Setting Low-Stock Alerts

In my experience, running out of critical parts in the middle of a job day is one of the most disruptive scenarios a field service operation can face. What I typically recommend is setting up low-stock alerts well before you think you need them — the lead time on some components can be substantial, and catching a shortage early makes all the difference in maintaining your service commitments.

This article walks through configuring automated notifications when inventory items fall below your defined thresholds. I will cover both the basic setup and some of the nuances I have seen teams overlook in their initial configuration.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure that you have completed your initial inventory setup. If you have not yet added your parts to FieldPulse, you will want to start with Setting Up Your Parts Inventory and Adding and Editing Inventory Items. The alert system depends on having accurate current quantities recorded for each item.

You will also need administrator permissions or a role with Inventory Management access to configure these settings.

Understanding Alert Thresholds

A low-stock threshold is the quantity at which FieldPulse considers an item to be running low and triggers a notification. In my experience, what I typically recommend is thinking about this number not as your absolute zero, but as your reorder point — the level where you need to start the procurement process.

Consider these factors when setting your thresholds:

Supplier lead time: Items that take weeks to arrive need higher thresholds
Usage velocity: How quickly do you typically consume this part?
Criticality to operations: A specialty component that halts multiple job types warrants a more conservative threshold
Seasonal fluctuations: You may want to adjust thresholds before peak season

Configuring a Low-Stock Alert

Follow these steps to set up an alert for an inventory item:

Navigate to Inventory > Items in the main navigation
Locate the item you wish to configure — you can use the search bar or filter by category
Click the item name to open the detail view
In the Stock Settings section, locate the Low Stock Threshold field
Enter your desired threshold quantity — this is the level that will trigger the alert
Enable the Alert When Low toggle
Select who should receive notifications: Inventory Managers, All Administrators, or specific users
Click Save Changes

The system will now monitor this item's quantity. When the available stock drops to or below your threshold, FieldPulse sends a notification to the designated recipients.

Setting Alert Frequency and Delivery Methods

What I have found is that teams often want to control not just who gets notified, but how often and through which channels. After you have enabled low-stock alerts on individual items, you can refine the broader notification behavior.

Go to Settings > Notifications > Inventory Alerts:

Immediate alerts: Sent as soon as any item hits its threshold — best for critical components
Daily digest: One summary email listing all items currently below threshold — useful for routine reordering
SMS notifications: Available for urgent thresholds; requires phone numbers configured in user profiles

In my experience, what I typically recommend is using immediate alerts only for your most critical items, and setting up a daily digest for everything else. This prevents notification fatigue while ensuring you do not miss something important.

Bulk Configuration via CSV Import

If you are configuring alerts for many items at once — perhaps during your initial setup or a periodic review — doing this individually becomes impractical. FieldPulse supports setting thresholds during the inventory import process.

Include a low_stock_threshold column in your import file. See Bulk Importing Inventory via CSV for the full specification and template.

Responding to Low-Stock Alerts

When you receive a low-stock notification, the alert includes a direct link to the item in FieldPulse. From there, you have several options:

Create a purchase order: If you have supplier information saved, you can generate a PO directly
Reserve existing stock: For items already committed to upcoming jobs, see Reserving Inventory for Upcoming Jobs
Adjust the threshold: If you are receiving too many alerts for a particular item, the threshold may need recalibration
Mark as reorder in progress: Update the item status so your team knows parts are incoming

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Over the course of implementing this feature with various organizations, I have encountered a few patterns worth noting:

Alerts not sending: Verify that the item's current quantity is actually at or below the threshold. If you have negative quantities enabled for tracking backorders, the alert logic still applies to absolute values. Also check that the user receiving notifications has inventory alerts enabled in their personal notification preferences.

Threshold crossed but no alert: Alerts trigger on the transition — when quantity drops from above the threshold to at or below it. If an item was already below threshold when you enabled alerts, you will not receive a notification until the quantity changes again. In my experience, what I typically recommend is doing a one-time manual review of current stock levels after enabling the feature.

Too many notifications: Consider raising thresholds for consumable items or switching to daily digests. Some teams create a separate notification group for non-critical items.