Inventory

Inventory holds your product catalogue and controls how stock moves. Every other module depends on it. A sales invoice can only bill a product that exists here, and a purchase bill can only receive one. Reports are only as accurate as the quantities and the valuation method set on each product.

The chapter follows the order you will work in. First, build the catalogue:

• categories, to group products
• units, to measure them
• attributes, to describe them, such as size or colour
• variants, for products that come in several sizes or colours
• the products themselves, with cost, selling price, tax, valuation method and a minimum stock level (the minimum stock level drives low stock alerts)

You can import each of these lists in bulk. If your catalogue is already in a spreadsheet, you do not have to type it again.

The rest of the chapter covers stock movement:

• Inventory adjustments correct the system quantity when it does not match the shelf, for example after a physical count, damage, expiry or loss.
• Requisitions request stock from another warehouse. They are approved before anything moves.
• Stock issues move goods directly between warehouses in the same branch.
• Stock in transit shows stock that has left one warehouse but has not yet reached the other.
• Barcode management links scannable codes to products, so billing finds the product as soon as you scan.

Every movement that changes quantity goes through an approval step. Each approved movement is recorded with the user and the time, so you can trace stock later.

Sections in this chapter:

• Work with the product list
• Add a product
• Import products
• Units and alternate units
• Product attributes and variants
• Product categories
• Inventory adjustments
• Requisitions
• Stock in transit
• Stock issues
• Barcode management and mapping