Inventory Methods

The ITAM application supports various inventory methods. The choice depends on the devices available for the inventory and the system properties:

• Use barcode scanner – use a barcode scanner connected to your computer for verifying assets. The inventory list is updated automatically.
• Scan barcodes with a mobile phone camera – use your mobile device camera for scanning asset barcodes. The inventory list is updated automatically.
• Upload an XLSX file – upload a manually completed list with inventory numbers of verified assets as an XLSX file.
• Compare data with inventory numbers from a third-party application – the source of data for verified assets is a third-party application connected via endpoints. When this method is used, the system compares current asset data with the received data as usual.

warning

Do not deactivate the Scan assets toggle until the scan is completed, as this will reset your progress and clear the list of scanned assets.

Upload an XLSX file

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warning

To avoid errors while uploading assets, we recommend using the template available for downloading on the widget form.

1. In the Inventory widget, upload an XLSX file containing the inventory numbers processed during the inventory. For consignment assets, specify their quantity.

2. Click Compare.

3. Refresh the page to see the inventory results in the Inventory Report related list. All mismatches are marked with orange. The column Result shows information on new assets, found and not found ones, as well as asset records that have mismatches.

   note

   You can create the asset list in any possible way. For example, you can record the assets manually. But the asset list file that you upload to the system must meet the following requirements:

   • The first table row contains the column titles.
   • Inventory numbers of the assets registered during the inventory are stated in the first column.
   • Quantity of units in assets with the Consignment checkbox selected is stated in the second column.
   • If the Consignment checkbox is cleared on the asset form, the corresponding column cells must be empty.

   To avoid uploading errors, use the template available in the Import a list of assets widget.

   If the uploaded XLSX file does not meet the requirements, the widget displays corresponding information. Correct the file and re-upload it. The number of uploads is unlimited. All uploaded files are stored in the Inventory History related list.

4. To edit the inventory file and restart asset comparing, click Restart and add the new document.

   note

   When you click Restart, all the asset list records previously added in the inventory widget enter the Canceled state. You can see it in the Inventory History related list. You can add or remove the asset to be inventoried before a new asset list is uploaded to the widget.

Scan barcodes with a mobile phone camera

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tip

For best results, hold your device vertically when scanning barcodes.

1. Open the inventory task record in your mobile browser.

2. In the inventory widget, activate the Automatic toggle and tap Open camera.

3. Point the camera at the asset barcode. If the scanned inventory number matches an asset record in the system, it is saved in the widget.

   • If you scan an inventory number that belongs to a consignment asset, specify the number of items in the consignment in the window that opens.
   • If you cannot scan the barcode with the camera, tap to enter the inventory number manually.
   • If no matching asset is found in the system for the scanned inventory number, a corresponding message is displayed on the form. A record of this inventory number is added to the inventory list as a new item.

4. (optional) Tap to open the list of scanned assets and review the data.

5. Tap to exit the scan mode and return to the inventory form. The list of the scanned assets will be saved for you to resume scanning later. In the widget, you can see the scanning progress.

6. (optional) To continue scanning assets, repeat steps 1–5.

The asset record is added to the inventory report under the following conditions:

Asset record in the system	In the "To be inventoried" list	Asset record in the Inventory report
Y	Y	Y
Y	N	Y
N	N	Y

Use the following buttons in the scanning window on your mobile device:

UI action	Description
	Tap to turn on the flashlight for scanning barcodes in low-light conditions.
	Tap to turn off the flashlight.
	Tap to enter the inventory number manually.
	Tap to open the list of scanned assets.
	Tap to return to the inventory form.

Use barcode scanner

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If you have a barcode scanner connected to a computer or a mobile device, you can use it for inventory. To enable this functionality, ensure that the itam.barcode_scanner.separators system property contains the separator used by the barcode scanner.

While using the scanner you can see a list of assets that have been scanned and added manually. Repeated scanning of the same asset does not create duplicate entries in the list, but, when scanning the same consignment asset several times, a modal window appears where you can edit the number of items in the consignment. This value is also available for inline editing from the list.

You can close the page with the list of the scanned assets and return to it later unless you click Complete or Restart in the Inventory widget on the inventory task form.

tip

Multiple users can scan assets simultaneously within the same task.

If one user clicks Complete, the scanning process ends for all other employees as well. If they have not finished scanning all assets by then, they will need to restart the process to complete it.

To complete an inventory task with the barcode scanner, follow the steps:

1. In the Inventory widget, activate the Scan assets toggle.

2. Click Use barcode scanner, to use the connected scanner, and start scanning assets.

3. In the Scan assets widget, you will see records corresponding to the previously scanned assets.

   • If a barcode is hard to reach or unreadable, you can add the asset's inventory number manually by clicking Add manually (the button in the mobile version) in the widget.
   • To return to the inventory task form without completing the scan, click . You can return to the Scan list and continue scanning assets.

4. Ensure that all assets have been scanned and click to return to the inventory task form.

5. In the Inventory widget, click Complete. Then you can create an inventory report.

   warning

   If scanning was performed by multiple users, they must coordinate with each other to confirm that they have completed their part of scanning before clicking Complete.

Barcode scanning features

If inventory numbers contain Latin or Cyrillic characters, ensure your computer's keyboard layout matches the language of the characters in the inventory numbers.

For numeric-only inventory numbers, any keyboard layout can be used.

Configuring mobile device settings for external scanner use

To prevent scanning errors, verify that your device's keyboard layout matches the language of the characters in the asset numbers. This configuration is necessary because mobile operating systems recognize barcode scanners as external keyboards.

Before scanning, configure your mobile device as follows:

Android devices

The configuration steps depend on your device manufacturer:

• Method A (Samsung and other):

  1. Open the on-screen keyboard in the Notes or any messenger application.
  2. Switch the keyboard to the required language, and leave it unchanged. The scanner will automatically synchronize with this layout.
  3. Start scanning.

• Method B (Redmi, Xiaomi and other where changing the language on the screen does not affect the scanner):

  1. Navigate to Settings → Additional Settings → Languages & Input → Physical Keyboard.
  2. Select your scanner from the list.
  3. Select the default language for the barcode scanner.

iOS Devices

Before you begin scanning, open the on-screen keyboard and select the correct language.

After the first scan, the operating system will automatically hide the on-screen keyboard and blocking manual input. Changing the keyboard layout will become impossible.

If the keyboard is already hidden and the language is incorrect, disconnect the scanner (or turn off Bluetooth), change the language on the screen, and then reconnect the scanner.

Compare data with inventory numbers from a third-party application

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1. In the Inventory widget, switch the toggle Scan assets. Start transferring inventory numbers from a third-party application, for example, by scanning. Specify quantities for consignments.

2. (optional) You can interrupt data transfer and restart the process. To do so, click Restart.

   note

   When you click Restart, all the asset list records previously added in the inventory widget enter the Canceled state. You can see it in the Inventory History related list. You can add or remove the asset to be inventoried before a new asset list is uploaded to the widget.

3. Data transfer remains available even after all the assets supposed to be inventoried have been processed.

4. To finish the inventory numbers transfer, click Complete. This action is available at any moment after starting the process.

5. Refresh the page to see the inventory results in the Inventory report related list. All mismatches are marked with orange. The column Result shows information on new assets, found and not found ones, as well as asset records that have mismatches.

tip

Inventory numbers data and the quantity of consignments arrives from an endpoint that receives information, for example, via scanning done in a third-party application. The application is delivered with a pre-configured endpoint.

Role required: itam_endpoint_user.

Address for interacting with the endpoint:

https://your_instance.com/v1/api/itam_itam/automated_inventory/v1/inventory.

Endpoint response codes

Response code	Response	Description
200	The consignment quantity has been successfully updated	The number of items in a consignment asset is updated. The request was processed correctly.
201	The asset has been successfully scanned	The request was processed correctly. The asset is added into the inventory report.
403	Invalid role	The user does not have the itam_endpoint_user role.
404	The inventory task has not been found	The request contains a task number that does not exist.
406	Inventory number is empty	The inventory number field is empty or contains only spaces.
406	The asset has already been scanned	The inventory number has already been sent. The rescan of the asset was not recorded in the inventory list.
422	The inventory history has been uploaded	The request contains the number of an inventory task in progress that has been processed by the widget. If necessary, you can restart the inventory process and scan the assets again.
422	Invalid quantity: expected an unsigned integer	The quantity format is incorrect. The value must be an unsigned integer. The value must be a non-negative whole number.
422	The consignment quantity has been successfully updated	The number of items in a consignment asset is updated. The request was processed correctly.