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: adjust stock — write-offs and surpluses

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 or the surplus.

Search for and add each affected product with its quantity, unit price and a per-line Direction: Decrease, to remove stock that is damaged, lost, expired or stolen, exactly as before, or Increase (Surplus), to record stock a count has found in excess of what the system shows. A Decrease line still feeds the Total Amount and Net Loss totals, with anything recovered, for example an insurance payout or scrap sold for salvage, entered in Total amount recovered. An Increase line adds a new stock lot for the product at its current purchase cost, which keeps stock value and FIFO costing correct, and the form totals these lines separately as Stock Added (Value), right next to the loss total, so a surplus is never mixed into the shrinkage figure.

• 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, unit price and a Direction of Decrease or Increase (Surplus)
• Total amount recovered and Net Loss for Decrease lines; Stock Added (Value) totals Increase lines separately

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 available once a saved count has at least one discrepancy, and it now opens Add Stock Adjustment already pre-filled: one line per discrepant product, quantity set to the difference the count found, Direction set automatically to Increase (Surplus) where the count came in above the system quantity or Decrease where it came in short, Reason Code set to Count Variance, and the location already selected. A banner across the top reads Pre-filled from a Physical Stock Verification — review the quantities and directions below before saving, and that review is worth taking seriously: check every line against the count sheet before you save rather than assuming a pre-filled quantity or direction is automatically right.

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

Worked example: a stock surplus found in a count

A Portuguese hardware store's physical count finds 7 more units of a fastener product than the system shows, at the product's current purchase cost of EUR 20.00 each. The stock controller adds a Stock Adjustment line for that product with Direction Increase (Surplus), quantity 7, Reason Code Count Variance. Skyline Nexus ERP adds a new stock lot for the 7 units at EUR 20.00 and totals the line as Stock Added (Value) 140.00, keeping the store's FIFO costing right for whatever sells next.

Posting mirrors a write-off in reverse: an Increase (Surplus) line debits Inventory and credits the same adjustment account a Decrease line would have debited, so this surplus posts Dr Inventory 140.00 / Cr Cost of Goods Sold 140.00, and the two sides balance. Deleting the adjustment while none of those 7 units have been sold or used reverses both the stock lot and the journal; once even one unit has gone out the door, the adjustment can no longer be deleted, and Skyline Nexus ERP responds that the stock increase cannot be deleted because some of the added stock has already been sold or used, asking for a new decrease to be recorded instead.

• 7 units at EUR 20.00: Dr Inventory 140.00 / Cr Cost of Goods Sold 140.00, debits equal credits
• Deleting an unsold Increase (Surplus) reverses both the stock lot and the journal entry
• Once any of the added stock has been sold or used, the increase cannot be deleted; record a new decrease instead

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
• Choosing Decrease out of habit for a genuine surplus: use Direction Increase (Surplus) instead, so the found stock adds a costed lot rather than being investigated as a mystery gain outside the system
• Assuming a pre-filled Generate Stock Adjustment line is automatically correct: check every quantity and Direction against the count sheet before saving, since the banner is a reminder to review, not a guarantee
• 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.