How to count cartons, boxes, and pieces in WMS?

TB WMS · inventory · Last updated November 10, 2026 · Version 1

This process works in apps: TB WMS, TB Books

This article will teach you how to set a product’s packages on the product, then count, receive, adjust, and print labels in those packages.

Some vendors ship a part by the piece, but the warehouse stores it in cartons. A carton can hold boxes, and each box holds pieces. Tire Base keeps one quantity on the product, in pieces, in the same catalog Books and WMS already share. Packages are a faster way to count and label that quantity.

Packaging on a product: 1 Box = 48 pieces and 1 Carton = 4 boxes. A count asks for cartons, boxes, and pieces.

Example: 339 cartons × 4 boxes × 48 pieces = 65,088 pieces. The stock number stays 65,088. The count screen shows 339 cartons.

Steps

Open the product in WMS Inventory or Books Products and edit it. Packaging is on the product, so every app sees the same packages.
Set the base unit (Pcs, Strip, or Each). Add a level such as 1 Box = 48 Pcs, then 1 Carton = 4 Box. Save.
On Quick Lookup, the total shows the piece count and the package breakdown. Edit packaging from that card when a counter finds the product is packed.
During Audit / Count, a packaged product asks for cartons, boxes, and loose pieces. Scanning the carton barcode adds one carton. The saved count is still pieces.
On a receipt or Quick Adjust, pick the unit before you enter the quantity. 2 cartons posts 384 pieces when a carton is 192.
Print Label can print a piece label or a carton / box label. The package label’s barcode is that package, so the next scan counts the carton.

Conclusion & best practices

Define packaging once on the product. Stock, purchase orders, and count variances stay in pieces. A package deal — items you sell together, such as an oil change — is a different feature. Build that in TB POS → Lookup → Packages or TB Books → Inventory & Services → Packages. See How to add a package deal in POS? and How to add a package deal in Books?.