Documentation

Opening Stock

Enter the stock that was already on your shelves when you started tracking a warehouse, with what it cost you.

You do this in the Web admin, under Inventory > Opening Stock.

When to use opening stock

Use an opening stock entry at the point a warehouse starts tracking stock. It tells the system what was on hand on that date, so later sales and purchases start from the right figure.

Not for deliveries

Do not use opening stock for goods arriving from a supplier now. An opening stock entry names no supplier and creates no bill, so you would have nothing to pay the supplier against. Receive deliveries with a goods received note or a direct receipt.

Before you start

  • Create the warehouse and the products first. See Getting Started and Products.
  • Count what is on hand in the warehouse.
  • Work out each quantity in the product's base unit, and the cost for one base unit. For example, if a product's base unit is the kilogram and you hold 3 bags of 25 kg, enter 75 and the cost per kilogram. See Units of Measure.

Enter opening stock

  1. Start a new entry
    Go to Inventory > Opening Stock and click New Opening Stock Entry.
  2. Fill in the entry
    • Warehouse: where the stock is. You cannot change it after the entry is created.
    • Effective Date: the date the quantities were true, normally the day you start using the system.
    • Reason: choose Bought before using the system, Migrated from another system, Branch newly tracking inventory or Category newly tracked.
    • Notes: optional, for example where the figures came from.
  3. Click Create and Add Products
    The entry is saved as a Draft and opens.
  4. Add the products
    Under Add Products, type at least two letters of a product name or code and press Enter to add the highlighted product. Keep typing to add the next one. Products already on the entry are greyed out as "already added".
  5. Enter quantity and cost
    For each product, type the Quantity in the base unit shown under the product name, and the Unit Cost for one base unit. Unit Cost starts as the product's current cost. Quantity must be more than zero.
  6. Click Save line(s)
    The products move to the Products list at the top, with the total value. If a product cannot be added, the reason is shown in red under it. You can come back and add more products while the entry is a draft.
  7. Check, then post
    Check the quantities and costs. Remove a wrong line with the bin button and add it again. When everything is right, click Post and confirm.

Nothing is added to stock until you post. Once posted, the quantities are on hand in the warehouse.

What posting does

Area Effect
Stock Each quantity is added to the warehouse, dated on the Effective Date. A stock movement is recorded for each line, with the entry number as its reference.
Cost The unit cost you entered values the stock in reports. It also becomes the product's cost. If the product already has stock and a cost elsewhere, the two are averaged by quantity.
Supplier bills None. Opening stock does not create anything to pay.

Statuses

Status Meaning What you can do
Draft Being prepared. No stock is affected. Add and remove products, Edit the date, reason and notes, Post, or Cancel Entry.
Posted The quantities are on hand. Reverse. A posted entry cannot be edited.
Reversed The quantities were taken back out of stock. View it. The products can be declared again in a new entry.
Canceled A draft that was cancelled. No stock was affected. View it.

Creating, editing, posting, cancelling and reversing are separate permissions. If a button is missing, ask your manager to check your role.

Rules to know

  • One declaration per product per warehouse. If you hold stock in several warehouses, create one entry for each warehouse.
  • Only products with no stock history in that warehouse. If the product has already been received, sold, counted or moved there, you cannot declare an opening quantity for it. Use a stock count to correct it instead.
  • The check is repeated when you post. If a product on a draft starts moving before you post, the entry shows a warning listing the lines that can no longer be posted and the Post button is disabled. Remove those lines, then post.
  • Post is disabled on an empty entry. Add at least one product first.

Correct a posted entry

You cannot edit a posted entry. Reverse it and enter it again:

  1. Open the posted entry
    Go to Inventory > Opening Stock and open the entry.
  2. Click Reverse
    Type a Reason (required) and click Reverse Entry. The quantities are taken back out of stock. The original movements and the reversing movements both stay visible in the stock history.
  3. Create a new entry
    Enter the correct quantities and costs in a new opening stock entry and post it.

Importing

There is no file import for opening stock. Quantities are entered on the entry screen, one product per line. The search box is built for speed: add all the products first by typing and pressing Enter, then fill in the quantities.

Troubleshooting

"This product already has stock history in this warehouse."

The product has already been received, sold or adjusted in this warehouse, so an opening quantity would be added on top of it. Use a stock count to correct the quantity, or a goods received note for stock arriving now.

"This product is already on another draft opening stock entry for this warehouse"

Another draft for the same warehouse already lists this product. Open that draft and post or cancel it, or remove the product from it.

The Post button is greyed out

The entry has no products, or it shows the warning that some lines can no longer be posted. Add products, or remove the lines named in the warning.

Related pages

Stock Counts

Correct quantities for products that already have history.

Units of Measure

Find a product's base unit before you enter quantities.

Supplier Bills

Enter what you already owed suppliers when you started.