Inventory · Definition

Inventory Write-Off

Removing worthless stock from the books as an expense.

A write-off recognises that stock has no remaining value — expired, damaged, obsolete or lost — and charges it to the income statement. A write-down instead reduces value to a lower recoverable amount.

Write-offs need reason codes and approval, because they are both a real loss and a potential cover for theft. Trending them by reason usually points straight at a fixable process.

Also called