Moving goods with serial numbers: how to avoid errors and loss of warranty records

In retail trade involving appliances, electronics, or expensive equipment, it is critically important to track each product unit individually to ensure that warranty obligations are fulfilled. 

For this purpose, the strict warranty accounting by serial numbers mode is used. However, as the business scales and equipment is frequently transferred between stores or warehouses, owners may encounter difficulties. Entrepreneurs usually ask the following questions: 

The answers to these questions lie in the correct use of internal transfer and invoice verification tools.

Basic principles for transferring warranty products

To transfer equipment between locations, use «Document» — «Internal transfer». If the «Maintain strict warranty accounting» setting is enabled for the product type, the program fully controls the movement of each product unit.

If you use non-strict standard warranty accounting and add a product from the warehouse stock list or by scanning a barcode or item number, the program will not request serial numbers. This speeds up work when the product is stored far away. However, strict accounting is always recommended for expensive equipment because it prevents errors.

How to send and receive products correctly («Goods in transit» mode)

For safe transfers between physically distant stores, use the «Goods in transit» checkbox.

1. Dispatch. An internal transfer invoice is created at the sender’s warehouse. The warehouse employee scans the product barcodes, and the program opens a window for entering the serial number of each unit.

2. Receipt. The product does not immediately appear in the stock balance of the receiving store. The recipient must open «Warehouse» — «Goods in transit», find the relevant invoice, and perform the «Check invoice» action (Receipt invoice verification).

3. Serial number verification. The «Serial numbers» action is available in the verification form and allows the user to view the list of numbers. The recipient scans the products. If the verified quantity does not match the number of serial numbers, the program will highlight the product and display a discrepancy warning.

4. Completion. The serial numbers are transferred to the stock balance of the receiving store only after the verification results are applied and the «Accept invoice» button is clicked.

Why errors occur and how the program responds

Entrepreneurs often encounter human error during these operations. Let us examine the most common questions and the reasons behind system messages:

This is the question most frequently asked by stores. The problem occurs when the receiving employee enters the product quantity in the «Receipt invoice verification» form simply by scanning ordinary barcodes or entering the quantity manually, without checking the serial numbers, and then applies the results. 

If the serial numbers were removed from the document as a result of such an inattentive check, they cannot simply be restored — the program will report that the number is not available in the sender’s warehouse. Therefore, products subject to strict accounting must be checked with mandatory control of the serial number list. 

This error is a protective mechanism in the program and may occur for several reasons:

• Data entry error. If the warehouse employee makes a mistake when creating the transfer, such as scanning the wrong number or entering it with a typo, the program will warn that this number is not available in the warehouse and prompt the user to enter the serial number again. The window will continue to appear until the correct number is entered or the user cancels the operation, in which case the product will simply not be included in the invoice.

• The product is still in transit or has been returned to the sender. If the transfer was sent as «Goods in transit» and the receiving store entered a quantity of «0» during verification, thereby refusing the product, the product is returned to the sender’s warehouse. In some older program versions, the serial number could remain «stuck» in the virtual goods-in-transit warehouse. This algorithm behaviour was corrected by the developers, so it is important to use an up-to-date version.

• Conflict between deferred invoices. Situations may occur in which a deferred internal transfer is created, while the product is not physically deducted from the warehouse. The same product with the same serial number is then sent using another active invoice. When the first deferred invoice is changed to «Active» status, a conflict or duplication occurs because the number is no longer physically available in the sender’s warehouse.

• Attempt to sell a product from another accounting centre. If sales from all retail outlets are enabled and the cashier selects a serial number for a sale that is physically stored in another warehouse, the system will block the operation if the number is not available in the current warehouse.

To speed up the process, the program includes the «Scan serial numbers continuously» setting. When it is enabled, the serial number request window does not close after each scan. It appears as many times as the number of product units added to the invoice, allowing all serial numbers to be scanned one after another. For bulk transfers, it is also advisable to use a data collection terminal (DCT).

 Entrepreneurs often ask how to document the replacement of equipment. If a product is returned under warranty and cannot be repaired, the «Product exchange» function is available in the «Repair» module. You enter a new serial number that is available in the warehouse. The program automatically records the return of the old serial number from the customer, its return to the supplier, and the sale of the new serial number to the customer, while maintaining the correct document flow without unnecessary cash register transactions.

Following the invoice verification procedure and using strict control ensures that no serial number is lost in the database and that the entrepreneur can track the history of each equipment unit at any time, from purchase to warranty service.