Transfer stock between warehouses

Use a transfer to record stock that has physically moved between warehouses, such as from a main warehouse to a second unit, from a shop to a store room, or from a pallet racking area to the production floor.

Create a transfer

1. Open Inventory, then Movements.
2. Select New Movement in the page header. On a narrow screen, the button is labelled Add.
3. Choose Transfer from the menu.
4. Optionally pick a Supplier to narrow the product list to that supplier's products.
5. Pick the Product. Inactive products are not offered. On a phone, you can use the Scan link next to the product field to find it by barcode.
6. Set From Warehouse. It starts on your default warehouse, if you have one, so change it if the stock is somewhere else. Once you choose a product, its quantity on hand appears in brackets beside every warehouse in the list.
7. Set To Warehouse. The source warehouse is not offered in this list.
8. Enter the Quantity to move. It must be greater than zero.
9. Check the Operation Date. It starts at the current date and time and cannot be in the future.
10. Optionally add a Comment to help whoever reads the movement later.
11. Select Create Transfer.

One transfer moves one product. To move several products between the same two warehouses, create a transfer for each.

How transfers affect stock and value

A transfer creates two rows in the movements list: a negative row at the source warehouse and a positive row at the destination, both with the reason Transfer. They are two halves of the same record, and your comment appears on both. When the rows would otherwise sort the same, the negative source row appears first.

The rows cancel each other out, so the product's total on hand remains the same. Nothing is bought, used or written off, so inventory value also stays the same. The split of units and their value between warehouses changes.

Because a transfer cannot change your total, it is not the way to record stock that has been used, sold, lost or found. Use another entry in the New Movement menu, such as Stock Out or Adjustment, for those changes.

Available stock and supplier claims

You cannot transfer more than the source warehouse holds. If you enter a quantity above what is on hand there, the quantity box turns red, a message says the quantity exceeds the available inventory at the source warehouse, and Create Transfer stays unavailable until you lower the figure. The check runs again when you save, so leaving the screen open cannot bypass it.

Units held under an open supplier claim can be transferred, and the hold travels with them to the new warehouse. A transfer cannot leave the source with fewer units than it holds for the claim: move the whole held quantity, or release it on the claim first. If you later delete or reduce a transfer that moved held units, the hold goes back to the source warehouse with them.

Backdated transfers and locked years

Backdating is checked more strictly than the on-screen figure suggests. The message in the drawer compares your quantity with what the source holds now. When you save, the source warehouse's movements are replayed in date order with the transfer inserted at the operation date you chose. The transfer is refused if the running balance at that warehouse would go below zero at any point, and the message names the date it would happen. If this happens, move the operation date later, to a point after the stock arrived at the source.

If the operation date falls inside a locked year, the transfer is refused and nothing is saved. The message says the year is locked. Date the transfer inside an open year, or ask someone with the Lock/Unlock Years permission to unlock it.

Shortcuts and repeated transfers

On a product's page, open the Movements tab, then use New Movement and Transfer. The product is already filled in.

In the movements list, hover over the product name in a row. A small Quick actions panel appears. Select the blue button with two arrows, titled Transfer, to open the panel with that row's product selected.

Edit or delete a transfer

To correct a transfer, open it from the movements list and select Edit. You can change the quantity, date and time, and comment. The two warehouses are shown but cannot be changed, so a transfer sent to the wrong place must be deleted and entered again.

Deleting a transfer removes both the source and destination records together and cannot be undone.

Editing and deleting require separate permissions. Editing requires Stock Out, Transfer & Adjustments, the same permission needed to create a transfer. Deleting requires Delete Stock Movements. Neither button is shown on a movement dated inside a locked year; the panel shows a banner saying the year is locked instead.

Transfer permissions

Transfer appears in the New Movement menu only for people with the Stock Out, Transfer & Adjustments permission. Others may still see New Movement because of what else they are allowed to record, but without a Transfer entry. If you cannot see it, ask whoever manages your users to review your permissions.

Empty a warehouse before deleting it

Transfers can help you empty a warehouse you want to close. A warehouse that still holds stock cannot be deleted, and the default warehouse cannot be deleted either. Transfer its stock to another warehouse or write it off with a stock-out before deleting it in Settings, then Warehouses.