Serial numbers,
production lines, total control.

Serial number tracking is enabled on a per-item basis. When turned on, every unit of that item gets its own individual record with a unique serial number, status, and history.

• Open the Inventory section and select the item you want to serialize
• Click Edit (or press ⌘E on macOS) to open the item form
• Toggle the isSerialized switch to on
• Save the item -- a S/N badge now appears next to the item name in your inventory list
• The item's detail view gains a Production tab where individual serialized units are managed

On iPad, tap the item row, then tap Edit in the detail panel. The isSerialized toggle is in the same location.

Each serialized unit carries a status that reflects where it is in its lifecycle. Statuses are shown as color-coded badges throughout the app for quick visual identification.

• Available (green) -- In stock and ready to sell or use
• Reserved (blue) -- Set aside for a specific customer or order
• Consigned (purple) -- Placed with a dealer or retailer on consignment
• Sold (gray) -- Sold and no longer in your active inventory
• In Repair (orange) -- Currently being repaired or reworked
• Defective (red) -- Identified as defective and pulled from inventory

To change a unit's status, click the status badge in the production table and select the new status from the dropdown. You can also change status in bulk (see Multi-Select & Bulk Edit below).

Every serialized unit has a set of built-in fields you can fill in to record detailed production and distribution information.

• Serial Number -- The unique identifier for this specific unit
• Manufactured Date -- When the unit was produced or assembled
• Revision -- Hardware or design revision code (e.g. "Rev C", "v2.1")
• Color -- The finish, color, or variant of this particular unit
• Dealer -- The dealer or retailer this unit is assigned to (especially useful for consignment tracking)
• Customer -- The end customer who purchased or is linked to this unit
• Notes -- Free-form notes about this individual unit (QC findings, special requests, etc.)

All of these fields appear as columns in the production table and can be edited inline. They are also included in CSV exports and sync to the cloud if you have multi-device sync enabled.

Beyond the built-in fields, you can create your own custom fields to track any data specific to your production process. Custom fields appear as additional columns in the production table.

• Navigate to Settings and select Production Fields
• Click Add Field to create a new custom field
• Choose a type: Text, Number, or Date
• Enter a field name (e.g. "Pickup Position", "DCR Reading", "Test Date")
• Use drag-and-drop to reorder your custom fields -- the order here determines the column order in the production table
• Save -- your new fields immediately appear as columns in the production table for all serialized items

Custom field values are edited inline just like built-in fields. Click any cell in a custom field column to type or select a value. Changes save automatically.

The production table supports full inline editing. Click any field in any row to edit it directly -- no need to open a separate form or detail view.

• Text fields (serial number, notes, revision, color, dealer): Click the cell to activate a text input, type your value, and press Return or Tab to confirm
• Status: Click the status badge to open a dropdown picker
• Date fields (manufactured date, custom date fields): Click to open a date picker
• Number fields (custom number fields): Click to enter a numeric value
• Customer: Click to open a searchable customer picker from your customer database

On iPad, tap any cell to begin editing. The keyboard appears for text and number fields, and a native date picker appears for date fields.

When you need to add many serialized units in rapid succession, the Quick-Add panel lets you type serial numbers one after another without any extra clicks.

• In the production table, click the Quick Add button in the toolbar
• The Quick-Add panel opens with a focused text input
• Type a serial number and press Enter (or Return) to add it as a new unit
• The input clears immediately so you can type the next serial number right away
• Each added unit appears in the table below with a default status of "Available"
• When finished, close the Quick-Add panel and edit any additional fields inline

This is ideal for registering a batch of units fresh off a production run -- you can enter dozens of serial numbers in seconds.

Select multiple serialized units at once to apply changes in bulk. This saves significant time when updating status, assigning a dealer, or adding notes to a batch of units.

• Single select: Click a row's checkbox to select that unit
• Range select: Click one row, then hold Shift and click another row to select all rows in between
• Once two or more rows are selected, the Bulk Edit toolbar appears at the top of the table
• Available bulk actions: change Status, Notes, Revision, Color, Dealer, and Customer
• Select the field you want to change, enter or select the new value, and click Apply to update all selected units at once
• You can also Delete selected units from the bulk toolbar (with confirmation)

On iPad, tap to select individual rows. For range selection, tap the first row, then tap and hold the last row in the range.

StringsTheory automatically checks for duplicate serial numbers when you add new units. This prevents accidental double-entries that could cause confusion in your inventory records.

• When you enter a serial number that already exists for the same item, a warning appears before the unit is added
• You can choose to skip the duplicate or proceed if the duplicate is intentional (e.g. a replacement unit reusing a serial number)
• During CSV import, duplicates are flagged in the preview screen so you can review and decide what to do before committing

The Production section is organized into three tabbed views, each giving you a different lens on your production data.

• Active Orders -- Shows all production orders currently in progress. This is your at-a-glance view of what is being built right now, with progress indicators and due dates.
• History -- A chronological log of completed production orders. Filter and search through past builds to find specific batches or review production volume over time.
• Individual Serials -- A flat table of every serialized unit across all items. Use this view to search for a specific serial number, filter by status, or get a global view of your serialized inventory.

Switch between tabs using the segmented control at the top of the Production section. Each tab remembers its own filter and sort state.

Production orders let you plan and track builds as discrete jobs. Each order specifies what you are building, how many, and for whom.

• Stock Orders -- Builds destined for your general inventory. Use these when building to replenish stock without a specific customer in mind.
• Customer Orders -- Builds for a specific customer. Link the order to a customer record so the units are automatically associated with that customer when complete.
• Set a due date to track deadlines and prioritize your production schedule
• Add progress tags to mark stages like "Cutting", "Assembly", "QC", "Packing" -- whatever stages make sense for your workflow
• As you add serialized units to the order, the progress bar updates to show how many units are complete vs. target quantity

The History tab provides a searchable, filterable log of every completed production order. Use it to review past builds, verify quantities, or pull up records for a specific customer.

• Filter by status to see only completed, cancelled, or in-progress orders
• Filter by date range to narrow down to a specific time period (e.g. "last quarter")
• Filter by customer to see all production orders for a particular buyer
• Click any order to expand its detail view, showing all serialized units, their statuses, and any associated notes

Import serialized units in bulk from a CSV file. StringsTheory provides a structured import flow with automatic column matching, customer resolution, and a full preview before committing.

CSV template columns:

• Item SKU -- Matched to your inventory items by SKU
• Item Name -- Matched by name if SKU is not provided
• Serial Number -- The serial number for the unit
• Status -- Available, Reserved, Consigned, Sold, In Repair, or Defective
• Color -- Unit color or variant
• Manufactured Date (or Mfg Date) -- Accepts yyyy-MM-dd, MM/dd/yyyy, or M/d/yyyy formats
• Notes -- Free-form notes
• Dealer -- Dealer or retailer name
• Customer -- Customer name (resolved against your customer database)
• Revision -- Revision code

Import flow:

• Click Import CSV in the production toolbar and select your file
• StringsTheory reads the headers and auto-matches columns to known fields. Any unrecognized columns are treated as custom production fields and imported automatically.
• Rows are matched to inventory items by SKU first, then by name. Rows that cannot be matched appear in an "Unassigned" group for you to manually assign to an item.
• If the Customer column contains names that partially match multiple records, a customer resolution UI lets you pick the correct customer from a dropdown or keep the raw text.
• Review the full preview, make any corrections, and click Import to commit.

Export your serialized units to CSV for backup, reporting, or sharing with dealers and partners. The export format is fully round-trip compatible with the import format.

• In the production table, click Export CSV in the toolbar
• Choose a save location and file name
• The exported file includes all standard columns (Item SKU, Item Name, Serial Number, Status, Color, Manufactured Date, Notes, Dealer, Customer, Revision) plus any custom production fields as additional columns
• Dates are exported in yyyy-MM-dd format for maximum compatibility

You can re-import an exported CSV at any time without modification. This makes it straightforward to export, make edits in a spreadsheet application, and re-import the updated data.