Running out of fertilizer in the middle of aeration season or discovering you're low on pre-emergent the day before applications start costs you time and money. LawnBook's supply inventory keeps every product tracked, from quantity on hand to cost per unit, with alerts before you hit zero.
Adding Supplies to Your Inventory
Open the Supplies tab and tap + to add a new supply item. Each item has the following fields:
- Name — Product name or brand (e.g., "Scotts Turf Builder 32-0-10")
- Category — Fertilizer, herbicide, seed, fuel, equipment parts, etc.
- Unit — Bags, gallons, pounds, quarts, each
- Quantity on hand — Current stock level in the chosen unit
- Cost per unit — What you paid per unit on the most recent purchase
- Reorder threshold — The quantity at which you want a low-stock alert
- Preferred supplier — Optional note for where you buy this item
Tip: Add every supply you regularly use during initial setup, even if you have plenty on hand. Building the habit of logging usage from day one gives you accurate consumption data for planning future orders.
Tracking Quantities
Quantities update in two ways. You can manually adjust stock levels anytime by opening a supply item and tapping Adjust Quantity. This is useful when you receive a new shipment, return unused product, or correct a previous entry.
The more powerful method is logging usage directly from a completed job, which automatically decrements the right supplies by the right amount (see the "Logging Usage Per Job" section below).
Cost Per Unit and Total Inventory Value
Each supply item stores the cost per unit from the last time you updated it. When you log a purchase receipt via the expense scanner, LawnBook can automatically update the cost per unit if the price changed from your last purchase. This keeps your cost data current without manual updates.
The supply inventory overview shows your total inventory value — the sum of (quantity on hand × cost per unit) for all items. This figure is useful for understanding your working capital tied up in materials and for insurance purposes.
Reorder Thresholds
Set a reorder threshold for each supply item when you add it to inventory. The threshold represents the quantity at which you want to be alerted to reorder. Setting this above zero gives you a buffer to actually make the purchase before you run out.
General guidance for thresholds:
- Fast-moving items used weekly: set threshold at 2–3 weeks of usage
- Seasonal items with long lead times: set threshold at 1 month of projected usage
- Bulk-purchased items: set threshold at 1 bag or the minimum order quantity
Low-Stock Alerts
When any supply item's quantity on hand drops to or below its reorder threshold, LawnBook sends a notification and marks the item with a low-stock indicator in the supply list. The Supplies tab badge count shows how many items are currently low.
From the low-stock view, you can see all items needing reorder at once. Each item shows current quantity, threshold, and the preferred supplier note you added, so you have everything you need to place an order without hunting for the information.
Tip: At the start of each season, review your supply list and update the reorder thresholds to match your planned job volume. A spring with 30 fertilization jobs needs a higher threshold than a quiet late-fall schedule.
Logging Usage Per Job
When you mark a job complete, LawnBook prompts you to log supplies used. Select the items you applied at that job and enter the quantity used for each. The inventory count decrements automatically.
Usage logging serves two purposes:
- Inventory accuracy — Your on-hand counts stay current without manual updates
- Job costing — The cost of supplies used is added to the job's expense total, giving you an accurate picture of each job's profitability
Over time, usage logs let you see how much of each product you apply per property type or lawn size. This data informs more accurate estimates for future jobs using similar materials.
Supply Purchase History
Every time you update a supply quantity via a purchase receipt or manual entry, the change is logged with the date, amount, and cost. View the full purchase history for any item by tapping it and selecting History. This is useful for spotting price trends from your supplier or verifying that a delivery matched what you ordered.
Connecting Supplies to Expenses
Supply purchases logged through the Expenses tab automatically appear as potential inventory updates. When you scan a fertilizer receipt, LawnBook asks whether to add the purchased quantity to your inventory. This single-step capture keeps your expense records and inventory counts in sync without double entry.