---
title: What are virtual items, and how do I set one up?
description: Make your order show whole rolls and stock lengths instead of the runs the designer draws. Add a virtual item in four steps and check it before you keep it.
---
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# What are virtual items, and how do I set one up?
Short answer: **a virtual item makes your order show what you actually buy.** The designer draws insulation as runs, and your supplier sells rolls. A virtual item reads those runs and puts whole rolls on the order instead. To add one, click New Virtual Item and work through four steps: Identity, Source, Output and Properties.
**Before you start**
1. Work on one job and check the order before you keep the change for future jobs.
2. Save Ordering keeps the change on this job. Keeping it for future jobs is a separate step, covered in [How do I adjust my ordering setup without breaking my orders?](https://help.shedmate.com.au/knowledge/adjusting-your-ordering-setup?hsLang=en)
3. If a line on your order looks unfamiliar, check the **Source** column: `Virtual Item` means a virtual item made it.
### When to use a virtual item
Use one when the designer draws something in one unit and you buy it in another, or when a part is not drawn at all.
| When you need | The order to show |
| --- | --- |
| Cut lengths of pipe or batten | Whole stock lengths |
| Insulation runs | Whole rolls |
| A count of brackets or sheets | The screws, bolts or rivets that go with them |
| A part the designer doesn't draw | A line you can still buy |
On this job the designer draws three insulation products as runs. The Insulation Order view shows three lines, one for each product, in whole rolls, ready to send. The original runs stay in the job, so check that your supplier view orders the rolls without also ordering those runs, or the same material can appear twice.
### Find your virtual items
On the job page, click **Orders**, then **Virtual Items** on the toolbar. Each row shows its **Condition**, what it is called, what it prints on the order (**BOM Description**), where its rows go (**Output Category** and **Output Subcategory**), what it reads (**Source Category**) and how many it made on this job (**Qty**). To check or change an item you have already made, open it from its row. The steps are in [How do I adjust my ordering setup without breaking my orders?](https://help.shedmate.com.au/knowledge/adjusting-your-ordering-setup?hsLang=en)
### Add a virtual item to your order
Click **New Virtual Item**. The window has four steps, and you can move back and forth with **Previous** and **Next** before you click **Create**.
#### Step 1: Name it and choose where it applies (Identity)
| Field | What to put in it |
| --- | --- |
| **Required** (1) | Leave on. Rows that no pricing calculation quantifies are then reported as unquantified instead of being ignored |
| **Condition** (2) | Leave it unlinked so the item always applies. To make an item apply only on some jobs, contact support and we will set it up with you |
| **Name** | What you will recognise in the list |
| **BOM Description** | What prints on the purchase order, so what your supplier reads |
| **Description (optional)** | Your own note about what the item does. It does not print on the order |
| **Scope** (3) | Where the item applies: **Quoting**, **Procurement**, or both |
**Check Scope before you create it.** Make sure only the places the item should apply to are ticked. For an item that is only for ordering, **Quoting** must be unticked, or it is added to your quotes as well.
**Check the Condition before relying on the item.** If it shows No or an error when you expect rows, contact support with the job number and a screenshot, and we will check the cause with you.
#### Step 2: Choose what it reads (Source)
Pick the **Source Category** (2) the item reads from, for example Insulations or Pipes. Add source rules (3) to narrow it further, for example only one sub category or one profile. The rules are added together, duplicates included, so an item two rules both pick up is counted twice.
**Use all source items** (1): when it is off, the item reads only the items your package actually orders. Leave it off unless the item must count rows the package itself does not order, for example bracing screws whose frames come from the Bracket System.
#### Step 3: Choose where its rows appear (Output)
The **Output Category** (1) and **Output Sub Category** (2) decide where the new rows appear, and that is what your supplier views filter on.
**Match the output to the view you order from.** If the rows land in a category your supplier view does not pick up, the item works but you never see it on that order.
#### Step 4: Set the quantity and description (Properties)
Click **Add Property** (1) for each thing the row needs. Choose a **Built-in** property, such as qty, or a **Custom** one you name yourself. Then set **Mode** (2):
- **Literal** for a fixed **Value** (3), for example a quantity of 2.
- **Formula** to work the quantity out from the item, for example a run's length divided by the length of one roll.
Check your own roll length and units. Your order view needs to add the quantities by product and round up to whole rolls before you send the order.
Click **Create** when you are done.
### Check it before you keep it
| | Step |
| --- | --- |
| 1 | Click **Refresh** on the Orders screen |
| 2 | Open the view you order from and check the new line: right quantity, right description |
| 3 | Check the rows it stands in for are no longer on that view |
| 4 | Only then keep it for future jobs, using [How do I adjust my ordering setup without breaking my orders?](https://help.shedmate.com.au/knowledge/adjusting-your-ordering-setup?hsLang=en) |
### If an item does not appear on your order
1. Click **Refresh**. The order does not re-read itself on its own.
2. Check the **Condition** for No or an error. If you see one, contact support with the job number and a screenshot.
3. Check the **Source Category** actually has rows on this job.
4. Check the **Output Category** is picked up by the view you are looking at.
5. Check the job is on the latest version of your database.
### If you need to fix, add or copy virtual items
Contact support if you need to fix a virtual item, add one you would rather not build yourself, or copy items from your quote into your order. Email support@shedmate.com.au with your company name, the job number and what you need, and we will set it up with you.
### On ShedMate Lite
**New Virtual Item** is greyed out on ShedMate Lite. Contact support and we will check the setup with you instead of following the steps above.
Stuck? Email support@shedmate.com.au with the job number.
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