Stock Overview
The Stock module is the central command center for tracking and managing your physical inventory. It provides real-time visibility into the quantities, locations, and financial values of all your Materials and Products. Whether you are checking current availability, moving items between warehouses, correcting discrepancies, or performing formal physical counts, it all happens here.
Key Elements
The module is divided into four main tabs, each serving a distinct inventory management function:
- Stock Inventory — your real-time stock ledger. Displays a comprehensive list of all items with current stock levels, expected incoming stock, committed outgoing stock, and total inventory valuation across sites.
- Stock Transfers — the dispatch hub for moving inventory internally. Track shipments of items from one location (Origin) to another (Destination) so items aren't lost in transit.
- Stock Adjustments — the reconciliation tool for everyday discrepancies. Manually add or remove stock outside of standard buying, selling, or making processes (e.g., writing off a broken part or logging a scrapped material).
- Stock Takes — the auditing tool for physical counting. Assign counting tasks to staff, compare physical counts against system records, and officially update the database to match reality.
How to Use the Stocks Module
While each tab has specific actions, navigating the Stock module generally follows these steps:
- Select your site. At the top of the module, use the Site dropdown to filter the view. Look at inventory across your entire organization or drill down into a specific warehouse or location.
- Navigate to the relevant tab. Choose Inventory for viewing, Transfers for moving, Adjustments for correcting, or Stock Takes for auditing.
- Filter and search. Use the column headers to filter by Item Type (Product vs. Material), Category, SKU, or Status to quickly find what you need.
- Take action. Use the action buttons (usually located at the top right, like + New Stock Adjustment or + New Stock Transfer) to initiate an inventory event.
Notes
- Actions taken in the Stock module — especially Adjustments and Stock Takes — directly impact your total inventory valuation, shown at the top right of each tab.
- The Stock module is heavily integrated with the Buy, Sell, and Make modules. When a Purchase Order is received, stock goes up. When a Sales Order is shipped, or a Manufacturing Order consumes materials, stock goes down.
Best Practices
- The system is only as accurate as the data entered. Ensure staff are logging consumption and scrap in real time.
- Whenever performing a Stock Adjustment, always enforce detailed Reasons. Knowing why stock was adjusted (e.g., "Water damage," "Theft," "Calibration failure") helps identify systemic issues.
- Instead of doing one massive, disruptive Stock Take at year-end, use the Stock Takes tab to perform smaller, rolling cycle counts (e.g., counting one specific category or aisle every week).