📦 How to Track Spare Parts and Stock Across Several Buildings Without a Spreadsheet

A spare parts list is only useful if it is true at the moment you need it. Most are true on the day somebody types them up and drifting by the end of the week: a belt went out on a call and nobody crossed it off, a filter order came in and nobody added it. Then the list is worse than nothing, because you trust it, drive across town, and the shelf is empty.

This post covers what to record for each part, how to keep the count honest when more than one person takes from the same shelf, and how to set it up by building in Equipment Tracker. If you already have the shop side sorted and want a recurring filter route, building a filter list for all your buildings is the companion. The parts and inventory guide walks the screens. If you track stock in a general inventory app today, why generic inventory tools fall short for HVAC explains what is missing.

What should you record for each spare part?

Five fields are enough. A part with only a name is a guess.

• ▸ The name, in words the next person will recognize at the shelf.
• ▸ The part number. The OEM number is what a supply house asks for, so it saves a phone call. For filters, the size or the part number works.
• ▸ The size, for anything that is bought by size: a filter, a belt.
• ▸ Where it is stored. "Mechanical room, shelf two" beats "the building".
• ▸ How many are on hand. A whole number, kept current.

Why track stock by location instead of one big list?

Because the question you actually ask is "is there one at this building?", not "do we own one somewhere?" A single list of everything makes the answer to that question a search. One list per building makes it a glance. It also keeps the count honest, since the person at the building is the one most likely to notice it is wrong.

In Equipment Tracker that is how it is built. On the phone you tap Parts, Inventory & Tools on the home screen, pick a location, and see six tabs: Filters, Belt, Refrigerant, Spare Parts & Supplies, Out of Stock and Tools. On the web dashboard, More, then Inventory gives you a location list plus a search across all of them, which is the "do we own one anywhere" view.

One thing to know before you start: two spellings of a location count as two locations, so "Main St Plaza" and "Main Street Plaza" will each get their own shelf. Pick one spelling and use it.

How do you add a part in Equipment Tracker?

Pick a location and a tab, then tap + to open ADD SPARE PART.

• ▸ Enter the part name, the OEM part number, the size if it has one, the STORAGE LOCATION, the INITIAL QUANTITY ON HAND and any notes.
• ▸ On the Filters and Belt tabs there is also a quick-add bar for a size and a quantity, which is the fast way to enter a wall of filters.
• ▸ A filter can be identified by size (for example 20x25x1) or by part number (for example G54E).
• ▸ On a belt or filter, SAVE PART can open MATCHES FOUND: if equipment at that location has exactly the same size, each match is already ticked, and SAVE & LINK TO … SELECTED links them, and the confirmation says what it fits.
• ▸ On the web dashboard, click ➕ Add Stock Item and choose Air Filter, Fan Belt, Refrigerant Cylinder or Spare Parts & Supplies.

How do you keep the count true?

There are two ways a count goes wrong: nobody subtracts the part when it leaves, or two people subtract at once. Both have a fix.

For the first, take parts off as part of the job, not as a second chore. When you log a service call, complete a work order or complete a PM, you pick the parts used, and with Deduct from stock ticked they come off that location's count. The service record notes them as taken from stock. When you just need to correct the shelf, tap + or − beside the item, or type the number. The pencil opens EDIT INVENTORY ITEM.

For the second, each + and − is kept as its own move, and the moves from every phone and the web dashboard are added together. So when two techs take parts from the same shelf and one of them has no signal, both come off the count once that phone sends its changes. A phone sends the changes it made offline when it next opens the Home screen (at most every five minutes) or the app is reopened. If you type a number instead, you are saying how many are on the shelf right now, and when two typed counts meet, the one taken last wins.

How do you know what you are out of?

Anything at zero turns red and appears on the Out of Stock tab. That is the whole mechanism, and it is worth being plain about what it is not. There are no minimum quantities or reorder levels, no low-stock banner, no unit cost and no usage history. It will tell you a shelf is empty. It will not tell you it is about to be.

Two practical habits cover most of that. Look at Out of Stock before you leave the shop in the morning. And for the parts you cannot be without, check the shelf when you complete the job that used the last one, while you are standing in front of it.

There is also no record of who took a stock item. Tools are different: they keep a checkout history, which is what a tool check-out log is about.

What happens when a part goes on an invoice?

When a job is billed, the parts it used become invoice lines at $0 for you to price, because stock items carry no price. That is deliberate: you decide the price of each part when you bill, rather than the app guessing from a number that was entered months ago.

What does it cost, and who can use it?

Stock per location, deducting parts from a job and the count screens are free on the phone. The web dashboard's Inventory page is part of Pro, which is $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year. Team plans start at $39.99 a month for 5 seats, the owner included, and every first plan has a 7-day free trial. Counts reach the cloud when Cloud Backup is on, which is a Pro feature.

On a team, owners, managers and techs can add, change and delete stock. Viewers can only look.

What does it not do?

Quantities are whole numbers, so half a box does not exist. There are no reorder points and no unit cost on stock. If you need those, the honest answer is that this is a shelf counter that stays connected to your jobs, not a purchasing system. For the question "is there one here, and did the last job use it?", that is usually enough.

How do you track HVAC spare parts inventory?

Keep a stock list for each location with each part's name, part number, size, where it is stored and how many are on hand, and take parts off the count when a job uses them. In Equipment Tracker, open Parts, Inventory & Tools, pick a location and add the part on the right tab.

Is parts inventory free in Equipment Tracker?

Stock per location and deducting parts from a job are free on the phone. The web dashboard's Inventory page needs Pro.

Does it take parts off the count automatically?

When you pick parts on a service log, a work order or a PM completion with Deduct from stock ticked, they come off that location's count.

Does it warn me when stock is low?

No. There are no minimum or reorder levels and no low-stock banner. Anything at zero turns red and appears on the Out of Stock tab.

What if two technicians use the same shelf?

Each plus and minus is kept as its own move, and the moves from every phone and the web dashboard are added together, so both come off the count even if one phone was offline when it happened.

Can I track who took a part?

No record is kept of who took a stock item. Tools are different: they keep a checkout history.

Jonathan Curtis

HVAC Technician & Founder · Equipment Tracker Pro

Jonathan Curtis is an HVAC technician and the founder of Equipment Tracker Pro. He built the app to solve real problems he encountered in the field, including the daily frustration of faded nameplates and administrative double-entry.