Export data

Exporting Your Inventory Data

Mobile Inventory provides powerful options to export your data from both Stock management and Stock take features. This allows you to analyze your data externally, share it with colleagues, integrate with other systems like ERPs, or simply keep backups.

How to Export

Exporting is straightforward:

• Navigate to the specific inventory you want to export.
• Open the Contextual menu (often represented by three dots or lines).
• Select Export inventory.

What Gets Exported: Structure and Content

The exported file (typically an Excel spreadsheet) is organized into two main sheets by default:

1. Sheet 1: “Current stock summary”
   • Provides a snapshot of your inventory status at the time of export.
   • Contains one line for each product.
   • For Stock Management: Shows the current calculated stock level for each product.
   • For Take Stock: Shows the final counted quantity for each product based on your counting sessions.
   • Includes standard product fields, any Custom Fields you’ve defined with their values, and details like stock by location and stock by tag.
2. Sheet 2: “Entries history details”
   • Provides a detailed log of the transactions or counts that make up the summary.
   • Contains one line for each individual transaction or counting entry.
   • For Stock Management: Lists all stock movements (inputs, outputs, transfers).
   • For Take Stock: Lists every individual count performed.
   • Includes details of each entry/counting, along with any relevant Entry Custom Fields and their values.

Handling Images: If your inventory includes images, the export file will represent them as follows:

• Cloud-stored images: A direct link to the image file will appear in the relevant cell.
• Locally stored images (on the device): The filename of the image as stored on your device will appear in the cell.

Export Destinations and Options

Once you initiate the export, you have several options:

• Save Locally: Save the file directly to your device’s storage.
• Share: Use your device’s standard sharing options to send the file via email, messaging apps, etc.
• Save to Cloud Drives (Manual): Choose to save the file to cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc., if configured on your device.
• Print / Save as PDF: You often have the option directly from the export/share menu to print the report or save it as a PDF document.

Automatic Export to Google Drive (Android Only)

For added convenience, the Android version of Mobile Inventory offers automatic background exports directly to your Google Drive.

How it works:

1. Authenticate: You’ll need to connect your Google Account within the app and grant permission for Mobile Inventory to access Google Drive.
   
   (Important: The app will only be able to create files in its own folder and manage those files. It cannot access your other private files or folders in Google Drive.)
2. Directory Creation: The app automatically creates a new folder named “Mobile Inventory” in the root of your Google Drive.
3. Automatic Exports: The app will periodically export your inventory data automatically to this “Mobile Inventory” folder, ensuring you have regular backups in the cloud without manual intervention.

Note: This automatic Google Drive export feature is currently available only on the Android platform.

Customizing Your Export File

Mobile Inventory offers significant flexibility in configuring the structure and content of your exported files. This is particularly useful for importing data into Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems or other software that requires a specific file format or layout.

You can customize:

• Fields Included: Select exactly which standard and custom fields appear in the export.
• Header Names: Rename the column headers to match the requirements of other systems.
• Field Order: Rearrange the order of columns in the exported file.
• Sheet Content: Configure which information appears on which sheet (though the default is the two-sheet structure described above).
• File Format: Choose the export file type:
  • .xlsx (Modern Excel format, recommended)
  • .xls (Older Excel format)
  • .csv (Comma Separated Values – plain text, highly compatible)

These configuration options allow you to tailor the export perfectly to your workflow and integration needs.