Sortly Bilo Plumbing: 3,000+ items / 52,000 parts tracked; cuts wasted trips and reorders

Honest note: this is rule-based inventory tracking (QR codes plus low-stock alerts). There's no generative AI. Use the prompt below to clean your parts list before you import it.

Prerequisites

• A Sortly account and the mobile app on each tech's phone.
• A parts list (even a messy spreadsheet) and a reorder point for your top 100 parts.

Step-by-step setup

Step 1. Mirror your physical layout. Create folders for Warehouse, one per Truck, and Jobs. Use subfolders for shelves, bins or job numbers.

Step 2. Add items with a minimum level. Add or import items with quantity and photo, and set a Min Level on each item. To do many at once, select the items and use Bulk Edit.

Step 3. Turn on low-stock alerts. Open an item → Edit → click the bell icon → choose At or Below Min Level and pick who gets the alert (usually purchasing). Low-stock alerts work on items, not folders.

Step 4. Label everything. Create QR labels from an item, or select items in a folder → QR Label → choose paper and label size. This needs the Advanced plan or higher.

Step 5. Train techs to scan. Every part pulled for a job gets scanned and moved to that job's folder. Item history then shows where parts went, which feeds job costing and billing.

Step 6. Reorder from alerts, not from walking the shelves. Review alerts and item history weekly before placing orders.

Copy-paste prompt

Clean this parts list for a Sortly import. Output CSV columns: name, folder, quantity, unit, min_level, notes.
Merge duplicates (same part, different spellings), standardise names as "Brand – Part – Size", and put each item in Warehouse or Truck-## based on the location column.
If a min_level is missing, suggest one from usage and mark it [SUGGESTED].
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Sources

• CaseStudies.com: Bilo Plumbing & Heating streamlines inventory with Sortly. Credit: Bilo Plumbing & Heating's purchasing manager.
• Sortly Help: Quantity Alerts
• Sortly Help: Create QR Code and Barcode Labels