Multiple Copies and Product Codes (closed beta, invitation only)

Check out, check in, and prepare orders for many copies of the same item at once. Find an item by its product code (UPC) instead of its Item ID.

When to use this

Use these features only for items where you do not track which member has which copy. Examples are cables, adapters, sensors, power strips, and small items that you can not tag/mark easily.

When you add several copies at once, myTurn picks which copies to add. You do not choose them. So a member can get any free copy of the item, and myTurn records the copies that it picked.

If it matters which copy a member gets, scan/enter each copy by its Item ID, as before.

These are (many) limitations to using this functionality on multiple location sites, and it is not yet recommended there.

We will have a more comprehensive version of this feature, consumables, and sale of items launching in early 2027.

Before you start

• myTurn support turns these features on for your organization. They are not on by default.
• Each copy is still a separate item with its own Item ID. Loans, fees, receipts, reports, and member limits count each copy. If you have 100 copies, you must still add 100 copies of the item.
• "Copies of the same item" means copies that are grouped together and show as a stack on the inventory cards or on the same line in a reservation, build order, or the admin cart. 
  • They have the same item type, name, price, and taxes. Items that do not float also share a home location.
• To find a copy by product code, enter the code in the UPC field of that copy. We will be using a SKU field in the future.

Check out several copies

Use the Qty box

1. In the Check Out area, enter the number of copies in the Qty box that will appear before the box where you enter/scan an Item ID.
2. Scan or enter one Item ID or UPC.
3. The cart adds that copy. Then it adds more copies of the same item, up to the number that you entered.

The Qty box goes back to 1 after each entry. Normal scanning does not change.

Change the quantity in the table

A quantity that you can change has a border. Click it and enter a new number.

• A higher number adds copies of the same item. You can add up to 50 copies at a time.
  • During the beta period, if you have 10 copies in the cart and need 90, you will need to change the quantity to 60 then to 90.
• A lower number removes copies. The cart removes the copies that you added most recently.
• 0 removes all copies of that item from the cart.

How the cart picks copies

• The cart picks the added copies automatically.
• It picks only copies that are available now and have no reservation from today through the due date. It also keeps the time that your settings require before the next reservation.
• A copy that was checked in today can be picked, even during its check-in buffer.
• It picks only copies at locations where you can process loans.

If there are not enough free copies, the cart adds the free copies and shows a message:

Only 4 of the 6 requested copies of HDMI Adapter are checked out to this member.

You can not currently override an upcoming reservation during the beta period. To add a copy that has a reservation conflict, scan the Item ID of that copy. The cart then shows the usual reservation conflict options.

An Item ID that is already in the cart is refused. This stops a double scan. To add more copies, change the quantity in the table. This is a limitation during the beta period.

Check in several copies

Use the Qty box

1. In the Check In area, enter the number of copies in the Qty box.
2. Scan or enter the Item ID or UPC of one returned copy.
3. The cart selects that copy. Then it selects more copies of the same item that the member has, up to the number that you entered.

Change the selected count

On a row with several copies, the selected count has a border. Click it and enter how many copies to check in.

• The cart selects the copies with the earliest due date first.
• A lower number clears the copies with the latest due date first.
• Copies that you selected by hand count toward the number.

If the member has fewer copies than you entered, the cart selects all of them and shows a message:

Only 4 of the 6 requested copies of HDMI Adapter are checked out to this member.

The Renew box does not have a Qty box at this time. If you need this, report it as an issue to myTurn support.

Prepare an order on Build Order

Add copies

• Use the Qty box beside the Item ID box, or click the quantity in the Order Items table.
• Build Order uses copies that are already on the reservation first. Then it adds other free copies at the pickup location.
• It does not start transfers. Copies at other locations are not picked.
• Build Order does not ask "not on the reservation" for these copies. It still asks before it overrides a reservation conflict.

Remove copies

• Click the quantity in the Order Items table and enter a lower number.
• Build Order deletes the copies that you added most recently. The copies do not go back to the reservation.
• You cannot change the quantity in the reservation table.

Notify the member again after a change. Any change to the order clears its ready state. Use Notify Ready when the order is complete.

Enter a product code (UPC)

• Enter a UPC in the Check Out, Check In, or Build Order add box.
• An Item ID match always comes first. myTurn looks for a UPC only when no Item ID matches.
• The UPC must match the copy's UPC field exactly. Capital letters and spaces at the start or end do not matter.
• The UPC finds one copy. Additional copies come from the same item, with or without a UPC.
• If the only copy with that UPC is already in the cart or on the order, a Qty above 1 adds that number of other copies of the same item.

Limitations

• You cannot choose the added copies. The cart and Build Order pick them. When a specific copy matters, scan that copy.
• Up to 50 copies per change. To add more, change the quantity again.
• Copies with a reservation conflict are not added automatically. Scan them by Item ID to use the usual conflict options.
• Recently changed copies can take a short time to be found. This applies to copies that were just returned, edited, or added to another order.
• Removal order resets when you reload the page. After a reload, a lower quantity removes the copies with the highest Item ID first.
• Two admins on the same cart or order can see different quantities. Reload the page before you change quantities.