Stock Allocation#

Using Stock from the Warehouse#

Stock goes to an order when a person chooses it. On a Quotation, the In stock column shows what is free in the main warehouse for each line (nothing is reserved). On a Sales Order or Purchase Order step:

1. Click Use stock from warehouse. Each line's Use from stock is filled with what is free (never more than the line needs).
2. Lower any line to use less — for example, 10 are free but you only want to use 5.
3. Submit. What the lines use is reserved for the order. On the Purchase Order, each line buys the rest (ordered − used); a line wholly taken from stock is left off the PO.

When every line comes from stock, the Purchase Order says Nothing to buy — all from stock and its button reads Close step — all from stock: it reserves the stock and closes the step without a purchase order, and the order's History records it.

The column only appears when an item on the form has free stock. If another order took some of the stock between filling the form and submitting, a message says how much is missing: on the Purchase Order choose Buy the difference to buy it instead; on the Sales Order the rest is bought later.

Switching It On#

Automatic reservation for other orders is off until the company switches on Reserve arriving stock automatically in Assets → Settings → Items → Stock allocation.

When Stock Is Handed Out#

Every way stock enters a warehouse runs the allocation:

• Mark Arrived on a shipment, and receiving one by one (Goods Received).
• Receive & QC, and the Goods Received step of a workflow.
• A refill, a beginning balance, a transfer in, a received delivery, and opening stock from a data import.

Stock in an in-transit or temporary warehouse is never handed out — it is allocated when it reaches a real warehouse.

The order's History shows these as reserved automatically, with the rule that decided it (for example "urgent → date → order") and who brought the stock in.

Who Gets Arriving Stock First#

A company setting decides whether goods bought for a customer's order go to that order before anyone else:

Goods count as bought for an order when they are received inside it: a shipment line of a PO raised in the order (Mark Arrived), Receive & QC, the Goods Received step or the Goods Receiving form of that order's workflow.

For example: order A needs 3 and already holds 1. Order B is Urgent and needs 3. A's PO of 3 arrives — A gets 2 (all it still waits for) and the 1 left over goes to B. With "Ranking for everything", B would get all 3.

Advance Orders#

An Advance Order is the order made from the quotation before the customer's PO arrives. Until the order has a Sales Order, the Advance Order's lines wait for stock like Sales Order lines: they appear in the Allocation tab's waiting list, and goods on a PO raised for the order are held for it — also with automatic reservation off, because buying for an order is intentional.

When the Sales Order is made, its lines take over: what the Advance Order holds moves onto the Sales Order's lines, and nothing is counted twice. If the order is cancelled, everything it holds is released; the freed stock goes to the waiting orders at the next arrival of that item.

The Ranking#

The ranking decides who gets stock not bought for an order, the surplus of an order's goods, and — with "Ranking for everything" — every arrival. Each line gets at most what it still has to deliver; what is left over stays free.

Choose both settings in Assets → Settings → Items → Stock allocation (needs the Assets configuration permission).

The Allocation Tab#

Open an item in Assets → Items and click Allocation. From an order, click the item's name in the order's lines (where reserved stock is shown) to land here.

For example, with the Ranked setting: order A (placed on the 1st, wanted on the 30th) needs 4 and order B (placed on the 5th, Urgent, wanted on the 10th) needs 3. When 3 arrive, B gets all 3 and A shows as #1 waiting for 4.

Re-allocating Stock#

1. On the waiting line that should get the stock, click Re-allocate… (managers only).
2. Pick the reservation to take it from — the quantity defaults to what that line still waits for.
3. Enter the quantity and a reason (required), then click Re-allocate….

The stock moves to that exact line. Both orders' history records it — the receiving order says which order it was taken over from and why — and the salesperson of the order that gave it up (and whoever reserved it) is notified with the reason.

How It Connects#