Overview
In many cases due to the English background of the developer, Inventory is referred to as "stock", which can be confusing to some. The word "stock" is used interchangeably with "inventory" throughout.
Inventories fall into clear categories particular to the business. For example a toy factory might have categories for lego, rideons, board games etc . These are referred to as stock categories and are expected to be defined by the business. The name of the category (but not its code) can be altered at any time.
Note: Integration to the general ledger is at the stock category level. The posting to the general ledger is determined by reference to the stock category of the item together with the sales area and the sales type. Separate tables of general ledger codes for sales and cost of sales are maintained from the System Setup tab of the main menu.
Inventory invoiced using the invoicing option will decrease the stock on hand from the stock location specified in the invoice. Inventory credited using the credit note creation option will increase the stock held at the location selected in the credit note. Inventory adjustments to the quantity held are also possible and transfers between stock locations.
A record of each stock movement is maintained, stock movements originating from sales invoices, purchase orders received, stock adjustments, sales credit notes can all be viewed using the inquiry of stock movements. Summing the stock movements provides an easy mechanism to see the historical usage and an inquiry is also available to show usage by month.
Inventories can be valued at either standard cost (manually maintained costs) or weighted average cost (automatically maintained). If general ledger stock integration is active, general ledger postings are created for stock adjustments, standard cost amendments, cost of sales and stock movements on invoicing and crediting. When stock journals are used, provided that the balance of the stock accounts agrees to the current valuation of the stock at the time when the flag is set in the company preferences page, then the value of stock held will be maintained in the general ledger, with a full trail of general ledger journals for each stock movement. This does make for a busy, but informative general ledger in a high use environment!
Note: Inventory journals are optional. The sales ledger/accounts receivable interface is separate to the stock general ledger interface so it is possible to have sales posting to the general ledger but not the inventory and cost of sales aspect.
