Stock transfers and adjustments in Skyline Nexus

What you will set up and why

A stock transfer moves goods and their cost from one business location to another; a stock adjustment removes stock that was damaged, lost, expired or simply is not where the system says it is. Skyline Nexus ERP records both as their own documents, each with a reference number, a reason and an audit trail, rather than letting anyone quietly edit a quantity on a stock report.

This guide covers creating a transfer and receiving it at the other end, choosing the right reason code and adjustment type for a write-off, running a physical stock count and turning its result into an adjustment, and what each of these does, and does not, post to the general ledger. It does not repeat the wider branch reporting story, covered in our guide on multi-branch accounting, or how a product's units and cost are set up in the first place, covered in our guide on products, units and variations, both of which are worth reading first if you have not already set up more than one location.

Before you start

Both screens sit under Inventory Control Centre, Operations, and both need the purchase permission: viewing needs purchase.view, creating a transfer or an adjustment needs purchase.create. A transfer needs at least two business locations already set up, and an adjustment needs the product already in stock at the location you are adjusting. Neither module has to be enabled for every business; if you do not see Stock Transfers or Stock Adjustment under Operations, ask an administrator whether that module is switched on for your subscription package.

Decide the reason before you open the form. Skyline Nexus ERP asks for a reason code on both screens, and choosing the honest one, rather than defaulting to Other every time, is what makes the shrinkage and count-variance reports meaningful later.

• Permission: purchase.view to see transfers and adjustments, purchase.create to add them
• At least two business locations for a transfer
• The product already recorded in stock at the location an adjustment applies to
• A genuine reason code decided before you start, not chosen automatically afterwards

Step 1: move stock with a transfer

Go to Inventory Control Centre, Operations, Stock Transfers, Add Stock Transfer. Fill in the Date, an optional Reference No. that is auto-generated if left blank, a Transfer Reason, a Carrier / Responsible Person, an optional Project, and Location (From) and Location (To), which must be different locations. Add the product lines and quantities, and Shipping Charges if the move costs anything to carry out.

Transfer Reason offers Branch Replenishment, Inter-Branch Transfer, Quality Sorting, Returns to Hub, Emergency Fill, Project Allocation or Other. A transfer starts as Pending or In transit; from the transfer list, Update Status changes it to Completed once the receiving branch confirms the goods have actually arrived. The tooltip on that screen is direct about why this matters: a completed transfer will not be editable, so it is worth counting the delivery properly before making that change rather than after.

• Date, Reference No. (auto-generated), Transfer Reason, Carrier / Responsible Person, optional Project
• Location (From) and Location (To), which must differ
• Product lines and quantities, plus Shipping Charges
• Status: Pending, In transit, then Completed; a Completed transfer is locked from further edits

Step 2: write off damaged, expired or missing stock

Go to Inventory Control Centre, Operations, Stock Adjustment, Add Stock Adjustment. Choose the Business Location, an optional Ref. No., the Date, and an Adjustment type of Normal, for routine reasons such as leakage or damage, or Abnormal, for reasons such as fire or an accident. Reason Code lists Damaged Goods, Expired Products, Theft / Shrinkage, Count Variance, Quality Issue, Returned to Vendor, Write-off or Other, and Responsible Person records who is accountable for the loss.

Search for and add each affected product with its quantity and unit price; the form totals them as Total Amount. If anything was recovered, for example an insurance payout or scrap sold for salvage, enter it in Total amount recovered, and the form works out the Net Loss for you. Every line you add here reduces the recorded stock quantity: there is no field on this screen for entering stock you have found in excess of what the system shows.

• Business Location, Ref. No., Date, Adjustment type: Normal or Abnormal
• Reason Code: Damaged Goods, Expired Products, Theft / Shrinkage, Count Variance, Quality Issue, Returned to Vendor, Write-off, Other
• Responsible Person, product lines with quantity and unit price
• Total amount recovered, and an auto-calculated Net Loss

Step 3: run a physical stock count

Go to Reports, Physical Stock Verification. Filter by Business Location, Category, Brand, Unit or Discrepancy Type, then enter the physical count you have counted on the shop floor against each product row. Verify All Matching and Mark All Discrepancies speed up a count where most items match, and Save Verification records the counted quantity, the system quantity and the difference for every line.

Generate Stock Adjustment becomes useful once a saved count has at least one discrepancy; it takes you straight to Add Stock Adjustment so you can record the difference. The counted quantities are not carried across automatically, so re-enter the discrepant products and quantities on the adjustment form yourself, typically under Reason Code Count Variance, using the figures the verification screen just showed you. Keep the saved verification's discrepancy list open in a second tab or printed out while you fill in the adjustment, since the two screens do not talk to each other and a product missed at this stage will not be caught later.

What a transfer posts to the ledger

A stock transfer between two locations of the same business does not, on its own, change the company's total inventory value or its profit, because the goods never left the business. What it does change is which location's stock records show the value: the sending location's stock quantity and cost fall, and the receiving location's rise by the same amount, which is exactly why the transfer document, not a manual edit to either location's stock, is the correct way to move it.

A German electronics retailer transfers 40 units of a product costing EUR 25.00 each from its Munich warehouse to its Leipzig store, a value of EUR 1,000. Munich's stock value falls by EUR 1,000 and Leipzig's rises by the same EUR 1,000; the group total is unchanged, and neither branch's profit moves yet. The EUR 1,000 becomes part of Leipzig's cost of goods sold only when Leipzig actually sells that stock, at which point that sale posts its own Dr Cost of Goods Sold and Cr Inventory entry, this time affecting Leipzig's branch profit and the group's together.

• Transfer of 40 units at EUR 25.00: Munich stock value -1,000, Leipzig stock value +1,000, group total unchanged
• The transferred cost only reaches the ledger's Cost of Goods Sold when Leipzig later sells that stock
• See our guide on multi-branch accounting for how the Trial Balance and Profit and Loss then read by branch

What a write-off posts, and what it does not

A stock adjustment is designed, at the accounting level, to debit a shrinkage or write-off expense account for the net loss, debit a recovery account for anything recovered, and credit Inventory for the full amount removed, which is the correct entry for a genuine write-off: the asset leaves the balance sheet and the loss lands on the profit and loss account for the period, not silently inside a lower closing stock figure.

Whether that entry actually reaches your ledger depends on a setting your administrator controls; it is not something every business has switched on from the start, and there is no checkbox for it on the Add Stock Adjustment screen itself or anywhere in the general Auto-Post Settings panel that lists sales, purchases, payments and payroll. If a French warehouse business writes off 15 units of stock costing EUR 20.00 each, EUR 300 in total, with EUR 50 recovered from a supplier credit, the intended entry is straightforward once posting is confirmed as active for your business, and it uses the actual cost the stock was bought in at, not a rounded or estimated figure.

• Write-off of 15 units at EUR 20.00, EUR 300 total, EUR 50 recovered: Dr Shrinkage/Write-off Expense 250 / Dr Recovery account 50 / Cr Inventory 300
• Ask your administrator to confirm automatic posting is switched on for stock adjustments before relying on this entry appearing by itself
• Whether or not it posts automatically, the adjustment document itself always reduces the recorded stock quantity and is fully auditable

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Transfers and adjustments are permanent records once completed, so it is worth getting the reason and the quantity right the first time rather than correcting them afterwards.

• Marking a transfer Completed before the goods have physically arrived: it can no longer be edited if the count turns out wrong; keep it In transit until the receiving branch has actually checked the delivery
• Choosing Reason Code Other on every adjustment: the shrinkage and count-variance reports lose their meaning; pick the specific reason that actually applies
• Trying to record found stock as a negative adjustment: the Add Stock Adjustment screen only decreases quantity; investigate a positive count difference separately, for example a miscounted delivery, rather than forcing it through this screen
• Running Generate Stock Adjustment and expecting the counted quantities to appear ready-made: they are not carried over, so re-enter each discrepant product and its quantity on the adjustment form using the verification screen's own figures
• Assuming a write-off automatically appears on the Profit and Loss: confirm with your administrator whether automatic posting for stock adjustments is switched on for your business
• Leaving Total amount recovered blank when something genuinely was recovered: the Net Loss then overstates the loss actually suffered

Related reports

The Inventory Control Centre's Location Wise Stock Report, Stock Valuation Report and Stock Movement Report show the effect of transfers and adjustments on quantity and value per location, and the Stock Adjustment Report and Physical Stock Verification history keep a record of every count and write-off by reason. Our guides on multi-branch accounting and on products, units and variations cover how stock is held per location and set up in the first place.