Use Item Cross References

If you set up a cross reference between the item description that you use for an item and the description that the vendor of that item uses, then the vendor's item description is automatically inserted on purchase documents for the vendor when you fill in the Cross-Reference No. field. The same functionality applies for customer item numbers on sales documents.

The following procedures describe how to use item cross references on the purchase side. The steps are similar for the sales side.

Note

It's becoming more common for item identifiers such as GTINs or GUIDs to contain 30 or more characters, which is more than the current feature for item cross references can handle. If you need to use references that contain more than 30 characters, your administrator can turn on the Write longer item references feature on the Feature Management page (link requires that you have a Business Central tenant). How you use references doesn't change, but the names of things like pages and buttons will. For example, the Item Cross-Reference Entries page will become the Item Reference Entries page.

To set up an item cross reference to a vendor's item description

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Items, and then choose the related link.

  2. Open the card for an item for which you want to create a cross reference to the item description that the vendor uses for that item.

  3. Choose the Cross References action.

    If you cannot find the Cross References action, choose to view more options, and then find it under Related > Item.

  4. On a new line on the Item Cross-Reference Entries page, fill in the fields as necessary. Hover over a field to read a short description..

To enter a vendor's item description on a purchase order

  1. Choose the Lightbulb that opens the Tell Me feature icon, enter Purchase Orders, and then choose the related link.
  2. Create a purchase order for the vendor that you set up an item cross reference for in the previous procedure.
  3. Create a purchase line for the item that you set up an item cross reference for in the previous procedure.
  4. In the Cross-Reference No. field, select the item cross reference that you have created, and then choose the OK button.

The Description field on the line is overwritten with the vendor's item description, as set up on the item cross-reference entry.

See Also

Register New Items
Inventory
Working with Business Central

Note

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