# Unit of Measure overview

A unit of measure (UOM) is the unit that a good or service can be packaged into for sale. For example, you could purchase a ream of paper, a coil of wire, or a square foot of flooring.

Additionally, you can also use UOMs on line items to request additional data about the goods or services, collect insights about the supplier, or ask questions related to the sourcing process.

### How do UOMs work? <a href="#howdouomswork" id="howdouomswork"></a>

Line items outline a good or service you need to purchase. For most line item, you'll need to add a description, UOM, and quantity. The UOM combined with the quantity describes how much of each item you want.

<figure><img src="/files/f8Jx2aYPJwoqKu8x7Cct" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The UOM describes the unit of the item (e.g., a *box* of nails) and the quantity is the number of that unit (e.g., *10* boxes of nails).

<figure><img src="/files/aQeARPCw6xfQ8kUF0RgT" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

You can also add line items to learn more about the supplier and their offerings. This could include different types of questions, such as multiple choice, text, or yes/no. For these line items, a quantity isn't set and suppliers will respond with information or attachments. See How to pick a UOM for a line item.

### What if a supplier sells in a different UOM? <a href="#whatifasuppliersellsinadifferentuom" id="whatifasuppliersellsinadifferentuom"></a>

To make it easier to send proposals in business-defined units of measure, suppliers can convert the line item UOM of value based UOMs to the measurement they use to sell their items.

#### What suppliers see

For example, if you want to buy 1,000 pens, but the supplier sells them in packs of 20, the supplier can respond with their price for 20-packs of pens.

<figure><img src="/files/8jF18R6DK8bxgZdRtx04" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### What you see

So it is easier for you to review, you will see their responses in the UOM you used when creating the event (e.g., the price per pen). Fairmarkit automatically does this calculation for you. Just hover over the indicator to see how it was calculated.

<figure><img src="/files/wUbaXs9gsmOjIXhSZefg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### What if I need a new UOM? <a href="#whatifineedanewuom" id="whatifineedanewuom"></a>

A set of [common UOMs ](/glossary/glossary/unit-of-measure-overview/uoms.md)are available for each line item type. If a necessary UOM is not available, you can contact <support@fairmarkit.com> and request it be added.


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