October 28, 2026

How do I track samples and inventory in MONA?

Click Inventory in the sidebar, then Add item. Open any item to Check out a sample to a client or project, mark it Returned or Sold, or Adjust stock. Every move lands in its Stock history.

Quick answer: click Inventory in the sidebar and use Add item to record each piece the studio owns: stock, staging pieces, resale items and material samples. Open any item to Check out a sample to a client or project, mark it Returned or Sold when the loan ends, or Adjust stock after a count. Every move is logged in the item’s Stock history.

Inventory is the register of owned pieces many studios keep in a spreadsheet. It is separate from the Product Library, which holds pieces you have found but do not own. If your register already lives in a spreadsheet, bring it in with Import instead of typing it: see How do I import a spreadsheet into Inventory and add my own fields?.

Who can use this

Inventory is included on every MONA plan. It sits in the Library group of the sidebar on the web and is built for a desktop screen. Everyone on the team can add items, edit them, adjust counts and record checkouts, returns and sales. Only owners and admins can remove an item.

How do I add an item?

Click Inventory in the sidebar, then Add item. On an empty register, click Add an item.
Type the Title and pick the Type: Stock, Sample or Staging. For a sample, the next box asks for the Material (tile, fabric); for other types it is an optional Sub-type.
Fill in what you know: Brand, Category, Purchased from, Tags (separate with commas), SKU, Where it’s stored, Dimensions, Color, Finish and Materials.
Under Cost, pick Amount and type the Unit cost, or pick Free or Paid, amount not stated.
Enter the Quantity on hand. After this, the count only changes through Adjust stock, checkouts, sales and proposal lines, so every change has a reason.
For resale and staging pieces, the Resale + staging section adds Status, Condition, Asking price, Freight each, Qty purchased, Date acquired, Originally bought for and Logged by.
Description is the text that goes onto a proposal line. Notes are internal and never copied onto a proposal.
Click Add item. Open the item afterwards to Add photos.

Most cells in the table edit in place: click a name, category, brand, store, status, shelf location, price or source link to change it without opening the item.

How do I check out a sample to a client?

Click the item to open its panel, then click Check out.
Pick a Project (optional) to put the piece on that project’s schedule, with an optional Room.
Under Who has it, pick a contact or type a name. You need a person or a project.
Enter How many, an optional Due back date and a Note, then click Check out.

The panel’s Out with section lists each open loan: how many, who has it, since when and when it is due. An overdue date shows in red. To close a loan, click one of three buttons:

Returned: it is back on your shelf and the count goes up again. If it was on a project schedule, it comes off the schedule.
Sold: the client kept it. It stays on the project schedule.
Back to store: it went back to the shop it came from. Nothing returns to your shelf.

The Out with clients chip above the table shows only items that are out right now.

How do I adjust stock or mark something sold?

Adjust stock: type a positive number under Change by for stock coming in, or a negative one for stock going out. The modal shows On hand now and After this change before you click Save adjustment. The - and + buttons on each row and card open the same window prefilled with -1 or +1.
Mark sold: records a sale straight off the shelf, with How many and an optional Project and Who bought it.
Return to store: sends units from your shelf back to the shop. It lowers the count and is not a sale.

Where do I see an item’s location and history?

The Where column and the item panel show where every unit is, for example "2 in Warehouse · 1 at Harper staging": your shelf location plus each project or person it is out with.

Stock history at the bottom of the panel lists every movement with who made it and when: Opening stock, Manual adjustment, Checked out, Returned, Sold, Returned to store, Added to a proposal, Removed from a proposal, Billed on an invoice and Removed from an invoice.

How do I filter, group and switch to Cards?

Search looks at the name, SKU, brand, store, tags, color, category, materials, description and your own fields, across every item, not just the ones on screen.
The first menu in the filter row starts on In inventory (on the shelf or out at a job). Pick On hand, Nothing left or Everything to see more. When sold or used-up items are hidden, a line under the table says how many, with Show them.
Type chips: Everything, Stock, Samples, Staging. Picking a type adds chips for its materials or sub-types.
Show archived and the status menu (Available, Reserved, Staged, Sold, Retired) narrow it further.
Category chips (with All categories and Uncategorized) show a count across the whole register. Tag chips work the same way, and Search brands and Search stores filter by one brand or shop.
Group by splits the table or cards into collapsible groups: Category, Subtype, Brand or Purchased from. Pick No grouping to turn it off.
The Table and Cards switch flips between a spreadsheet and photo cards. Cards come in S, M, L and XL with a sort menu; the table has Compact, Comfortable and Large rows.

How do I choose which columns show?

Click Columns above the table. It is the one place to show, hide and move every column, the built-in ones and the fields you added under Fields. Tick a column to show it and use the arrows to move it left or right. Drag a header edge to change its width. Item and Quick count always stay. Reset column layout puts everything back.

In Cards view, the same menu picks which facts each card shows. Your layout, Group by and view choices are saved for you in this browser and never change a teammate’s view.

Can I ask the agent?

Yes. In any chat, ask "check out two of the green velvet samples to the Harper project, due back Friday", "what samples are out right now", "we counted the brass lamps, there are 4", or "mark the oak console sold to Jane Park". MONA uses the same actions as the Inventory screen. A dashboard or tool MONA builds for you can also edit items, adjust stock, check out, record returns and mark sales, but never archive or delete. See Databases and dashboards.

What it does not do (yet)

There is no low-stock alert or reorder point.
Changing the count on an existing item always goes through Adjust stock, a checkout, a sale or a proposal line, so the history stays complete.
On a phone, Inventory is not on the bottom bar. Open it from the menu, but it is designed for a desktop screen.

Want a hand?

If you are moving a sample library or staging warehouse into MONA, book 30 minutes with the founder at calendly.com/mona-justin/30min and bring your current sheet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Inventory and the Product Library?

The Product Library holds pieces you have found, such as clipped vendor pages and catalog products, with no quantity. Inventory holds pieces the studio physically owns: stock, staging pieces, resale items and material samples, each with a count on hand, a location and a stock history.

Can I track memo samples that go out and come back?

Yes. Set the Type to Sample when you add the item. Check it out to a client, contact or project with a Due back date, and click Returned when it comes back. An overdue loan shows its due date in red, and the Out with clients chip lists everything that is out.

Does adding an inventory item to a proposal change the count?

Yes. In a proposal, Add from inventory fills a line from the item, and saving it draws the stock down by the line quantity. Changing the quantity moves the count by the difference, and deleting the line puts the stock back. Each move shows in the item’s Stock history.