Create a warehouse catalogue, count opening stock and control who can view or change stock costs.
Choose the business and stock policy#
Enable Inventory from Apps. It works independently; connect sales and books only after installing and configuring their prerequisites. Select the actual business name, country, stock currency and timezone. These identify the stock ledger, rather than the language of the screen.
Choose manager-only access or allow team operators deliberately. Viewing and operational access are separate choices. Owners and administrators manage items, warehouses, opening values and cost connections; ordinary team viewers do not receive private cost fields.
| Choice | When it fits | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Managers only | A small team controls stock centrally. | Only owners and administrators open and operate Inventory. |
| Team viewing or operations | Staff need stock visibility or transfer duties. | Assign a workspace role and explicitly enable the required access. Viewers cannot change stock, and cost values remain restricted to managers. |
Make each physical location explicit#
Create a unique warehouse code and readable name, confirm its country and address, and choose a default. A store or register can select a different warehouse explicitly. A default is a convenience; sales never combine availability across locations.
A warehouse with stock, reservations or an open transfer cannot be archived. Finish the physical work and reconcile the location before archiving.
Build the item catalogue#
Use one SKU per physical item and an optional unique barcode. An item can have a category, unit label and default reorder point. This release counts whole units; fractional weights, serial numbers, batches and expiry tracking are not supported.
The same canonical item can be sold at a counter and online through an explicit supported link. Product descriptions and selling prices belong to the sales apps; stock cost is a separate value.
Count and value opening stock#
Choose Opening stock for the first stock entry at an item and warehouse. Enter the actual whole-unit quantity, the total stock cost in the configured currency and a meaningful reason. Later goods received use Receipt; physical count corrections use Adjustment in or Adjustment out.
Enter total cost for the receipt, not a unit selling price or expected revenue. Keep purchase and count evidence. A receipt does not create a purchase invoice or a payment, and a quantity adjustment does not refund a customer.
- Count the physical location and record the count date in your evidence.
- Check the warehouse, SKU, quantity, currency and total cost before submitting.
- Review the resulting immutable movement and available quantity.
- Review the related cost event separately before posting it to Accounting.
Read the quantities and cost correctly#
On hand is physically held stock. Reserved units are still on hand but committed to pending online orders. Available equals on hand less reserved. Stock in transit has left its source and is unavailable at its destination until received. Negative stock and dispatch of reserved units are blocked.
Each warehouse uses moving weighted average cost with exact minor-unit totals. An issue receives its proportional carrying cost; rounding residue stays with remaining stock and the final issue consumes the remaining value exactly. Transfers carry their original allocated value between locations.
These operational values do not perform net realisable value reviews, landed-cost allocation, purchase matching or statutory valuation approval. Review the accounting policy and recognition dates with the responsible bookkeeper.
Keep the active workspace, actual business requirements and current setup summary in view. A guide explains a choice; it does not make that choice for you.