Definition
SKU (stock keeping unit)
A SKU is a code you assign to a product so you can track it internally. Unlike a UPC, you invent it, and it usually encodes things like category, size and color.
A stock keeping unit is an internal identifier. Two shops can sell the same product under different SKUs, and one shop can give the same product a new SKU when it moves to a new supplier. The point is that every distinct thing you count gets its own code.
Good SKUs are short, consistent and readable by a human at a glance: a category code, a product code, then the attributes that make a variant distinct, such as TEE-BLK-M. Avoid leading zeros that spreadsheets strip, letters that look like digits, and any meaning that will change (price, supplier).
In Inventory Now
Inventory Now generates SKUs in one tap and prints them on barcode sheets, or you can type your own.
Free SKU generatorRelated terms
