Overview
Most Erply accounts are using what is described here as the “new inventory system”; it has been the default on new accounts for many years already.
However, there are a few older accounts where the “old” system is still in use. We would be happy to upgrade these accounts; the upgrade brings along speed improvements and new features, but also restricts the ability to change past documents. These restrictions are explained below; please read carefully.
Verifying Account Settings
Please check the back office version number displayed in the bottom right corner (Classic) or in the top right menu (Berlin).
If the version number is followed by "(i)", your account has "new" inventory.
If there is no "(i)", your account has old inventory. Please continue reading below.
Major Changes
1. Under new rules, all inventory documents must be confirmed. “Confirm” button has been added to Inventory Registrations, Transfers and Write-Offs.
2. The lines of a confirmed document can no longer be changed (and neither the location), because Erply has already processed inventory transactions. More specifically: it is not possible to add/delete lines, swap product with another one or edit quantities. Other fields (sales price etc.) remain editable.
To make any changes, you need to make a copy of the document and delete or credit the old one.
As an exception, it is possible to delete lines from a confirmed Waybill.
On a Purchase Invoice it is possible to adjust currency rate and add shipping costs even after you have confirmed it. Even if you already have sold the batch to customers, its cost will be retroactively updated.
3. To transfer items from one location to another, you need to have sufficient stock. When you click “Confirm”, Erply will check that and return an error message if there is not enough stock.
4. All inventory transactions will be processed at the moment when user confirms the document. Hence, items will come into stock and go out in the same order as the documents are confirmed. Effectively, it is not possible to “back date” or “post date” any inventory operation any more, all inventory changes will take place in real time.
Additionally, please note that when you have a Purchase Invoice with an April date, but you confirm it in May — it will be reflected on your May Purchase Report.
New Features
These Erply features are available to customers with updated inventory only:
- Assembly
- Product filter “Show only items in stock”
- Central Purchasing and Distribution
In Reports → Inventory, there is now a new report that lists both positive and negative inventory. The report is titled “All stock (positive and negative)”. Previously, positive and negative stock were listed in two separate reports.
Upgrading Your Account
To upgrade your account, we need to run a procedure that counts and re-registers all inventory. The preceding period will be fully closed and documents from preceding period cannot be neither edited nor deleted any more.
We will pick a transition date — which will typically be the end of previous month. (Eg. if it is currently the month of April, we will pick March 31 as the transition date.)
Erply will:
- take Inventory Report (eg. as of March 31),
- put the quantities and costs into new inventory system,
and generate new transaction records for all sales, purchases and other inventory operations that have taken place after the transition date (in our example, from April 1 onwards)
Any documents dated March 31 or earlier will be locked and cannot be edited or deleted any more.
Any inventory transfers dated April 1 OR NEWER will be validated: is there enough inventory on hand to perform the transfer? If not, that transfer will be left into unconfirmed status, as if it has not taken place yet. These transfers will be listed in your dashboard messages area.
There are several options for dealing with these cases. If you are waiting to receive a PO, you may leave the transfers as they are and confirm them later. If the quantity on hand is simply incorrect, you may adjust it, and then try confirming the transfer again. (Eg. if you wanted to transfer 5 items, then there must have been at least 5 items in stock at that point.) And finally, you may just disregard the transfers and correct any warehouse discrepancies with the next physical stocktaking.
Principles Of Stock-Keeping
Erply keeps inventory using FIFO (First In, First Out) method. All incoming goods are registered as batches. Each sold, written-off or transferred item is subtracted from the oldest available batch. Hence, oldest inventory items (that arrived first) are also sold first.
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) is calculated by adding up the costs of each individual sold item.
The remaining value of your inventory is the total cost of all batches still in stock.