Overview
The Descriptive Inventory settings page is where administrators configure account-level options for the Descriptive Inventory feature. Settings applied here affect how crew members interact with Descriptive Inventory in the Crew App, including whether barcode and QR code scanning is available during jobs.
Before You Start
You must have access to SmartMoving account settings to view and change these options.
Changes made on this page apply account-wide and take effect immediately for all crew members.
How to Access Descriptive Inventory Settings
Log in to the SmartMoving web app.
Navigate to Settings.
Select Crew App from the settings navigation.
Click Descriptive Inventory.
Available Settings
Workflow Settings
Require Photos for Damaged Items
What it does: Crew must add a photo when recording damage. Items with damage cannot be saved without at least one photo.
When turned on: Crew members are required to attach at least one photo before they can save any item marked as damaged during a Descriptive Inventory. This ensures damage is visually documented for every exception recorded.
When turned off: Photos for damaged items are optional. Crew members can save damaged items without attaching a photo.
💡SmartTip: Enabling this setting strengthens your damage documentation and supports the claims process by ensuring every recorded exception has a corresponding photo. For more detail on how this setting works, see How to Require Photos for Damaged Items in Descriptive Inventory.
Enable "Rooms" functionality for Descriptive Inventory
What it does: Lets crew members organize Descriptive Inventory items by room during an inventory session. When enabled, crew can define rooms at the start of a job, assign items to specific rooms as they work, and filter the inventory by room on the Lot List screen.
When turned on:
The Manage Rooms dialog appears automatically at the start of a Descriptive Inventory session.
Rooms pre-populate from the pre-move inventory (if one exists) or from your web app room configuration.
Crew members can assign items to rooms using the Room dropdown when adding or editing inventory items.
The Lot List screen includes a room filter with item counts.
When turned off:
The Manage Rooms dialog does not appear during the Descriptive Inventory workflow.
The Room dropdown is not available on inventory items.
The room filter does not appear on the Lot List screen.
💡 SmartTip: For the full workflow, including how to set up rooms, assign items, and filter by room, see Mapping Inventory Items to Rooms in Descriptive Inventory.
QR / Barcode Scanning
Enable QR / Barcode Scanning
What it does: When enabled, crew members can scan QR codes or barcodes to identify items during initial inventory and to confirm receipt during inventory checks. Code stickers can be generated on the Estimate tab of an opportunity.
When turned on:
Crew members with the Can manage descriptive inventories permission can scan items from the Item Details Drawer and during inventory item checks.
The Scan button becomes visible in the Crew App alongside the existing Item Check and Inventory List options.
The Lot # and Starting Item # fields in the Lot Details Drawer will auto-populate based on the most recently generated barcode batch for the opportunity.
The Generate QR / Barcode Stickers option becomes available on the opportunity's Estimate tab in the web app
When turned off:
Scanning is not available to crew members.
The Scan button does not appear in the Crew App.
The Generate QR / Barcode Stickers option is not visible in the web app.
💡SmartTip: Before turning on scanning, make sure the crew members who will use it have the Can manage descriptive inventories permission enabled. You can verify this under Settings > Crew App > Crew App Permissions > Descriptive Inventory.
Related Permissions
Descriptive Inventory features in the Crew App are also controlled by crew member permissions. To set up the full range of permissions, including scanning access, pre-move list access, and bulk item actions, see How to Configure Crew App Settings for Descriptive Inventory.