Inventory

Items

Route: Inventory › Items — /commercial/items

Purpose: the item master is the heart of the commercial system. Every purchase, sale, transfer and adjustment line points to an item card, so create the card correctly before the first document that uses it. Use this screen whenever you add a new product or service, change prices or VAT, or add a larger selling unit (carton, dozen…).

The item list

The list shows: code, Arabic name, English name, base unit, category, brand, sale price and the active flag. Like every list in KEMTOVA ERP you can search, filter columns, hide/show columns and export. Row actions: edit (pencil) and delete (trash, with confirmation). The Create button opens a blank card with the next automatic code.

Item card — all fields

Alternative units — factors, barcodes and prices

Under Alternative units you add every larger unit the item is bought or sold in. Each row has: the unit, the conversion factor (how many base units it contains), its own barcode, its own sale price and its own purchase price. Press Enter to walk cell-to-cell and add rows quickly.

Worked example — a beverage sold by piece and by carton of 12:

How it behaves: stock is always kept in pieces. Selling 1 carton deducts 12 pieces; buying 5 cartons adds 60 pieces. Scanning barcode 6281000000024 on an invoice brings the item in carton at 27.00, while scanning 6281000000017 brings it in piece at 2.50. Notice the carton sale price (27.00) does not have to equal 12 × 2.50 = 30.00 — bulk units usually carry a discount.

Stock by warehouse

When you edit a stocked item, a read-only table shows its current quantity, average cost and value in every warehouse — a quick balance check without leaving the card.

Actions

Save returns to the list, Save & New saves and opens a fresh card with the next code, Back leaves without saving. Saving requires the Arabic name and the base unit; otherwise the missing fields are listed in a message.

Common mistakes

• Choosing the wrong base unit. Balances live in the base unit; if you make “carton” the base and later need to sell pieces, you would need fractional quantities. Always pick the smallest unit as the base.
• Deleting an alternative-unit row that documents already used. Old documents keep their data, but the barcode stops scanning and the unit disappears from pickers. Prefer adding a new row over deleting.
• Duplicate barcodes across items. The scanner will pick whichever item matches first — keep barcodes unique per item/unit.
• Turning on serial tracking after the item already has movements. Existing quantities have no serials, so counts and the serial register will disagree. Set the flag before the first receipt.

FAQ

• How do I change an item's cost? You don't type it — cost is the weighted average computed from receipts. It changes when you post a purchase at a new price, or when you post a stock-adjustment increase with the correct unit cost. The “Purchase Price” field is only a default for new document lines, not the cost itself.
• Why can't I delete an item that has movements? Its transactions reference it, and the system protects history — deletion is refused. Un-check Active instead; the item vanishes from pickers but reports still work.
• Can one item have two barcodes for the same unit? One barcode per unit row. If a product ships with two printed codes, add a second unit row with factor 1 carrying the other barcode.
• Where do special prices per customer come from? From the Price lists and Discount policies screens in the Sales module — the item card holds only the default prices.

On-hand stock

Route: Inventory › On-hand — /commercial/on-hand

Purpose: a live, read-only view of every stocked item's balance in every warehouse. Open it before a stocktake, when a customer asks “do you have it?”, or to review the total value of your inventory.

Use the table's search and column filters to narrow by warehouse, category or item, and Export to take the list to Excel — for example as a count sheet before a stocktake.

FAQ

• The balance is wrong — can I edit it here? No. This screen is read-only by design; every change must come from a document. Post a stock adjustment with the difference.
• Why is the average cost 0? When a balance reaches zero the average cost resets to 0; it is rebuilt by the next receipt.
• Why doesn't a service item appear? Services and items with “Track inventory” un-checked have no balances.
• How do I run a full stocktake? Export this screen as the count sheet, count physically, then enter the differences as a stock adjustment — see the step-by-step in the next section.

Stock adjustments

Route: Inventory › Stock Adjustments — /commercial/stock-adjustments

Purpose: align book balances with reality — count differences after a stocktake, damage, loss, expiry write-offs, or entering opening quantities for a new item. The list shows document number, date, warehouse, line count and status (Draft / Posted) with print and delete actions per row.

Header fields

Lines

Press Enter to move between cells and append rows. A line without an item or with quantity 0 is ignored on save.

Actions and statuses

1. Save keeps the document as a Draft — editable, deletable, no effect on stock.
2. Post applies every line to the warehouse balance and locks the document (Posted = read-only, cannot be deleted).
3. After posting the toolbar offers Print, Download (PDF) and View journal entry.
4. New clears the editor and starts a fresh document with the next number.

Validation: the warehouse and at least one valid line are required. Posting a decrease larger than the on-hand balance is blocked: “Not enough stock: on hand X, requested Y.”

Posting effects

• Stock: increases fold the entered unit cost into the weighted average; decreases go out at the current average cost. Each line writes an inventory transaction (AdjustmentIn / AdjustmentOut) into the item's movement history.
• Accounting: the net value change is auto-posted as a journal entry between the Inventory account and the Inventory Adjustment account (both configured in the Commercial settings → accounts). If these accounts are not configured, stock still updates but no journal entry is created.

Worked example — count shortage

The annual count finds 3 units of item “Water 330ml” missing. The card shows an average cost of 25.00. Enter one line:

On post, stock drops by 3 and the value out is 3 × 25.00 = 75.00. The automatic journal entry:

A surplus works the other way round: a positive quantity at cost debits Inventory and credits the adjustment account.

Full stocktake — recommended procedure

1. Stop warehouse movements (receipts and deliveries) during the count.
2. Export the On-hand screen filtered by the warehouse — this is your count sheet with book quantities.
3. Count physically and write the actual quantity next to each item.
4. Create one adjustment per warehouse: for every difference add a line with quantity = actual − book (negative for shortage, positive for surplus; for surpluses enter the real unit cost).
5. Review, then Post. On-hand now matches the physical count and the net difference sits on the adjustment account for management review.

Common mistakes

• Typing the target balance instead of the difference. The quantity is the change, not the new balance. Book 10, counted 7 → enter −3 (not 7).
• Expecting the unit cost to affect a decrease. It never does — decreases are valued at the current average automatically.
• Leaving documents in Draft. A draft changes nothing; balances move only on Post.
• Trying to fix a posted adjustment by deleting it. Posted documents cannot be deleted — post a new adjustment with the opposite quantities instead.

FAQ

• How do I enter opening balances for a new item? Post an adjustment with a positive quantity and the real unit cost — that cost becomes the starting average.
• Can I adjust several warehouses in one document? No — one warehouse per adjustment. Create one document per warehouse.
• Why was no journal entry created? Either the net value change was zero, or the Inventory / Inventory Adjustment account codes are not configured in the Commercial settings.
• Can I correct an item's average cost without changing quantity? Post a small paired adjustment (out then in at the correct cost) — or ask your administrator; the average is otherwise system-maintained.

Inventory transfers

Route: Inventory › Inventory Transfers — /commercial/inventory-transfers

Purpose: move quantities between warehouses — replenishing a branch from the main store, loading a salesman's van, or consolidating stock. The list shows transfer number, date, both warehouses, line count and status.

Fields

Actions and posting effects

1. Save keeps a Draft (no stock effect); drafts can be edited or deleted.
2. Post issues each line out of the source at the item's current average cost there — going below zero is blocked — and receives it into the destination at that same unit cost, so total inventory value is preserved.
3. Posted transfers are read-only and offer Print / Download; they cannot be deleted.

Worked example — transfer 50 units

Transfer 50 units of “Water 330ml” from Main Store to Branch Store. Before: Main holds 120 units at avg cost 10.00; Branch holds 20 units at avg cost 12.00.

The destination's average is recomputed: (240 + 500) ÷ 70 ≈ 10.57. Total value 1,440 before and after — nothing gained, nothing lost.

Common mistakes & FAQ

• “Not enough stock” on post: the source warehouse doesn't hold the quantity — check On-hand; maybe the goods were received into a different warehouse.
• Wrong direction? There is no “unpost” — create a second transfer back from the destination to the source.
• Is there an in-transit state? No — posting moves stock instantly; until you post, nothing moves.
• Does a transfer change prices? No. It only moves quantity and cost; sale prices are untouched.

Serials register

Route: Inventory › Serials — /commercial/serials

Purpose: a read-only lifecycle registry for every serial number of serial-tracked items (phones, appliances…): where each unit came from, where it is now, and which document took it out — the backbone of warranty service. Search any serial to answer “when did we sell this exact device, and on which invoice?”

Lifecycle rules (enforced automatically)

• Receiving requires exactly one serial per unit received; a serial that is already registered cannot be received again (duplicate blocked with its current status shown).
• Selling requires the serial to be in stock in the same warehouse as the document; a never-received or already-sold serial is rejected.
• A customer return re-activates only a serial that was actually sold; a return to supplier requires the serial to be in stock.
• A purchase cannot be unposted while one of its serials has already been sold.

FAQ

• The same serial exists on two physical boxes — what now? The system accepts it only once. Give the second unit a distinguishable serial (e.g. suffix) or have the supplier correct the labels.
• Why doesn't my item ask for serials? The Serial-number tracked flag on the item card is off. Turn it on before receiving new stock.
• Can I edit a serial here? No — the register is read-only; serials are written by the documents themselves.

Warehouses

Route: Inventory › Warehouses — /commercial/warehouses

Purpose: define storage locations (main store, branch store, van…). Every stock movement belongs to exactly one warehouse, so create warehouses before entering any stock document.

FAQ

• Why can't I delete a warehouse? It has stock movements or balances referencing it. Deactivate it instead — history is preserved.
• How do I close a warehouse that still has stock? Transfer everything out first, verify On-hand shows zero, then deactivate.

Units of measure

Route: Inventory › Units — /commercial/units

Purpose: the shared list of units (piece, carton, kg, liter…) with automatic code and bilingual names. Item cards reference these units as the base unit and as alternative units — the conversion factor lives on the item card, not here, so “carton” can mean 12 for one item and 24 for another.

FAQ

• Why can't I delete a unit? “This unit is used by items and cannot be deleted.” Deactivate it, or first repoint the items that use it.
• If I rename a unit, do old documents change? The name is a label — displays and new prints show the new name; stored quantities are unaffected.

Categories & brands

Route: Inventory › Categories / Brands — /commercial/categories, /commercial/brands

Purpose: classify items for filtering and reporting: category groups by nature (food, electronics…), brand by manufacturer. Both are simple master screens with the same layout: automatic code + Arabic name (required) + English name + active flag + notes pane, with Save / Save & New / Back.

Inventory account on the category

The category screen has an optional Inventory account: every item in the category posts its value to that account instead of the general inventory account in Account Settings, in every stock document. This is the right way to separate raw materials from finished goods in a factory: a “Raw materials” category on its account and a “Finished goods” category on its own, so an item enters and leaves one account through purchasing, production and sales and both balances stay true. Precedence: the item's own account from its card (if set) → the category account → the general account. Only postable sub-accounts are accepted, and a change applies to future postings only.

FAQ

• Why can't I delete a category or brand? “…used by items and cannot be deleted.” Move its items to another value first, or deactivate it.
• Are category and brand required on the item? No — both are optional, but filling them makes list filters and sales/purchase reports far more useful.

Item attributes

Path: Commercial → Master data → Item attributes — /commercial/item-attributes

What it does: Size, colour, grade and their values — defined once here, then used across every model to generate its variants, so you never retype “red” item by item.

Item label printing

Path: Commercial → Master data → Item label printing — /commercial/item-labels

What it does: Pick the label template, the items and how many labels each needs, then preview and print — a whole shelf, or one item after its price changed.

Electronic scales

Path: Commercial → Master data → Electronic scales — /commercial/scales

What it does: A department scale prints a label whose barcode exists on no item card. Here you define how that barcode is read back, and from here you download the item catalogue that gets loaded onto the scale.

Importing from Excel

Path: Commercial → Master data → Excel import — /system/excel-import

What it does: Loading items, customers and suppliers in one go from a file instead of opening the add screen a hundred times — three steps: download the template, fill it, run it.

Batch tracking

Path: Inventory → Tracking → Batches — /commercial/item-batches

What it does: One item can arrive in consignments that differ from each other: a different expiry, an actual length, a size and thickness. Marking the item “tracks batches” makes every receipt carry what distinguishes it, and cost becomes a batch-level fact rather than an item-level one.