What the inventory app is and how to record an item, step by step.
The inventory app is a single web page for recording stock. You type in the name
of an item, how many there are, and what they come in — bottles, boxes, cans, or
something you name yourself. Press a button and the entry is added as a new row
in the inventory spreadsheet, with the date and time.
There is no sign-in. Anyone who has the app’s web address can open it and add
entries straight away. It works in an ordinary web browser, on a computer or on
a phone.
What you see
When the page opens you see a single white card titled Inventory Manager,
with a purple box icon next to the title and a gear button in the top right
corner. Under the title it reads “Add items to your inventory”. The card
contains:
An Item Name box, for the name of the thing you are recording.
A Quantity box, for how many — a whole number, zero or more.
A Qty Type menu, for what they come in.
A blue Add to Inventory button.
At the bottom of the card, small grey text reads “Connected to Google Sheets”
with a check mark, and below that a blue link reading View the Inventory tab.
That link opens the spreadsheet in a new tab, on the page your entries are added
to. You need to be signed in to a Google account that has been given access to
the spreadsheet; without it, Google shows a request-access screen instead.
Recording an item
What you do
Open the app in your web browser at the address you were given.
Click or tap the Item Name box and type the name of the item.
Click or tap the Quantity box and type how many there are.
Open the Qty Type menu and choose Bottles, Boxes, or Cans.
Press the Add to Inventory button.
If none of the three choices fit, pick Other — a new box appears below the
menu, headed Specify Qty Type. Type your own wording into it (for example
“Bags”, or “Big bags, each with 4 small packets”) before pressing the button.
What happens next
While the entry is being saved, the button shows a small spinner and the word
Adding…, and a blue message reads “Saving to Google Sheets…”. This
normally lasts a moment.
If it worked, a green message appears reading Added: followed by the item,
the quantity and the type — for example “Added: Cat food (8 cans)”. It
disappears on its own after about three seconds.
All the boxes are cleared, ready for the next entry. You can keep adding items
one after another.
If it did not work, a red message appears and nothing is saved. Your typing
stays in the boxes so you can try again. See
When something goes wrong.
Things worth knowing
All three fields are required. If you press the button with something
missing, a red message tells you which one — the entry is not sent until it is
filled in.
Every press adds a new row. The app does not add to an existing item’s
count. If you enter “Chairs, 4” twice, the spreadsheet shows two separate rows
of 4 chairs, each with its own date and time. There is no way to edit or delete
a row from this page.
The quantity must be a whole number, and it cannot be negative. Half
quantities are not accepted; use a wording in Qty Type that makes the
amount clear instead.
The date and time are added for you. You do not type them, and they record
when the entry reached the spreadsheet.
You cannot see past entries on this page. The page only puts entries in. To
see what has been recorded, see
Seeing what has been recorded.