Automatic Inventory Tracking: How CLUE Counts Your Parts

4 min read

What is this?

Every part in CLUE is counted across four buckets: Reserved, On Order, In Transit, and On Hand. When a part moves from one status to another, CLUE adjusts the counts automatically. You never enter a number manually. When a part is Delivered or Used, it leaves your shelf and leaves the count. The buckets tell you exactly where every part is right now and how many of each you have at each stage.

Inventory configuration mapping each part order status to its quantity bucket

The four buckets

Each status a part can have maps to one bucket. The bucket determines which quantity column that part counts toward.

Part detail panel with stock by shop, on-hand quantity and reserved quantity

Reserved: parts that have been requested for a work order but not yet ordered. Statuses: Requested, Required, Ordering.
On Order: parts that have been ordered from a vendor, waiting to arrive. Statuses: Ordered, Back Ordered, Scheduling, Delivery Scheduled.
In Transit: parts that are shipped and on their way. Statuses: Picked Up, In Transit.
On Hand: parts that are physically at your shop and available to use. Status: Received.

Delivered and Used take a part out of the count. The setup screen shows them in the Issued bucket. Cancelled removes a part from the bucket it was in. A Delivered or Used part is not on your shelf, so no count includes it.

How the counts move

Every time a part status changes, CLUE looks up the movement rule for that transition and adjusts the relevant columns. Here is what happens at each step of the typical lifecycle:

Status menu on a part order with Back Ordered, In Transit, Delivered and Cancelled

Part requested

A new part is added to a work order with status Requested. Reserved goes up by the part quantity.

Work order Parts section listing internal parts with status, quantity and cost

Reserved +qty

Requested to Ordered

The part gets ordered from a vendor. It leaves the Reserved bucket and enters On Order.

Reserved -qty
On Order +qty

Ordered to Delivered

A part bought for a work order arrives and goes to the mechanic or the job. It leaves On Order. It does not go into On Hand.

On Order -qty

Ordered to Received

Restock parts arrive at your shop. They leave On Order and go into On Hand.

On Order -qty
On Hand +qty

Delivered to Used

A mechanic installs the part. The part left On Hand when it was Delivered, so no count changes.

No change

Cancellation (from any status)

A part is cancelled. CLUE removes it from whichever bucket it was in. Nothing else changes. Exception: a Delivered part from your shelf goes back to On Hand. A Delivered part bought from a vendor does not change your stock.

If you cancel or delete a work order, its Delivered and Used parts stay on the work order. They stay charged, and the counts do not change for them.

Whichever bucket the part was in: -qty

Skipping steps

Parts do not have to go through every step. A Requested part can jump straight to Used. When that happens, CLUE applies two changes at once: it drains the source bucket and takes the part out of On Hand, even if the part was never physically on the shelf. Requested to Delivered works the same way. CLUE releases the reservation and takes the part out of On Hand.

Requested to Used: Reserved -qty and On Hand -qty
Requested to Delivered: Reserved -qty and On Hand -qty
Ordered to Used: On Order -qty
In Transit to Used: In Transit -qty

Quantity changes on Delivered and Used parts

You can change the quantity of a Delivered or Used part. CLUE updates the count automatically.

Part from your shelf, lower quantity: the difference goes back to On Hand.
Part from your shelf, higher quantity: the difference comes out of On Hand.
Part bought from a vendor: no count changes.

CLUE Support can turn off these stock changes for your company.

Full transition reference

This list shows each status change and the counts that it changes. Your company setup controls which status changes are available.

New part (no status) to Requested: Reserved +qty
New part directly to Ordered: On Order +qty
New part directly to Delivered: On Hand -qty
Requested to Ordered: Reserved -qty, On Order +qty
Requested to In Transit: Reserved -qty, In Transit +qty
Requested to Delivered: Reserved -qty, On Hand -qty
Requested to Used: Reserved -qty, On Hand -qty
Requested to Cancelled: Reserved -qty
Ordered to Picked Up: On Order -qty, In Transit +qty
Ordered to In Transit: On Order -qty, In Transit +qty
Ordered to Delivered: On Order -qty
Ordered to Received: On Order -qty, On Hand +qty
Ordered to Used: On Order -qty
Ordered to Cancelled: On Order -qty
Picked Up to Delivered: In Transit -qty
In Transit to Delivered: In Transit -qty
In Transit to Received: In Transit -qty, On Hand +qty
In Transit to Used: In Transit -qty
In Transit to Cancelled: In Transit -qty
Received to Delivered: On Hand -qty
Received to Used: On Hand -qty
Delivered to Used: no change (the part already left On Hand)
Delivered to Cancelled: part from your shelf, On Hand +qty. Part bought from a vendor, no change.
Ordered and Back Ordered switching: no change (both are On Order)

Tips

On Hand going negative means parts left the shelf as Delivered or Used, but the restock was never marked Received. Make sure your team marks new stock Received when it arrives at your shop.
Mark restock Received, not Delivered. Delivered does not add to On Hand.
Reserved counts represent committed demand. If Reserved is higher than On Hand, you may need to reorder before those jobs reach the mechanic.
Switching between Back Ordered and Ordered does not change any count. Both map to On Order. The change is status display only.