Searching and Looking Up Serials

Accessing the Serial Lookup Tool

To open the Serial Lookup tool, go to Inventory menu and select View/Search Serials. This opens the Serial Lookup form where you can search for any serial number across your entire inventory. Access to this tool requires the INV_VIEW_SERIALS permission.

How to Search

Enter a serial number in the search field at the top of the form and press Enter or click Search. The system searches across all inventory items and all locations to find the matching serial record.

The search matches the exact serial number you enter. Partial matches are not returned, so make sure to enter the complete serial number as it was recorded during receiving.

Results Display

If the serial number is found, the results area displays the following information:

• Item Name — Which product the serial belongs to
• Serial Number — The serial number that was found
• Status — The current status of the serial, shown with a color indicator (green for In Stock, blue for Sold, orange for Repair, etc.)
• Location — The location where the serial is currently held
• Customer — The customer associated with the serial, if it has been sold
• Availability — Whether the serial can be sold (available only when status is In Stock)

If the serial number is not found in the system, a "Serial not found" message appears.

Quick Actions from Results

After finding a serial, you can take immediate action using the buttons displayed alongside the results:

• View Detail — Opens the Serial Detail form showing the full record, event history, warranty information, and all associated data for the serial
• Change Status — Opens the status change dialog where you can update the serial's status and add notes. This button is only visible if you have the INV_CHANGE_SERIAL_STATUS permission.
• Transfer — Opens the transfer dialog where you can move the serial to a different location. This button is only visible if you have the INV_TRANSFER_SERIAL permission.

Common Use Cases

The Serial Lookup tool is designed for quick, on-the-spot lookups. Here are the most common scenarios:

• Customer calls about a product they purchased — Look up the serial number to see the purchase history, which invoice it was sold on, and the warranty status
• Receiving a return — Look up the serial to verify it was sold from your store, confirm the original sale date, and check which location handled the sale
• Checking warranty status — Look up the serial to see whether the warranty is active, expired, or void, and view the warranty start and end dates
• Locating a specific unit — When you need to find a particular serial across multiple locations, the lookup tells you exactly which location currently holds it

Tips for Effective Lookups

• The lookup searches for the exact serial number you enter. Make sure to enter the complete serial number as it was recorded during receiving.
• Serial numbers are case-sensitive. If the serial was entered as "SN-2024-ABC", searching for "sn-2024-abc" will not find it.
• If a customer provides a serial number and the lookup returns no results, double-check the number for typos or transposed characters. You can also search for the serial on the inventory item's Serials tab, which displays all serials and allows you to visually scan the list.