OpsLight inventory
Inventory for service trade shops — what OpsLight does + doesn't.
By Altin Sall · Tend the Tech · Updated 2026-05-19
OpsLight is not an inventory management system. We track materials USED on jobs (parts, supplies, consumables) and equipment on-site (air movers, dehumidifiers, scrubbers, specialized tools). We don't track stock on shelves across multiple warehouses with SKU-level reorder points and supplier integration. That's not the shape of a 1-15 person service-trade shop. When it IS the shape — when you've grown past 20 technicians, multiple locations, complex parts logistics — ServiceTitan or QuickBooks Online Plus is the right tool, honestly. Here's what we DO ship.
Live now
What does OpsLight track today?
1. Materials USED on jobs (parts, supplies, consumables)
Every job's materials_cost column in the Sheet captures every part, supply, and consumable used. Two capture paths:
- Tech SMS:
PARTS J-1248: 1x R-410A 25lb $180, 2x filter 20x25x4 $48 each - Receipt photo: tech texts a photo of the supplier receipt; Claude reads the line items, matches against your QBO Items list (if integrated), logs each line
This feeds the per-job job-costing automatically. Each line item also rolls up to the monthly PM-status email for property managers ("parts replaced this month: filter 20x25x4 × 4, refrigerant 25lb × 2, ...").
2. Equipment on-site (restoration + HVAC + parts-heavy trades)
For restoration specifically: every air mover, LGR/desiccant dehu, HEPA scrubber, negative-air machine, moisture meter, thermal imager has an asset tag. Crew SMS-tags placement (SETUP J-1248: LGR-04, AM-12, AM-15, AM-18, HEPA-02) and recovery (RETRIEVE J-1248: ALL). 7-day threshold alarm catches the $1,200-$3,800 piece that used to walk or get forgotten. Adaptable to any trade — HVAC service trucks, painting compressors, drying gear.
3. QuickBooks Online Items integration
If your shop uses QBO Items (parts, services, bundles), OpsLight reads them and matches field-captured parts-used messages to specific Items. Cost auto-pulls from the QBO unit-cost field. Stock-on-hand stays in QBO; we feed it the usage data — your bookkeeper's QBO workflow doesn't change.
Roadmap — Q1 2027
What's coming next: truck-stock tracking.
For shops with 1-5 trucks and a small parts room, the gap is "what's on each truck right now" — restock timing, low-stock alerts, truck-to-truck transfer logging. The Q1 2027 module:
- Each truck has an inventory tab in your Google Sheet (Truck-A, Truck-B, Truck-C, …)
- Tech texts
RESTOCK Truck-Awith a parts photo when they restock; Claude reads + updates - Consumption auto-tracked from
PARTS J-id:messages, against the truck the tech is assigned - Low-stock alerts → owner SMS ("Truck-A is below threshold on filters and R-410A")
- Weekly truck-stock summary in the Friday digest
If truck-stock tracking is critical for your shop now, the founding cohort votes move features up. Apply with this as your operational pain — your vote can pull Q1 2027 forward to Q4 2026.
What we will never build
Multi-warehouse SKU inventory. Not our shape.
Some inventory features are wrong for a 1-15 person shop. We won't build them in OpsLight, even if asked:
- Multi-warehouse stock-on-hand with SKU-level reorder points, supplier auto-PO generation, and inter-warehouse transfer logging. ServiceTitan + Trax / Inventory Pro covers this for 20+ tech shops. We won't build a worse version.
- Barcode scanning workflow. Requires a mobile app or a scanner. We don't ship apps. If you need barcoded inventory, you need a different category of tool.
- Per-bin location tracking within a warehouse (aisle 3, shelf 2). Service trades don't need this; warehouses do.
- Supplier-EDI integration (Ferguson, Grainger, HD Supply, etc.). The 1-15 person shop orders parts via phone or web portal; the EDI workflow is for 50+ tech shops with dedicated procurement.
- Just-in-time inventory optimization. Not our shape, not our audience, not our wedge.
If any of those is dealbreaker, the honest recommendation: ServiceTitan, BuildOps (commercial), or QuickBooks Online Plus / Enterprise with the Items module — depending on your size and budget. We'd rather refer you out cleanly than build features outside our shape.
Per-trade inventory reality
How parts-heavy your trade actually is.
Inventory complexity varies massively by trade. The honest fit assessment by trade:
| Trade | Inventory complexity | OpsLight fit |
|---|---|---|
| Painting | Low (paint + supplies) | Strong — materials-on-job is all you need |
| Landscaping | Low (mulch + plants) | Strong |
| Restoration | Med (equipment-on-site is the issue) | Strong — equipment-on-site tracker is the killer feature here |
| Roofing | Med (shingles + flashing per job) | Strong — materials-on-job + supplier-receipt photos cover it |
| Electrical | Med-High (wire + breakers + panels by spec) | OK — QBO Items integration helps |
| HVAC | High (truck stock + refrigerant log + warranty parts) | OK now, better Q1 2027 — for shops with deep truck stock, evaluate |
| Plumbing | High (fixture-specific + emergency parts kit) | OK now, better Q1 2027 |
| Appliance repair | Very High (model-keyed parts, OEM-specific) | Weak — wait for Q1 2027, or look at FieldEdge / ServiceTitan |
If your trade is in the "Weak" or "OK now, better Q1 2027" rows AND inventory is a top-3 operational pain, the honest call is: wait for Q1 2027, or evaluate FieldEdge/ServiceTitan for the parts-deep workflow. We won't pretend OpsLight covers what it doesn't.
Common questions
What people ask about inventory in OpsLight.
Does OpsLight track inventory?
Not in the traditional 'stock-on-shelves' sense. We track materials USED on jobs (parts, supplies, fluids, consumables), generate parts-replaced logs for monthly PM reports, and track equipment on-site (air movers, dehumidifiers, scrubbers for restoration; specific tools for other trades). Multi-warehouse stock-on-hand inventory is intentionally not built. Truck-stock basic tracking ships Q1 2027.
Can OpsLight integrate with QuickBooks Items for inventory?
Yes — partial. OpsLight can read your QuickBooks Online Items list (parts, services, bundles) and match parts-used messages from the field to specific Items. When tech texts PARTS J-1248: 1x R-410A 25lb, OpsLight matches that to the corresponding QBO Item and logs cost from the QBO unit-cost field. Tracking stock-on-hand stays in QBO; we just feed it the usage data.
What about truck-stock tracking?
Roadmap Q1 2027. Pattern: each truck has an inventory tab in the Google Sheet; tech texts RESTOCK [truck-id] with a parts photo when they restock; consumption is auto-tracked from PARTS messages logged against jobs done from that truck. Low-stock alerts go to owner SMS.
What does OpsLight do for equipment-on-site tracking?
Live for restoration today. Every air mover, LGR/desiccant dehumidifier, HEPA scrubber, and negative-air machine has an asset tag. Crew SMS-tags placement and recovery. 7-day threshold alarm for forgotten equipment. Adaptable to any trade with significant on-site equipment investment.
Why doesn't OpsLight build multi-warehouse inventory?
Two reasons. First: 1-15 person shops rarely have multi-warehouse operations. The shop has a truck (or 3), and a small parts room. That's not warehousing — that's truck stock. Second: when a shop DOES need real warehouse inventory, ServiceTitan or QuickBooks Online Plus / Enterprise are the right tools. Not our shape.
What if I'm a parts-heavy trade (appliance repair, HVAC)?
The parts-used-per-job tracking + the QBO Items integration gets you 80% of what you need. For trades that buy custom parts per job (appliance repair specifically — model-number-keyed parts) the Q1 2027 truck-stock roadmap matters more. If you can wait, that ships. If you can't, ServiceTitan or FieldEdge with their inventory modules is honestly a better fit.
Want to talk through your trade's inventory shape?
20 minutes. We'll honestly tell you whether OpsLight covers your inventory needs today, after Q1 2027, or never. Either way you leave knowing.