Inventory

Opening Inventory

Click Inventory in the left nav (under Operations). Items are organized into four categories: Medication, Vaccine, Product, and Supply.

Adding an item

1. 1
   Click Add item.
2. 2
   Enter the item name, category, unit of measure (bags, bottles, boxes, units), current quantity, and reorder threshold.
3. 3
   For medications, add the drug name, dosage form, and expiry date.
4. 4
   Click Save. The item appears in the list.

Restocking a product you already carry? Click Scan in the header and scan its GS1 barcode instead of searching by name. Fosterling matches it to the existing item and, if the label carries a lot number and expiry, prefills those on the receiving form too.

Adding items in bulk

Setting up a fresh org, or restocking after a supply drive? Click Add items in bulk instead of entering items one at a time. Two ways in, both feeding one editable review list before you save:

• Common catalog -- a curated list of common shelter meds, vaccines, and supplies. Check off individual items, or click Add starter kit to stage a sensible starter set across all three categories in one click.
• Paste a list, invoice, or order -- paste text or attach an invoice/packing-slip photo, and AI reads it into staged rows for you to review.

Edit any row -- name, quantity, unit, opening stock -- before clicking Save to add them all at once. Duplicates already on file are skipped automatically.

Adjusting quantities

Open an item and click Adjust quantity. Choose whether you're adding stock (received a donation or order) or removing stock (used at a clinic, damaged, expired, etc.). Add a note to explain the change.

Every adjustment is logged with a timestamp, team member, and reason -- useful for audit trails on controlled medications.

Low-stock alerts

When an item's quantity drops below its reorder threshold, it shows a low-stock chip on the inventory list and a badge in the nav. Admins also receive a daily digest email listing all low-stock items.

Dispensing an item to an animal

Open an item and click Dispense. Select the animal it's going to and enter the quantity -- for medications, add prescription-style details like directions and refills. Fosterling automatically pulls from the earliest-expiring lot first, so you're not sitting on stock that's about to age out. This logs the dispense and decrements the stock, all without any separate setup.

Can I track inventory across multiple locations (e.g., a clinic and a warehouse)?

Multi-location inventory is on the roadmap. Currently, inventory is org-wide with location noted as a text field on each item. The one exception: if your rescue shares a physical facility with a partner org, Inventory shows a live partner-stock panel with draw/consume actions -- see the note below.

How do I handle expired medications?

Open the item, click 'Adjust quantity', choose 'Remove', and enter the quantity with 'Expired -- disposal' as the reason. The adjustment is logged.

Can volunteers see inventory?

Yes -- Fosterling doesn't restrict Inventory by role today, so any team member with access to your org, including volunteers, can view and manage stock once the Rescue plan has it turned on.

Can I import my current inventory from a spreadsheet?

Not a raw CSV/spreadsheet upload today -- but Add items in bulk covers most of the same need: pick from the common catalog, or paste a list (or attach an invoice, packing slip, or photo) and let AI parse it into staged rows you review before saving. For a barcoded item you already carry, Scan prefills the name and, for a recognized item, the lot and expiry too.

Sharing a physical facility with a partner org? Inventory also shows a partner-stock panel with live counts and draw/consume actions against the partner's supply -- separate from the multi-location roadmap item above, since it's about a shared site rather than tracking your own inventory across several locations.