:

  • GET /products/{product_number}/translations - Product translations
  • PUT /products/{product_number}/translations/{locale} - Update translations
  • GET /lots/{lot_number}/translations - BOM translations
  • PUT /lots/{lot_number}/translations/{locale} - Update BOM translations

What you get: Extensible product data and multi-language support for international operations.


Media Management

Images and Documents:

  • GET /products/{product}/image - Get product image
  • POST /products/{product}/image - Upload product image
  • DELETE /products/{product}/image - Remove product image
  • GET /products/{product}/pdf - Generate product documentation
  • POST /products/{product}/pdf - Create custom product document
  • GET /collections/{collection}/image - Collection images
  • GET /lots/{lot}/image - BOM images

What you get: Product media management for catalogs, documentation, and e-commerce integration.


Integration Considerations

Sequential Dependencies: Product groups must exist before products. Products must exist before BOMs can reference them. Locations should be configured before assigning products to them.

Variation Complexity: Product variations create inventory tracking complexity. Consider your variation structure carefully before implementation.

BOM Relationships: Changes to component products affect all BOMs that use them. Monitor these relationships during product updates.

Multi-Location Inventory: Stock levels are tracked per location. Ensure proper location setup before importing inventory data.

Translation Management: Product translations affect customer-facing documents. Maintain consistency across all supported languages.


Common Validation Issues:

  • Missing product group assignment
  • Invalid location references
  • Circular BOM dependencies
  • Duplicate SKUs or barcodes
  • Invalid variation combinations
  • Missing required custom fields
  • Invalid unit of measure assignments