Units of Measurement (UOM) help you manage the same item using different units.

You can set a Base Unit for your inventory and define Alternate Units along with their conversion values.

For example:

Suppose you purchase and sell rice in different units -

Base Unit: Kilograms (KG)
Alternate Unit 1: 1 Bag = 25 KG
Alternate Unit 2: 1 Sack = 50 KG
Default Purchase Unit: Sack
Default Sales Unit: Bag

When you purchase 2 sacks, Refrens automatically adds 100 KG to your inventory.

When you sell 3 bags, Refrens automatically deducts 75 KG from your inventory.

Your purchase documents will use Sack by default, while sales documents will use Bag by default.

Your inventory will always remain accurately tracked in KG.

This allows you to work with the units you use in your day-to-day transactions while keeping your stock records consistent and accurate.

With UOM, you can:

1. Define a Base Unit for each inventory item.
2. Add Alternate Units with their conversion factors.
3. Use standard units such as KGS, GMS, LTR, MTR, etc. with automatic conversion.
4. Set separate Default Sales Unit and Default Purchase Unit.
5. Buy and sell items in a unit different from the unit used for stock.
6. Manage alternate units while creating or editing inventory items.
7. Add UOM details while bulk creating or editing inventory items using CSV.

1) Enable UOM

Go to Settings → Inventory → Inventory Configuration → Enable UOM

Enable the toggle of the Units of Measurement option.

You will see a confirmation message informing you that UOM cannot be disabled once enabled.

Click Enable UOM to enable it.

2) Configure Base and Alternate Units for an Item

Once UOM is enabled, go to item creation OR item edits page from your inventory dashboard:

Here, you will see an option to add Base Unit and Its Ulternate Units. Let's understand how this works:

=> Understanding Base Unit and Alternate Units:

Before setting up an item, it is helpful to understand how Base Units and Alternate Units work.

Base Unit:

It is the main unit used to store and track your inventory. Even if you purchase or sell the item in a different unit, your stock is always maintained in the Base Unit.

Example:
If the Base Unit is KGS, your inventory stock will always be tracked in KGS.

Alternate Unit:

It is another unit you can use when buying or selling the same item. You can define how it relates to the Base Unit using a Conversion Factor.

Example:
If 1 BAG = 2 KGS, then:

• KGS → Base Unit
• BAG → Alternate Unit
• 2 → Conversion Factor

So, when you sell 2 BAGS, Refrens automatically deducts 4 KGS from your inventory.

How to Set It Up:

1. Select the Base Unit for the item.
2. Click Add Alternate Unit.
3. Select the required unit and enter its Conversion Factor.

In the example above, we have selected KGS as the Base Unit, and added BAG as an Alternate Unit with a conversion factor of 2.

Which means, selling 5 BAGS will automatically deduct 10 KGS from your inventory,

Similarly, you can add multiple alternate units for the same item.

3) Set Default Sales and Purchase Units

You can also choose which unit should be automatically selected when the item is added to a document:

Default Sales Unit:

This is the unit that Refrens will use by default when the item is added to a sales document, such as an Invoice.

Default Purchase Unit:

This is the unit that Refrens will use by default when the item is added to a purchase document.

For example:

Base Unit → KGS
Default Sales Unit → BAG
Default Purchase Unit → KGS

When you add the item to a sales or purchase document, the relevant default unit will be selected automatically.

4) Using Units of Measurement While Creating Documents

Once UOM is configured, you can select the required unit directly while creating an accounting document.

If you select an alternate unit, Refrens automatically applies its conversion factor to calculate the rate.

For example:

Your item's selling price is:

₹150 per KGS

And:

1 BAG = 2 KGS

If you select BAG as the unit, the rate will automatically become:

₹300 per BAG

You can still manually change the rate if required.

=> How does stock deduction work?

Even when you sell or purchase an item in an alternate unit, your inventory is always updated using the Base Unit.

For example:

Base Unit: KGS
Sales Unit: BAG
1 BAG = 2 KGS
Quantity sold: 10 BAGS

The document will show: 10 BAGS

But inventory will deduct: 20 KGS

Check Transactions:

To view the transaction history and details of a particular item, go to Product & Inventory → All Items → Quick View for the item, and select Transactions.

Add UOM Details in Bulk

If you want to bulk upload multiple inventory items, you can add UOM details directly while uploading or editing them using a CSV file.

For the complete bulk upload process, check How to Bulk Upload Inventory Items ?

Frequently Asked Questions

1) Do I need to set conversions for Units in the same category (eg. 1KG = 1000 GMS)?

No, Refrens automatically handles conversions between standard units within the same category.

For Example, 1 KGS = 1000 GMS, 1 MTR = 100 CMS, 1 LTR = 1000 MLS, etc.

You don't need to enter the conversion factor manually for these standard units.

2) How Do I Add Custom Units?

If the unit you need isn't available in the standard list, you can create a custom unit and define its conversion factor while adding the inventory item.

Go to: Settings → Inventory → Configure Units:

Here, you can Add a new unit, Edit an existing custom unit, OR Mark it as Active/Inactive.

3) Can I use multiple units for the same item?

Yes. You can set one Base Unit and add multiple Alternate Units with their respective conversion factors.

4) Do I need to enter conversion factors for standard units?

No. Standard units within the same category are converted automatically.

5) Can I create my own unit?

Yes. You can create custom units and define their conversion factor for individual inventory items.

6) Can I have different units for buying and selling?

Yes. You can set separate Default Sales Unit and Default Purchase Unit for an item.

7) Will stock be tracked in the alternate unit?

No. Stock is maintained in the Base Unit. When you buy or sell using another unit, Refrens converts the quantity to the Base Unit for inventory tracking.

8)Can I change the Base Unit later?

The Base Unit can be selected while creating the item, but it becomes locked after the item has its first transaction.

9) Can I disable UOM after enabling it?

No. UOM is a one-way setting. Once enabled, it cannot be turned off.

10) Can I use UOM in bulk inventory upload?

Yes. You can configure alternate units and default sales/purchase units through the inventory bulk-create and bulk-edit CSV files.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at care@refrens.com or contact us through the live chat support.

Updated on: 04/09/2026