Documentation

Batches

Find out where batch numbers and expiry dates come from, read and manage the Batches screen, and see in which order batched stock is used.

Where batches come from

A batch is a lot of one product with its own number and, usually, an expiry date. Stock that belongs to a batch is held separately from the product's other stock, so Suvaiq knows which lot expires first.

Where What is recorded
Production orders When the recipe has a Shelf Life (hrs), posting the order puts the prepared item in a new batch. The batch number is the production order number followed by the date and time it was produced, and the expiry date is Produced on plus the shelf life. This is the only way a batch with an expiry date is created in the Web admin. See Production Orders.
Direct receipts The BATCH column of each line takes an optional batch number. It is printed on the receipt, shown in its BATCH/EXPIRY column and added to the note of the stock movement. It is a reference only: there is no expiry date field, no batch is created on the Batches screen, and the stock is not held as a separate batch. See Direct Receipts.
Goods received notes The form for receiving against a purchase order has no batch or expiry fields.
Opening stock No batch or expiry fields.

There is no switch to turn batch tracking on for a product. Whether stock is in a batch depends only on how it came in.

The Batches screen

In the Web admin, go to Inventory > Batches. You need permission to view batches. The page is called Batch Management.

Column What it shows
Batch Number The batch's number.
Product Product name and code, and the variant name.
Expiry Date Red when the date has passed, orange when it is less than 30 days away. N/A when the batch has no expiry date.
Days Until Expiry The number of days left, or Expired.
Quality Status Good, Quarantine, Expired, Damaged or Rejected.
Status Active or Inactive.

To filter, type part of a batch number in Search batch number, pick a quality status, pick Active or Inactive, or type a number of days in Expiring in days, then click Search. Clear removes the filters.

The screen does not show how much stock is left in each batch. Use the Batch Expiry report for that (see below).

Change the quality status

  1. Click the shield icon
    On the batch's row. The Update Quality Status window opens.
  2. Pick the Quality Status
    Choose one of the five statuses.
  3. Type a reason if you want
    Reason (Optional) is added to the batch's notes with the date and the new status.
  4. Click Update Status
    The new status shows in the list.
The quality status is a label

Setting a batch to Quarantine, Expired, Damaged or Rejected does not stop its stock being used by sales or production. To take spoiled stock out of the system, remove it from the shelf and record it with a stock count.

Delete a batch

Click the bin icon on the row and confirm. The batch disappears from the list. Its stock is not removed.

What does not work on this screen

The Create Batch and Expiring Soon buttons and the pencil icon on each row open pages that are not available at present, so batches cannot be created or edited by hand. To see batches close to expiry, type a number in Expiring in days and click Search.

In which order batched stock is used

When an order is completed or a production order is posted, how stock is taken depends on the Mode of the ingredient line in the recipe (see Recipes):

  • FIFO: stock is taken from the batch with the earliest expiry date first, then the next, and so on. Stock that is not in a batch, or in a batch with no expiry date, is used last, oldest first. Expiry dates that have already passed and the batch's quality status are not checked.
  • Exact: stock is taken only from the product's stock that is not in a batch. Batched stock is never used.

So when a prepared item is made with a shelf life, use FIFO on the recipe lines that use it. With Exact, the sale finds no stock to deduct from.

The stock movement written for a FIFO deduction from a batch names the batch and its expiry date in its notes. See Stock Movements.

Stock counts and batched stock

A stock count compares the shelf with the product's stock that is not in a batch. For a product whose stock is in batches, the system quantity on the count does not include that stock.

Expiry: what to watch

  • On Inventory > Batches, filter with Expiring in days.
  • Go to Inventory > Reports > All Reports and open Batch Expiry under Operational Reports. It shows Expired, Expiring within 7 days, Expiring within 30 days and Total value at risk, an Expiry timeline, and each batch with its warehouse, days left, quantity On hand and Value. Use Expiring within (days) and Include already expired to set the window. See Reports.

The Expiry Alerts card under Settings > Inventory (Email for products nearing expiry, Warn before (days), Critical before (days), Alert Frequency, Recipients) has no effect at present: no expiry alert is raised or emailed. Check the screen or the report yourself.

Related pages

Production Orders

Where batches with an expiry date are created.

Recipes

Shelf life, and the Exact and FIFO modes.

Reports

The Batch Expiry report and other inventory reports.