How to enable FIFO accounting and transfer cost

Step 1. Select the cost calculation method

To enable lot accounting, open the menu «Settings» — «Parameters» — the «Accounting» tab. In the «Method of calculating the cost of goods» field, four options related to lot accounting are available:

• «By supply batches»;

• «By supply batches taking into account internal transfers»;

• «By batches by accounting centers»;

• «By supply batches and exchange rate».

The choice depends on how your inventory accounting is organized: in one store, in several retail outlets, or with movement of goods between accounting centers.

How the «By supply batches» method works

If you choose the «By supply batches» method, the program calculates the cost of stock balances in the warehouse using the average purchase price taking into account all available batches.

What is inserted into the outgoing document

During a sale, it is not the purchase price that goes into the outgoing document, but the cost of the product. This is important because the purchase price and the cost may not match.

How does the «By supply batches taking into account internal transfers» method work?

This method is used when internal transfers between accounting centers are used in accounting. Internal transfers are carriers of cost, and the FIFO principle works for the documents of a specific accounting center. If the goods arrived earlier at a certain store, then they are linked earlier to the outgoing document of that store.

The «By supply batches taking into account internal transfers» method is advisable to use if you have several stores or warehouses and goods are moved between them. In this case, internal transfers preserve the logic of carrying cost between accounting centers.

Then FIFO works within a specific accounting center: if the goods arrived earlier specifically at this store, then they will be written off earlier in the sale.

When should you use the «By supply batches by accounting centers» method?

Under this method, the cost in outgoing documents is calculated by accounting centers without taking into account incoming invoices from other accounting centers. The method works correctly if there are no internal movements between accounting centers. 

How does the «By supply batches and exchange rate» method work?

This method differs from the standard «By supply batches» in that when calculating the cost, the exchange rate is taken into account for those incoming invoices for which goods remain in stock. Also, when filling outgoing documents with cost, the exchange rate closest to the document date is taken into account, subject to limitations.

Step 2. Recalculate the cost

After changing the cost calculation method, you need to recalculate so that the new rules are applied to the existing documents. The program will offer to do this in the same window where you change the cost calculation method («Analysis» — «Period» — «Cost recalculation»).

It is better to run such a recalculation outside working hours. If you have automatic tasks configured for cost calculation on a schedule, it is advisable to temporarily disable them before starting.

Exception: goods with serial numbers

Goods for which strict warranty accounting is kept by serial numbers operate according to separate logic. For such items, the program determines the cost not by the general FIFO rule, but by the specific receipt document to which the serial number is linked.

That is, for serial goods, the cost is taken from exactly the receipt from which this particular unit was sold.