Assigning Default Units of Measure in Dynamics GP

First off, this post is not about how to configure Units of Measure Schedules in Dynamics GP - for a primer on configuring Units of Measure in Dynamics GP, please refer to this excellent post.

Frank Hamelly on UOM Schedules in Dynamics GP

The purpose of this post is to assist you in assigning default Units of Measure in Dynamics GP, so adjustments, purchases, sales and manufacturing transactions will occur using the desired Units of Measure.

Most of this configuration takes place / originates at the Item Card.  When you first setup an item in Dynamics GP, one of the three Required fields is U of M Schedule ID (Unit of Measure Schedule ID).  Assigning a UOM Schedule ID to an item sets the BASE U of M for the item. 

The BASE Unit of Measure is the default unit of measure in the instance no overrides have been entered in other areas of the software, and is the unit of measure for inventory reporting.  This is important - this should be the unit of measure material handlers perform transactions in.

There are several locations default Units of Measure can be assigned for selling, purchasing and manufacturing transaction for an item.

Default Selling Unit of Measure can be assigned from the Item Price List window.

Default Purchasing Unit of Measure can be assigned from the Item Purchasing window.  This window also controls whether or not fractional transactions are possible in purchasing - fractional transactions cannot be processed if the Item has an assigned decimal place of Zero.

Default Stocking Unit of Measure (Base UOM) can be viewed from Item Engineering Data window. It can also be viewed by opening the U of M Schedule ID on the Item Card.

Finally, when an item is added to the Bill of Materials, quantities can be added in any Unit of Measure present on the U of M Schedule ID assigned to the item.

If you find your extended cost for the Bill of Materials is not accurate, there is a fundamental problem with your Unit of Measure Schedule setup.  Similarly, wild differences in cost of purchased materials usually find their root in Unit of Measure Schedule setup.