Inventory - Getting started

1What the Inventory module does #

Inventory keeps every item the company buys, makes, sells or stores, how much of it there is and where, and what it is worth. It never keeps a stock figure you type in by hand: every quantity on every stock report is worked out from the vouchers that moved it, starting from the opening stock on the item.

The chain is always the same:

Whether a voucher moves stock at all, and in which direction, is decided by its voucher type in Voucher Manager, not by the screen. The same voucher screen serves every voucher type, and reshapes itself to what the voucher type asks for.

2Where to find help #

Help comes in three places, and they say the same thing.

• On every screen: the Help panel on the right of every master, the voucher screen and each report. It explains what the screen is for, how to use it step by step, every field, the keys, why a pick-list can be empty, the rules it enforces and what to do when something does not work.
• The manual: at the foot of this guide, the help of every Inventory screen - the item masters, the voucher screen, Voucher Manager, Stock Availability and the report viewer - chapter by chapter. Use it to read ahead or to train somebody without opening each screen.
• The help search box: type a word - a field, a message, a report name - and it finds the screen that explains it.

3Where things are - the Inventory menu #

The item masters live under Masters, grouped on the Masters page into tiles. The stock documents live under Inventory Vouchers. The stock reports live under Reports. Settings live under Settings.

4The Inventory Dashboard - where things stand #

Inventory Vouchers > Inventory Dashboard (under *Start here*) shows the module at a glance: what the stock is worth and where the value sits; items below nought; items under their re-order or minimum level; and stock that has not moved in 90 days.

• Every tile has a button that opens the report behind the figure, and every list has one at its head - the dashboard is where you start, the report is where you act.
• A figure that wants attention reads red; one that is as it should be reads green; a plain figure is just a fact.
• The figures are for the report option you signed in with (All, Branch or Group), shown at the top as *For*, up to today. *This year* is the financial year; *this month* the calendar month.
• Cancelled vouchers are never counted, and money figures count posted vouchers only. What is entered but not posted has a tile of its own.
• The page is read when it opens and on Refresh (F3); it does not refresh by itself. Nothing is changed there.
• The right. The dashboard has a user preference of its own: *User Can View Inventory Dashboard* in User Manager > Preferences. It starts unticked for everyone, because the dashboard shows money figures; an administrator ticks it for whoever should see it. Administrators always hold it.

5First-day setup (administrator) #

Do these once per company, in this order. Stock is only as right as the items behind it, and every later voucher reads what you set here.

1. Licence. Check that the licence carries Inventory Management (and Stock Transfer if you move stock between storage spaces on stock-transfer vouchers). Without the module its voucher types are not listed, even for an administrator.
2. Company switches. In Admin > Company Details, switch on Multiple storage spaces if stock is counted per godown. In Settings > General Settings, switch on Track divisions if the company splits its books and stock by division.
3. Inventory Settings. Open Settings > Inventory Settings and decide, with your accountant, the Closing Stock Valuation Method and the Valuation of Opening Stock Method. Switch on Track Serial Number if any item is serial-tracked, and set the barcode and product-master options you need (see Settings below).
4. Units (Masters > Inventory Masters > Units): every unit you buy or sell in. An item cannot be saved without one.
5. Tax classes and HSN codes: the GST classes (with their state, central and integrated rates) and the HSN / SAC codes your items carry.
6. Price types (Masters > Inventory Masters > Price Types): the price levels you keep - standard purchase price, retail, wholesale, MRP - and any formulas between them. The standard purchase price is also what values opening stock unless the setting names another price type.
7. Item groups, then sub groups, categories and sub-categories if you report by them. Give a group its price formulas and multi-tax slabs if its items share them.
8. Brands, product styles, stock groups, storage spaces, racks, product attributes, item parameters: only what the business actually uses.
9. Items (Masters > Item Master): name, group, unit, tax, prices, re-order levels and the features each item uses. Then the opening stock, split by storage space, branch, division, stock group, batch or serial number as the company tracks them.
10. Voucher types (Masters > Voucher Manager): for each stock document, Affect Stock Register ?, Movement Type, Action Against Neg./Zero Stock, and the switches for storage spaces, stock groups, serial numbers and item parameters. Check that a voucher type named exactly Physical Stock exists - the count sheet posts on it.
11. Rights. In User Manager, give each role its rights on the inventory masters, on each voucher type (Vouchers tab: Create, Alter, Delete, Find, Print, and the stock-reserve and rate-edit rights), on the Stock Report report permission entry (Custom Reports tab), and tick the menu entries they need (Menu Definition and Reports tabs).

6Keys that work across the module #

Every Inventory screen uses the same keys. The one-record masters (Item Master, Units, Item Group, Brands, Tax Class, HSN Code, Price Types, Stock Group, Warehouse, Rack Master, Batch Master, Serial No Master, Price List Manager, Item Parameter Templates) work like this:

The grid masters, where several rows are edited at once (Rack-wise Stock, Branch-wise Serial Stock, Product Attributes, Item Parameter Groups, Product Parameters, Parameter Template Names), use their keys a little differently:

The voucher screen adds its own:

On the report viewer, F5 runs the report and Ctrl+P prints it; on Stock Availability, F3 runs it again with the current filters. After Save a master stays on the record in view mode; press F3 for the next one.

7Two switches behind every stock feature #

Almost every optional stock feature needs two things switched on: one on the voucher type (Voucher Manager) and one on the item (Item Master) or the company. When a column, a button or a dialog does not appear on a voucher, check both ends before anything else.

8Classifying items - the small masters #

These masters are quick to fill but decide how every report groups and totals. Each is Find / Add / Modify / Save / Delete, and each name must be unique.

9Items - the Item Master #

Items are made on Masters > Item Master (the page is titled Product Master). The page opens ready to add.

1. Type the Name (required and unique), pick the Group Name and the Unit - the three things a save cannot do without. Every missing one is listed at once.
2. Pick the Product Class: Inventory for stocked goods, Service Item for a service line, Stock Alias for a kit that consumes its components when sold, Value Allocation Item, Labour Item, Fixed Asset or Room. Affect Stock can be switched on only for Inventory, Value Allocation Item and Fixed Asset items.
3. Pick the Default Tax Class and HSN Code, and the Manufacturer / Brand. With Require Item Category And Sub-Category on in Inventory Settings, the Sub Group, Category and Sub Category boxes appear too.
4. Fill the Pricing table: one price per price type, and a % On Net Cost beside it. A price type with a formula shows f, is read-only and works itself out; change a base price and the formula rows follow.
5. Set Min Stock, Max Stock and Re-Order Level - the Stock Level Variance report and Generate PO read them.
6. Type the Opening Stock if the item had stock on the first day (see Opening stock).
7. On the Advanced tab switch on what the item needs: Allow Stock Group, Is Allow Batch, Track Serial Number, Is Allow Product Variants, Is Track Item Parameters, Is Track Measurements, Define Br./Dept. Stock (ERP), and Define Ext. Properties for colour, weight, height and quantity in pack.
8. Save (F5) and confirm. The item stays on screen in view mode and the action buttons wake up.

The action buttons (saved item, view mode)

Faster ways to work

• Product Browser (Masters > Inventory Tools) lists every item you may see - inactive ones too, so they can be found and reactivated. Search by name, description, part number, group, sub-group, category or make; double-click to open the item. It needs the ProductBrowser tools right.
• Excel Import / Export on the Item Master opens the shared importer (also at Tools & Utilities > Data Import & Export) to bring many items in from a worksheet.
• Every pick-list with a + Create new ... footer creates the missing master in a dialog and selects it at once - group, unit, brand, stock group and the rest.
• Use Manufacturer Barcode enables the barcode fields: User Barcode From and Std. Barcode (the barcode printed on the pack).

10Prices - price types, formulas and price lists #

An item carries one price per price type. A voucher type says which price type its lines are priced at, and which others the operator may switch to.

Price types and formulas

• Each price type has a Formula Variable Name (up to 10 characters) so other formulas can refer to it, a Formula String, an Is MRP? mark (keep only one), and a Sequence - a formula can only build on price types calculated before it.
• A formula may use other price types by their variable name, the opening and tax tokens OPSTK, OPVAL, OPRATE, IGSTRate, SGSTRate, CGSTRate, GSTRate, TX / TXR, and any numeric field of the item by its name (OpStock, MinStock, Weight...). For example MRP * 0.9. An unknown token leaves the price unchanged rather than failing.
• An item group with Custom Price Yes gives its items a starting set of formulas; the item can then be adjusted.
• A stock group or an alternative unit marked Custom Price keeps prices of its own for that item, which the voucher uses when that stock group or unit is picked.

Price lists

1. Open Masters > Item Master > Price List Manager and Add (F3). Give the list a unique name.
2. Add items and their prices - one price per item. Description, group, part number, make and tax fill themselves.
3. Or press Copy Price...: tick items, choose where the prices come from (none, a master price type, another price list, a cost-sheet price or the stock value), add a % Price Variation up or down, and choose Replace All or Keep & Add New.
4. In the ERP edition, the Applicable Branch List limits which branches may use the list; empty means every branch.
5. Save (F5). To price a voucher type from it, set the voucher type's Price Source to Price From Pricelist and pick the list as its Default Price Type To Use.

Prices a voucher can change

• A voucher type with Update Price Levels ? offers the item's price levels for revision as each line is committed: type new figures and Update (F5), or Skip (Esc). This changes the item master at once - the new prices stand even if the voucher is later abandoned.
• Cal. On Unit Price on the voucher type adjusts every fetched rate (for example a 5% loading), limited to taxable, non-taxable or all items.
• Changing a rate, gross, amount or discount on a line needs the Allow Rate Edit right on that voucher type; without it the cells are greyed and the server also refuses a change to a saved line's price.

11Opening stock #

Opening stock is what you held on the first day of the books. It is entered on the item, never on a voucher you key by hand.

1. On the Item Master, type the Opening Stock quantity. The field is open only when Affect Stock is on.
2. The Opening Value works itself out: the opening quantity times the item's price of the price type named in Valuation of Opening Stock Method (Inventory Settings), falling back to STD. PURCHASE PRICE. Change the quantity or that price and it is recalculated; opening an existing item leaves the stored value alone until you change one of them.
3. Save. Then share the opening quantity out with the action buttons the company needs - Storage Space..., Division-wise Opening..., Branch Inventory..., Stock Group..., Batch Opening..., Serial Number Opening....
4. Each of those dialogs shows Total, Allocated and Remaining (red when over-allocated). You cannot allocate more than the opening stock. F3 adds a row; Tab or Enter off the last cell adds one pre-filled with what is left; F5 saves; Esc closes.
5. Check the result on Reports > Opening Stock Status.

What each split records

• Storage Space: a storage space (from your branch's list), quantity, unit price (the opening rate by default) and amount. Each storage space once.
• Division-wise: division, branch and quantity, valued at the opening rate.
• Branch Inventory (ERP): branch, opening quantity, valuation, and that branch's minimum, maximum and re-order level and rack.
• Stock Group: stock group, opening quantity, optional custom price, creation and expiry dates and description. Turning Custom Price on opens Prices... for that item and stock group.
• Batch Opening: batch, branch and division (blank means all), quantity, unit price and amount. The batch's expiry shows beside it - red if already past, amber if an expiry is compulsory but missing. One opening per batch per branch per division.
• Serial Number Opening: Serial No 1 (required, unique), Serial No 2 and quantity (1 per serial by default).

12How stock moves #

Stock never changes by hand. Every quantity change is a voucher, and the voucher type decides what it does to stock. Three rules decide whether a line counts:

1. The item must have Affect Stock on. A service item never moves stock.
2. The voucher type must have Affect Stock Register ? on. An order records a quantity but moves nothing; Inward or Outward on a type with Affect Stock Register off moves nothing either - there the direction only sets the books' side (a proforma, a fixed-asset sale, an expenses voucher).
3. The Movement Type says the direction. A manufactured (finished-goods) line always comes in, whatever the voucher's own direction says.

The inventory voucher types

Every voucher type is built on a base type, which decides its engine and its licence module. The Inventory Management base types are Physical Stock, Damage, Transfer, Material Request, Inventory Blocking, Inventory UnBlocking and General Labour/Material (and the GST payment, receipt and refund vouchers). Stock Transfer is its own module with its own licence; its voucher types are listed under Inventory Vouchers with the rest. Material Issue, Material Receipt and the production base types belong to Manufacturing. Your company can have several voucher types on one base type, each set up differently.

The two dates

• Transaction Date - must fall inside the open financial period (post-dated vouchers aside, which need their own right).
• Stock Updation Date - the day the goods actually moved, when that differs. Left alone it follows the transaction date; it cannot be before the start of the financial year.

Going below zero

Action Against Neg./Zero Stock on the voucher type decides what happens when a line would take stock below zero:

Branches Excluded From Stock Check (ERP) exempts the branches you list. The check runs inside the save itself, as at the voucher date and for the voucher's branch, so another user's entry in the meantime is counted.

13Entering a stock voucher #

Open the voucher type from Inventory Vouchers (or its own module's menu). A card opens a fresh entry screen in a new tab, ready in Add mode.

1. Fill the header: date, party (on a stock transfer: the storage spaces), reference, transaction class, narration. Enter moves from field to field.
2. In the entry panel under the grid, pick the item, key the quantity and rate, and press F7 (or Add Item). The line joins the grid and the panel is ready for the next one.
3. Where a line needs more - storage-space allocation, serial numbers, item parameters, variants - the dialog opens by itself as the line is committed. The same dialogs open from the line's action buttons later, read-only in view mode.
4. Check the totals and any charges in the sundry grid.
5. Press Save (F5) and confirm. The checks run, the voucher is written in one transaction - header, lines, charges and allocations together or not at all - and stock moves.

Getting items in quickly

• Scanning: with a barcode or TranID column, the scan box keeps the focus after every scan, so a scanner fills the grid unattended. Inventory Settings shape what a scan can carry (see Barcodes and tracking IDs below).
• Item List / the selection dialog: tick several items and Add Selected (F5).
• Create Multiple Lines: several separate lines of one item - so many identical pieces, or one line per stock group with its own quantity and rate.
• Load Vch. (Ctrl+F12): bring lines in from saved vouchers of the types the voucher type allows, with the source rates or master prices and optional quantity and rate variations.
• Duplicate line and Insert line above from a line's actions.

What the screen tells you while you type

• An info strip under the entry panel can show the item's current stock, reserved stock, branch stock (ERP) and location - with Show Stock Details In Info Panel ? on the voucher type - and its price history with Show Price History ?.
• An item you type that is not in your list is refused: items can be hidden by branch visibility, product allocation or the voucher type's item filter.
• After a save the grid can carry line markers: yellow for a warning (the voucher was saved - out of stock, negative profit, price variation), red for what blocked the save (stock stop, expired lot, missing TranID). Hover a line for the reason; the Line Issues dialog lists them all.

Barcodes and tracking IDs

• Enable Tracking ? with Default Voucher To Track makes each line carry a tracking ID (TranID) - the purchase lot it came from. With Is TranID Compulsory For Inventory Transactions on in Inventory Settings, a line without one is refused.
• Inventory Settings decide how a scan is read: a Custom Barcode Prefix Character is stripped first; Barcode Start && End Position and Value for Qty In Barcode String read the barcode and the quantity from fixed positions of a longer string; Mutiply Box Qty With Qty While Scanning Barcode books a whole carton; Is Restrict to scan duplicate barcode refuses a barcode already on the voucher; Create && Use Unique BARCODE for Individual Items makes a U barcode single-use; Is Allowed to scan branch specific barcode only narrows every lookup to your branch.
• A voucher type with the TranIDCheck column visible turns scanning into verification: each scan must match a line, and the voucher saves only when every piece has been re-scanned.

14Cancelling one line of a saved voucher #

A line of a saved voucher can be cancelled instead of deleted: Modify the voucher, press the circled cross on the line, say why, and save. The line's quantity and amounts go to 0 - the save posts that like any edit, so stock, taxes and postings follow, and the desktop shows a line of 0 - but the line stays on the voucher with a red Cancelled mark. Hover over the mark to read what the line had, why, who and when.

• A line a later voucher was made from (a bill from a GRN line, a delivery from an order line) can not be cancelled - reduce or cancel that voucher first.
• The line's storage-space and serial-number rows go with the save; in a storage space run by the warehouse, its stock leaves Putaway / Picking by itself.
• To bring the line back, edit its quantity again and save - the cancel record goes with that save.

15Storage spaces, racks and transfers #

Storage spaces (warehouses)

Masters > Inventory Masters > Warehouse keeps the godowns: a unique name, code, description, Type (one of Regular, Transit, Route, Quarantine, Damage, Scrap, Staging), Under (the storage space this one is filed under; empty for a storage space of its own), Applies to branches (ERP edition; empty means every branch), address and contact, and Inactive to retire one. Any storage-space pick-list can create one from its + Create new warehouse footer - it is created as a Regular storage space of its own for your branch.

With the Warehouse Management module (ERP edition, licensed on its own) the Warehouse master shows one more block under the form, Run by the WMS: it switches the loaded storage space to bin-by-bin working and names its default receiving and dispatch bins. Zones and bins themselves are kept under Warehouse Management > Setup; see the Warehouse Management guide. Without the module the block is not there and nothing else changes.

Which storage spaces a list offers. Every list a storage space is picked from - a voucher's Warehouse box, the split of a line across storage spaces, a stock transfer, a product's opening, a location, a bill of material - follows one rule: the storage space is in use (not Inactive), is not a group (no other storage space is filed under it), and is open to the branch you signed in to (Applies to branches is empty, or names your branch). A record that already names a storage space keeps showing it.

Stock is counted per storage space only when the company has Multiple storage spaces on and the voucher type has Enable Storage Space ? on:

• By Product: each line gets a storage-space allocation - the line's warehouse button (Edit warehouse allocation). The allocated quantity must equal the line quantity; a line whose allocation is left open stops the save.
• By Batch: one Warehouse box on the header, for all the voucher's lines.
• The web does not support By Line Item yet.

Moving stock between storage spaces

1. Open a Stock Transfer voucher type. On it the party box becomes Destination Storage Space and the class box Source Storage Space.
2. Pick both, add the items and quantities. Each list shows the storage spaces that are in use, are not groups and are open to the branch you signed in to, and its + Create new warehouse footer adds one without leaving the voucher.
3. Save. The stock leaves the source and arrives at the destination. There is no GST on a stock transfer, and no per-line storage allocation.

Racks and where things sit

• Rack Master keeps racks, shelves and bins as a tree - leave Parent Rack blank for a top-level one. Names must be unique among racks with the same parent; a rack with racks inside cannot be deleted.
• Rack-wise Stock records how much of an item sits on a rack, per branch (ERP) and storage space. It is a placement register only: saving it creates no voucher and changes no stock or value. Each item once per branch, storage space and rack.
• An item's Prime Location and rack are what the Physical Verification Count Sheet sorts by, so the count walks the racks rather than the alphabet.

The Storage Space - Columnar, Storage Space - Group Summary, Storage Space - Stock Register and Godown-Wise Stock reports show stock per storage space.

16Stock groups, batches and expiry #

InvoiceNET has two ways of splitting one item's stock into lots. Know which one your company uses.

Stock groups on a voucher

• Stock Group Print Name renames the column on the voucher.
• Allow Empty ? off: a stock-group item's line cannot save without one ("Row ... can't be blank.").
• Enforce Expiry Check ? on: a new line whose stock group expired before the transaction date is refused ("Row ... out of expiry.").
• Include In Selection List When There Is Stock ? offers the stock groups in the item pick-list itself.

Batches

• Each batch belongs to one item; its name must be unique for that item. Batch Code is the code printed on the pack.
• Expiry Date Compulsory makes the expiry required; the expiry must be later than the manufacturing date.
• Is Inactive hides a batch from pick-lists while keeping its history. A batch that has moved should be made inactive, not deleted.
• A line on a batch-tracked item that names no batch is shown on its own (Unbatched) row per item on the batch reports - the quantity moved but nobody recorded which batch.

17Serial numbers #

A serial number identifies one physical unit - an IMEI, a chassis or machine number - so its movement, warranty and service can be followed for life.

1. Switch on Track Serial Number in Inventory Settings, and on each serial-tracked item's Advanced tab.
2. On the voucher types that handle them, set Serial No Track Option (Default, Enable, Disable). With Enable, Create Serial No ? makes the voucher create serials (a purchase or receipt), and Include Serial No As Fallback For TranID Scan lets a scanned serial find the line's TranID.
3. Commit a line of a serial-tracked item: the serial dialog opens. On a creating voucher, type or scan the new serials; otherwise pick from the serials in stock at your branch.
4. The number of serials must match the line quantity before the voucher saves.

• A serial number is unique across the whole company, not per item. A creating voucher cannot create one that exists; a picking voucher cannot issue one that is not in stock; a serial already on another line or voucher is refused ("Serial '...' is already allocated on ...").
• Serial No Master registers serials by hand - for openings and corrections; most serials are born on purchase vouchers. Is Obsolete retires one without deleting its history.
• Branch-wise Serial Stock (ERP) records how much of each serial each branch holds - for a serial that covers a pack or is split across branches. It creates no voucher. Add Serials by Item (F7) brings many serials in at once.
• Show Replacement Serial No Column ? on the voucher type adds the replaced-serial column for service replacements.

18Variants and item parameters #

Variants - one item in several colours and sizes

1. In Masters > Inventory Masters > Product Attributes, add each attribute (Colour, Size) and its values (Red, Blue; S, M, L). A value is unique across all attributes, not only within its own.
2. On the item, switch on Is Allow Product Variants, save, and tick the values it comes in under Variants....
3. On a voucher, the line's Variants button splits its quantity across the values. Each attribute is measured on its own: a line of 10 can be 4 Red + 6 Blue and 5 S + 5 L. The quantities of one attribute cannot exceed the line quantity.

Item parameters - the extra fields a line captures

For made-to-measure or specified goods - the length of a cut, the finish of a panel, the grade of steel. Set them up in four masters, in this order:

Then switch on Is Track Item Parameters on the item, and Track Item Parameters ? with its Item Parameter Template on the voucher type. The line's Params button captures the values; a compulsory parameter must be filled before the line commits, and a number outside its range is refused.

19Reserving and blocking stock - what you can promise #

Stock on the shelf is not all stock you can sell. Some is promised to orders already taken, some is held back.

Reserving against an order

1. On the order or quotation voucher type, switch on Allow Stock Reservation ? (never on a voucher type that moves stock itself). Auto Create Stock Reservation Entry ? pre-fills the quantities; Allow Reserve For Zero/Negative Stock ? lets you reserve more than is available.
2. Save the order, then press Stock Reserve on the right rail (it also offers itself after every new save of such a voucher). It needs the Stock Reserve right.
3. Type the quantity to reserve per line - never negative, never more than requested, and never more than available unless the voucher type allows it. Reserve All (F3) fills every line that has stock.
4. Reservations are released as the stock-moving voucher linked to the order uses its lines.

Blocking stock

Inventory Blocking voucher types hold stock back - a quality hold, damage - and Inventory UnBlocking releases it. A quality-order set-up on a receipt voucher type can name an inventory blocking voucher type that holds the received stock until the quality order is completed.

Stock Availability

• Filters: As on (blank = today), a search on name, part number, brand or group, Group and Brand, Nothing free only, Hide items with no movement (on by default), Include inactive items. Nothing is fetched until Apply filters; F3 runs it again.
• Group by Unit before reading the totals - a grand total adds kilograms to numbers.
• The customer portal's catalogue and order desk read the same figure, so the portal and this page always agree.

20Physical stock check #

Count what is on the shelf and let the books post the difference.

1. Open Reports > Physical Verification Count Sheet. Set As on to the day of the count, narrow the items with the product filters (groups, categories, brands, HSN codes and so on), and run it under the Branch report option - the branch you are standing in.
2. Print it. The sheet is sorted by location, then item, so the walk follows the racks. Untick Show book quantity for a blind sheet: a counter who cannot see the expected figure counts more honestly. Print the blind sheet for the counter and the full one for the checker.
3. Back at the screen, type what was counted into the Counted cells (and a Remarks if needed). The Variance column previews counted minus book as you go.
4. Press Post variance (it shows how many lines are keyed). One Physical Stock voucher is written on your login branch, dated the sheet's As-on day.
5. Re-run the sheet: the posted items now read zero variance.

• The books work out each variance themselves at save - counted minus book stock as at the voucher date - so a figure typed against a stale sheet cannot post a wrong quantity. An excess posts positive, a shortage negative, and a count that matches posts zero, as proof the item was checked.
• Lines are valued at the item's book rate, so stock value moves with the quantity.
• Blank Counted cells are simply not counted and stay off the voucher. An item keyed twice posts its last count.
• Every bad line is named in one message and nothing is posted until the whole sheet is right: an item the books do not know, a count that is not a number, a negative count. One posting takes up to 500 lines.
• Posting is refused under the Group report option; sign in with Branch (or All) and run the sheet again.
• The voucher is ordinary in every way: the day book shows it, and cancelling it reverses the whole count.

You can also enter a Physical Stock voucher directly: the quantity you key on each line is the counted figure, and the save works out the difference against book stock on the voucher date. An item may appear only once on it ("Duplicate line item found !").

21Stock valuation #

Closing stock is valued by the method in Settings > Inventory Settings > Closing Stock Valuation Method - the setting that decides the closing stock in the balance sheet, gross margins and every stock value on the reports. Change it only as an accounting decision.

Basic cost is the bare purchase cost; net cost is the cost after the bill's adjustments. Valuation of Opening Stock Method beside it names the price type that values opening stock.

What the choice is worth

Reports > Stock Valuation Cross-Check prices the same closing quantity under FIFO, LIFO and weighted average side by side, with the Books value at the company's own method and the Spread between the highest and lowest - sorted largest first. Choose basic or net cost, hide nil closings, and set a Minimum spread to keep only the items where the method matters. A nil Books value beside a real quantity means the books have no rate for that item under the chosen method.

22Re-order levels - what to buy #

• Set Min Stock, Max Stock and Re-Order Level on each item (and per branch on Branch Inventory, in the ERP edition).
• Reports > Stock Level Variance puts current stock beside those levels - what to buy, and what is over-stocked.
• On a Purchase Order voucher type, Generate PO proposes what to order: pick the purchase and sales history ranges and whether the need comes from each item's Re-Order Level or its sales, adjust the proposed quantities, tick and OK. Only shortage rows are listed, priced at the last supply rate (else the standard purchase price).
• FSN Analysis (fast, slow and non-moving, with months of cover) and Stock Ageing Analysis (how long stock has lain) show where money is sleeping on the shelves.

23Who sees what #

Professional and ERP editions

The ERP edition adds branches, so it adds: branch visibility of items, Branch Inventory openings with per-branch levels, Branch-wise Serial Stock, the branch column on Rack-wise Stock, the Applicable Branch List on price lists, branch-wise price properties on voucher types, and Branches Excluded From Stock Check. The Professional edition has one branch and does not show them.

24Settings that change the module #

Inventory Settings is a page of cards, one per setting, each with its description. Save writes the changed cards; the next voucher opened follows them.

25Stock reports #

Every report opens in the report viewer: set the filters on the left and press F5. Most stock reports share a product filter block - product groups, item categories, brands, manufacturers, HSN codes, tax classes, classifications - that appears only for what your items actually use. Double-click a row to drill into the item or the voucher.

26Moving from the desktop #

The web works on the same company database as the desktop: the same items, voucher types, settings and stock. A voucher saved in one is seen in the other at once. What differs:

What the web does that the desktop does not

• The web acts on the barcode position settings (barcode start and end, quantity in the barcode string); the desktop reads them but ignores them.
• The per-column rules set in Voucher Manager > Column Properties (AllowEmpty, AllowZero, AllowDuplicate, VERIFYCALC, RepeatLastRowValue) are enforced as each line is committed on the web; the desktop reads them but does not act on them.

Not on the web yet

• Picking a Batch Master batch on a voucher line (stock groups are picked as usual).
• The By Line Item storage allocation method.
• The desktop's per-line measurement, job-card allocation, tracking list, unique barcode and vehicle trip windows.
• Generate PO's Material-Request mode, brand mode, supplier filter and one-click multi-supplier order writer.
• The separate stock un-reservation voucher (reservations release as the linked voucher consumes them).
• Show Alt. Unit On Item Selection ? and Track Measurements ? on the voucher type.

27If something does not work #

The table covers what goes wrong across the whole module. For anything on one screen, open that screen's Help panel - each lists every message it can show, with the fix beside it. "Save denied" means nothing was written; "Warning" means the voucher was saved.