Chapter 19

Serial Numbers

This chapter covers Quasar’s serial number tracking system. Serial numbers provide individual unit-level traceability for high-value or regulated items. Quasar supports two fundamentally different serial modes, configured per item on the Item Master.

Two Types of Serial Tracking

Before setting up serial-tracked items, you must understand the distinction between the two modes, as they drive completely different workflows:

Mode	Item Master Setting	When Captured	Typical Use
Track Serial	Serial Numbered = Yes	At purchase/receiving — serial numbers are entered when goods arrive on a Vendor Invoice. The serial is then tracked through the full inventory lifecycle.	Electronics, firearms, jewellery, equipment, gift cards, store credits — any item whose individual units must be tracked from the moment they enter inventory
Serial at Sale	Serial at Sale = Yes	At the point of sale only — the serial number is captured when the item is sold. The item is not serial-tracked in inventory.	Major appliances, furniture, mattresses — items where the business does not want to manage individual serials in stock, but needs to record the serial number on the customer’s receipt for warranty or service purposes

Key Difference Track Serial items carry their serial number through the entire inventory lifecycle — the serial exists from the moment goods are received and is tracked through every transfer, adjustment, and sale. You always know which specific unit is in which store.

Serial at Sale items are treated as generic inventory. No serial records exist until the moment of sale, when the cashier scans or enters the unit’s serial number. The serial is recorded on the transaction for warranty and customer service reference, but is not used for inventory tracking.

Common Use Cases

Track Serial (from purchase)
- Electronics — computers, phones, tablets
- Firearms — regulatory serial tracking
- Jewellery — high-value individual pieces
- Equipment — warranty and service tracking
- Gift Cards — each card tracked from purchase with balance management
- Store Credits — credit vouchers tracked from issuance
Serial at Sale (at point of sale only)
- Major appliances — serial captured for warranty when sold
- Furniture — serial recorded on receipt for delivery tracking
- Mattresses — serial noted for manufacturer warranty registration

Serial Lifecycle

Each serial record tracks where the unit came from and where it went:

Field	Meaning
Item	The item this serial belongs to
Serial Number	The unique identifier for this unit
Expiry Date	Optional expiry date (used for gift cards and perishables)
Store	The store where this unit currently resides
Status	Available, Sold, Transferred, or Consigned Out
In On	The transaction that brought this unit into inventory (Vendor Invoice, Item Adjustment, Transfer In, Consign In, or Consign Out Return)
Out On	The transaction that removed this unit from inventory (Customer Invoice, Item Adjustment, Transfer Out, Consign Out, or Consign In Return)

Enabling Serial Tracking

Serial tracking is enabled per item on the Item Master:

Open the item in the Item Master
On the General tab, ensure the item is marked as Inventoried
Check the Serial Numbered option
Save the item

Once enabled, Quasar will prompt for serial numbers whenever the item is received, sold, transferred, adjusted, or consigned.

Receiving Serial-Tracked Items

When you receive a serial-tracked item on a Vendor Invoice, Quasar prompts you to enter serial numbers for each unit received. The serial records are created with:

Status set to Available
In On linked to the Vendor Invoice
Store set to the invoice’s store

You must enter exactly as many serial numbers as the quantity received. Quasar will not allow posting the invoice until all serials are accounted for.

Selling Serial-Tracked Items

When a serial-tracked item is sold (on a Customer Invoice or at the POS), Quasar prompts for the serial number being sold. The serial record is updated:

Status changes to Sold
Out On is linked to the sale transaction

The serial number must exist and be in Available status at the selling store.

Transfers and Adjustments

Item Transfers: When serial-tracked items are transferred between stores, the serial numbers travel with the transfer. The sending store’s serial record shows the transfer out, and the receiving store gets the serial as Available.

Item Adjustments: Adjustments on serial-tracked items require serial number entry. Positive adjustments create new serial records; negative adjustments mark serials as removed.

Consignment

Serial numbers are fully tracked through consignment operations:

Transaction	Serial Effect
Consign Out	Serial status changes to Consigned Out — the unit has left your store but you still own it
Consign Out Return	Serial returns to Available status when the consignee sends it back
Consign In	A new serial record is created when you receive consigned goods from a vendor
Consign In Return	Serial is removed when you return consigned goods to the vendor

Gift Cards & Store Credits

Gift cards and store credits are special serial-tracked items. Each card or voucher has a unique serial number and carries additional data stored in the Extra Data system (see below):

Field	Purpose
Initial Amount	The face value loaded onto the card when sold (read-only after creation)
Current Balance	Initial Amount minus all redemption transactions (calculated automatically)

Gift card balance fields are always read-only on the Serial Master — they are set automatically when the card is sold and decremented when used as a tender.

The Gift Card & Store Credit History button on the Serial List opens a detailed transaction history for the selected card, showing every load and redemption.

Custom Extra Data

Quasar allows you to define custom fields on serial-tracked items via the Extra Info tab on the Item Master. These fields appear automatically on the Serial Master when viewing a serial for that item. Supported field types:

Type	Widget
Text	Free-text field
Date	Date picker
Number	Numeric entry
Currency	Money field
Combo Box	Drop-down selection from predefined values

Extra data is stored per serial in the i_s_extra table and can be used for warranty dates, colour, condition notes, or any item-specific attribute that varies by individual unit.

Serial Master

The Serial Master displays and edits a single serial record.

Screen	Access	Purpose
Serial Master	Open from the Serial List	View or edit a serial record

Fields

Field	Purpose
Item	The item this serial belongs to (read-only)
Serial Number	Editable if the serial is still Available — use this to correct miskeyed serial numbers
Expiry Date	Optional expiry date
Store	Current store location
Status	Available, Sold/Used, or Consigned Out (read-only)

Below the standard fields, any custom Extra Data fields defined on the item appear automatically. These are editable when the serial is Available and read-only once sold or consigned.

No Manual Creation Serial records are created automatically when items are received, adjusted, or consigned in. You cannot create a serial manually from the Serial Master — the New and Delete buttons are hidden. You can only edit the serial number and extra data fields to correct errors.

Serial List

The Serial List is the primary search and reporting screen for serial numbers.

Screen	Access	Purpose
Serial List	Inventory → Serial Numbers	Browse and search serial records

Filter Criteria

Filter	Purpose
Serial Search	Text search across serial numbers (partial match)
Item	Filter to a specific item
Store	Limit to a single store
Show	All, Sold only, or Unsold only
Type	All, Regular Serials, Gift Cards, or Store Credits

Display Columns

Column	Meaning
Serial #	The serial number
Status	Available, Sold, Transferred, or Consigned
In On / In Type	The transaction number and type that brought this serial into inventory
Out On / Out Type	The transaction number and type that removed this serial from inventory
Expiry	Expiry date (if set)
Initial Amount	Gift card face value (optional column)
Current Balance	Remaining gift card balance (optional column)
Store In / Store Out	Store names for the in and out transactions (optional columns)

Double-click a serial to open it in the Serial Master. Right-click for a context menu with an Inquiry option.

Serial Number Screens Summary

Screen	Menu	Help
Serial Master	(from Serial List)	Help
Serial List	Inventory → Serial Numbers	Help

What’s Next?

Chapter 20 — Store Transfers
Chapter 13 — Loyalty, Gift Cards & Credits (gift card selling and redemption workflows)