qty

Qty is an abbreviation for quantity, used across business, manufacturing, and software to denote a count or amount of discrete items. It commonly appears in catalogs, invoices, and inventory screens as a quick way to convey how many units are involved.

In commerce and inventory, qty indicates how many units of a product are to be purchased, stored, or available. It is typically a non-negative integer, though some contexts track fractional quantities (for bulk goods) or require a minimum increment. In user interfaces, a field labeled Qty is often paired with a unit of measure to reduce ambiguity.

In data schemas and software systems, Qty is a common field or column name. The data type is usually integer, but decimal types may be used for partial units in certain industries. Systems may also track related fields such as qty_on_hand, qty_on_order, or qty_allocated to capture different stages of inventory or fulfillment.

In programming and data interchange, qty is frequently used as a variable name or JSON key, with conventions varying by language and project. For example, a JSON object might include "qty": 5, while a database might store the value in a column named Qty.

Ambiguity can arise if the unit of measure is not specified; effective use of qty typically includes context such as unit_of_measure (UOM) and item specifications. See also quantity, unit of measure, and inventory management.