Hi Gordon,
Good idea. However, I have a problem with barcode then. Current practice, the barcode is by each item number. When I sell the item, i will scan the barcode and the item number field will appear along with its other information like its weight on the invoice screen. I'm not sure how I can do this with batches. 
On second thought, is there a maximum number of batches we can create for an item master? For example, if I have 5000 batches for an item master, won't this affect the system performance as well?
Thanks.
John