Delayed invoices, future dates and "disappeared" balances: how to properly control movements between warehouses

Analysis of Torgsoft technical support logs shows that one of the most frequent user requests concerns incorrect display of product quantities after internal transfers. Entrepreneurs complain that goods «disappear» from the warehouse, balances do not match, or negative balances appear in the virtual warehouse «Goods in Transit».

In 90% of cases, the technical problem is not caused by a system failure, but by incorrect work with dates in active documents and ignoring the «Deferred Invoice» status.

Below, we will look at the mechanics of this problem and ways to avoid it.

The main reason for «disappearance»: a future date in an active invoice

To speed up system operation (so that the «Warehouse Status» form opens instantly), Torgsoft uses the static warehouse build method. This means that the warehouse status is stored in a separate table and updated directly when a warehouse document is posted.

How the error occurs:

1. The user creates an internal transfer invoice. By default, it is created as «Active».

2. The user knows that the vehicle with the goods will leave only tomorrow, so they manually change the current date of the active document to a future date.

3. Consequence: because the invoice is active, but its date has been moved to the future, the static warehouse build fails. The correct product quantity stops being displayed on the «Warehouse Status» form. The quantity that existed before the document date was changed remains displayed.

To see the real picture in such a situation, the user has to apply the «Status as of date» filter (specifying that same future date), or constantly click the «Recalculate product quantities in all warehouses» button.

Using deferred invoices

To prevent goods from «hanging» between time periods, active invoices must never be used for future transfers.

Correct procedure:

1. System settings: go to Settings -> Parameters -> Document and enable the «Create internal transfers as deferred» switch.

2. Now all created internal transfers will have the «Deferred» status. This means that the document has been created (the goods are prepared for shipment), but it does not yet affect the warehouse status.

3. When the actual date of dispatching the vehicle with the goods arrives (the future date becomes the current date), the responsible employee goes to Document -> Internal Transfer -> Select Existing Transfer (Internal Transfers Register).

They open the deferred invoice and change its status to «Active». Only at this moment are the goods correctly written off from the sender’s warehouse and sent to the recipient.

The «Goods in Transit» warehouse and negative balances

If your retail chain involves goods physically being in transit for several hours or days, they cannot be instantly written off from the Main Warehouse and instantly received by the Store. For this purpose, the transit warehouse «Goods in Transit» is used.

To automate this process, enable: Settings -> Parameters -> Document -> «Create internal transfers to the Goods in Transit warehouse by default».

Why do «disappearances» and «negative balances» occur here?

• The goods have not been received at the final destination: the recipient store physically received the goods, but the salesperson did not go to Warehouse -> Goods in Transit -> Invoices, did not perform «Check invoice» and did not click «Receive invoice». As a result, the goods are physically sold (and go negative at the checkout), although in the system they are still «in the vehicle».

• Duplication or partial deletion of invoices: sometimes employees receive an invoice on two computers at the same time or accidentally delete a linked transfer invoice from the «Goods in Transit» warehouse. This leads to negative balances appearing in the transit warehouse.

Golden rules for avoiding transfer problems:

1. Never set a future date on an «Active» invoice. If the goods will leave tomorrow, create the invoice as «Deferred».

2. Use «Goods in Transit». The recipient must receive the invoice in Torgsoft immediately after physically counting the boxes.

3. A universal «remedy» is Warehouse recalculation. If, after a transfer, it seems that the goods have disappeared or the quantity is incorrect (especially after operations with deferred invoices), click the «Recalculate product quantities in all warehouses» button on the «Warehouse Status» form. If the failure was caused by the static warehouse build, this action will bring the database up to date.

Regular training of warehouse workers and salespeople in these three rules will reduce the number of support requests and save the owner hours of searching for «missing» goods.