Programs

Program Setup: Bed & Unit Inventory Information

This article describes how to add bed and unit inventory at the program level.

Clarity Human Services offers two methods for communities to collect information about the beds and units in their system:

  • In a general manner at the program level. This process is the focus of this article.
  • In a more detailed and dynamic method through the INVENTORY module. For details on this method, refer to our INVENTORY Overview article.


To add bed and unit information at the program level, follow the steps listed below.

  • From the launchpad, navigate to MANAGE > PROGRAMS
  • Click the Edit icon for the program.
  • Click Bed & Unit Inventory Information in the Program Resources sidebar, then click ADD INVENTORY.

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The ADD BED & UNIT INVENTORY INFORMATION page appears.

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  • Complete the following fields:
    • Inventory Start Date: the date the inventory first became available.
    • Inventory End Date: the date the availability ended. It may be left null.
    • Continuum of Care: the CoC where the beds are located.
    • Household Type: the household type this bed inventory will serve
    • Bed Type: facility-based, voucher-based, other.
    • Availability: year-round, seasonal, etc. 
    • Youth-Veterans: number of beds dedicated to youth-veterans.
    • Any Other Veteran: number of beds dedicated to any other veteran.
    • Any Other Youth: number of beds dedicated to any other youth.
    • Non-Dedicated Beds: number of non-dedicated beds.
    • Total Bed Inventory: calculated number based on dedicated and non-dedicated beds.
    • Total Unit Inventory: number of rooms/apartments/units where the beds are located.
  • Click SAVE CHANGES.

You may add multiple bed inventories as long as the inventories with the same CoC, Household Type, and Availability do not have overlapping dates.

Note: INVENTORY Beds and Units and manually entered "Bed and Unit Inventory" within a program are considered separate in the system and can therefore overlap.

  • When Use Inventory Calculated Records is turned on for a program, INVENTORY information will be used for reporting.
  • When Use Inventory Calculated Records is turned off, reports will pull the Bed & Unit Information from the program level, even if you’re using INVENTORY.


If you change the project type for a program with Bed & Unit Inventory, you will see a pop-up notification that the current date will be applied as the end date for all active inventory records associated with that program. Recommended practice is to create a new program if the project type changes. However, this update will mitigate inventory issues when a project type is modified for an existing program.


To better understand the connection between program/bed inventory setup and HMIS Federal reporting, refer to:

If the Use Inventory Calculated Records option is turned on, you will see a HOUSING INVENTORY SITES section with expandable subsections that display details about the number of Buildings and Units that are connected to each Site. 


Published: 01/04/2024