Definition
An item master is the central catalogue record for every product or service a business buys, stocks or sells, holding its code, description, units, prices, tax and other attributes.
What is an item master used for?
Every quotation, purchase order, delivery and invoice looks items up in the item master, so errors there spread everywhere. Good item masters use a consistent coding scheme, one record per item rather than near-duplicates, defined units of measure and pack sizes, and clear rules on who may create or change items.
Example: item 0103-0045, “Ball valve 2 inch brass”, unit PCS, sold in boxes of 12, list price GBP 14, standard-rated for tax.
A common problem in growing companies is the same item entered three times with different spellings, often in more than one language. Each distinct item should have one SKU.