In Odoo 18 Sales, configuring Units of Measure (UoM) and Unit of Measure Categories is crucial for managing product quantities effectively, especially when dealing with varying measurement standards across products and regions.
The configuration can be done in the Sales or Inventory module, where Units of Measure and their categories help define how products are measured, sold, and stored. You can activate this option from the Settings menu.
To begin, navigate to the Configuration menu in the Sales module and access the Units of Measure option. Here, you can see a list of pre-configured UoMs such as Units, Kilograms, Liters, and more. Each UoM must be assigned to a Unit of Measure Category, which ensures that only units from the same category can be used interchangeably. For example, units like Kilogram, Gram, and Ton belong to the "Weight" category, while Liter and Milliliter belong to the "Volume" category.
To configure the Unit of Measure Categories, go to the Unit of Measure Categories option under Configuration. Categories group similar units, ensuring consistency and avoiding mixing incompatible measurements. When creating a category, you can name it and activate the Group Products in the POS option if necessary.
When creating a UoM using the Add a Line button, you also need to set its type: Reference Unit, Bigger than the Reference Unit, or Smaller than the Reference Unit. This classification determines how the unit relates to the reference unit in its category. Additionally, you can define the ratio for conversion. For instance, if Kilogram is the reference unit, a Gram would have a ratio of 0.001, while a Ton would have a ratio of 1000. You can also specify the rounding precision to avoid errors in calculations during transactions.