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Logging material usage is how field activity becomes financial data. Every time your crew records what they used on a job — whether from a phone on the roof or a laptop back at the office — InventoryHQ deducts those quantities from the right inventory location and adds the costs to the job’s running total. The result is a job cost record that builds itself in real time rather than waiting for end-of-week reconciliation.

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Log usage from the mobile app

The mobile app is designed for quick entry in the field. Your tech can log materials in under a minute between tasks.
1

Open the app and select a job

Tap Jobs from the bottom navigation and select the active job from your list. If the job isn’t visible, use the search bar to find it by name or customer.
2

Tap Log Materials

On the job detail screen, tap Log Materials. This opens the material entry form pre-associated with the selected job.
3

Select the inventory source

Choose where the materials are coming from — typically your assigned truck. The items available will reflect what’s currently in stock at that location.
4

Select items and enter quantities

Search for or scroll to each item used. Enter the quantity consumed. Add multiple items as needed — for example, 6 bundles of shingles, 1 roll of underlayment, and 30 ridge caps in a single entry session.
5

Confirm the usage

Tap Confirm. The items are deducted from the selected truck or warehouse inventory and recorded against the job. The job costing report updates immediately.
Encourage your techs to log materials at the end of each day rather than waiting until the job is complete. Smaller, more frequent entries are more accurate and easier to correct if a mistake is made.

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Log usage from the dashboard

If you’re managing jobs from the office, you can log material usage on behalf of a job directly from the web dashboard.
1

Open the job record

Navigate to Jobs in the main menu and click the job you want to update.
2

Select Log Materials

Click the Log Materials button on the job detail page.
3

Choose the inventory source

Select the truck or warehouse the materials are being drawn from in the Source dropdown.
4

Add items and quantities

Search for each item and enter the quantity used. You can add as many line items as needed before submitting.
5

Confirm the entry

Click Confirm Usage. Inventory updates at the source location and the items are added to the job’s cost record.

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How inventory deducts automatically

When you confirm a usage entry, InventoryHQ handles the inventory math for you. The quantity you entered is subtracted from the on-hand count at the source location — whether that’s a specific truck or your main warehouse. You don’t need to create a separate transfer record; the usage log acts as the transfer. If a truck’s on-hand quantity for an item drops to or below its reorder threshold as a result of the usage entry, a low-stock alert will appear on your dashboard.

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Edit or correct a usage entry

Mistakes happen. If a quantity was entered incorrectly or assigned to the wrong job, you can correct it without losing the audit trail.
1

Open the job record

Go to Jobs and click the job that contains the incorrect entry.
2

Find the usage entry

Click the Materials Used tab on the job detail page. Locate the entry you need to correct.
3

Edit the entry

Click the edit icon next to the entry. Adjust the quantity, item, or source location as needed, then click Save Changes. The inventory counts at the affected locations update automatically to reflect the correction.
Editing a usage entry adjusts the inventory count retroactively. If you’re correcting an old entry, check the current on-hand quantities afterward to make sure everything still looks right — especially if other transfers or usage entries have occurred in the meantime.
Usage entries are attributed to the user who created them. The User Activity Report under Reports shows a full log of who logged what and when, which is useful for reviewing field activity or investigating discrepancies.