ANTE User ManualBeginning Balance
The Beginning Balance page lets you set the opening inventory quantities and unit costs for a warehouse. It is a spreadsheet-style screen that lists every inventoried item in the system, where you enter a starting quantity and unit cost for each item you want to stock, then save them all at once as the warehouse's opening balance.
Service items are not shown here. Services are non-inventoried and have no stock, so they are excluded from the beginning-balance item list.
Use this when you first set up a warehouse and need to load its existing on-hand stock into the system, rather than recording each item movement one by one.
Overview
When you open Beginning Balance, the page loads:
- A configuration bar at the top where you pick the target warehouse, enter a memo, and see live totals.
- A searchable item table listing every item, with editable quantity and unit cost fields per row.
You select the items to include, enter their opening quantities and costs, and save. The included items are recorded together as the beginning balance for the chosen warehouse.
How to Set a Beginning Balance
- Navigate to Assets → Inventory → Beginning Balance.
- In the configuration bar, choose the target warehouse from the Warehouse dropdown. The first available warehouse is selected for you automatically.
- (Optional) Edit the Memo field. It defaults to
Beginning Balanceand labels the resulting inventory record. - Find the items you want to stock. Use the Search items by name or SKU... box to filter the table.
- For each item, enter a value in the Quantity column. Entering a quantity greater than 0 automatically ticks the item's checkbox to include it.
- Adjust the Unit Cost column if needed. It is pre-filled with the item's saved rate (buying price).
- The Total Value column updates automatically (Quantity × Unit Cost) for each included row.
- Review the Items count and Total Value totals in the configuration bar.
- Click Save Beginning Balance ({{count}} items) to record the opening stock. You are returned to the warehouse screen on success.
To discard your entries without saving, click Cancel.
Configuration Bar
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Warehouse | The warehouse that will receive the opening stock. The first warehouse loads automatically; you must have a warehouse selected to save. |
| Memo | A short label for the beginning-balance record. Defaults to Beginning Balance. |
| Items | Live count of how many items are currently included (checked). |
| Total Value | Live sum of Quantity × Unit Cost across all included items, in your company currency. |
Item Table
Each row in the table represents one item in the system.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| (Checkbox) | Include or exclude this item from the beginning balance. Checked rows are highlighted. |
| Item Name | The name of the item. |
| SKU | The item's SKU code. |
| Quantity | The opening on-hand quantity to record. Editable. Entering a value above 0 auto-includes the row. |
| Unit Cost | The cost per unit. Pre-filled from the item's saved rate; editable. |
| Total Value | Calculated Quantity × Unit Cost for the row. Shows a dash (—) until the item is included with a quantity above 0. |
If no items match your search, the table shows No items match your search. If the system has no items at all, it shows No items found in the system.
Common Tasks
Include or exclude individual items
- Tick a row's checkbox to include it, or untick it to exclude it.
- Entering a quantity greater than 0 includes the item automatically.
Include or clear every item at once
- Click Include All to check every item (each item with no quantity is set to a quantity of 1).
- Click Clear All to uncheck every item and reset their quantities to 0.
Search for an item
- Type into the Search items by name or SKU... box. The table filters live by item name or SKU.
Validation
The page blocks the save if your entries are incomplete:
- No warehouse selected — you are prompted to Please select a warehouse.
- No items with a quantity — if no included item has a quantity above 0, you are prompted that there are No items with quantity to set as beginning balance.
The Save Beginning Balance button is disabled until at least one item is included.
Tips and Best Practices
- Set the unit cost carefully — it is used as the per-unit value of your opening stock, so it should reflect the actual cost of the items on hand.
- Pick the right warehouse first — the beginning balance applies only to the selected warehouse.
- Use the memo — a clear memo makes the opening-balance record easy to recognize later in the warehouse's transaction history.
- Use Include All / Clear All to speed up loading a large catalog, then fine-tune individual quantities.
Related Pages
- Company Warehouse — Manage company-owned warehouses and view their inventory.
- Project Warehouse — Warehouses for specific projects.
💡 Note: Only the items you check (with a quantity above 0) are saved. Items left unchecked or with a quantity of 0 are ignored.