Inventory Module Guide
Use Inventory to define items, track stock, monitor movements, investigate differences, manage alerts, support scanner flows, and keep warehouse quantities trustworthy.
Inventory is the operational record of what your organization has, where it is stored, how it moved, and whether the physical count agrees with AWRA. It connects directly with procurement, warehouse transfers, POS, sales fulfillment, finance reports, mobile scanning, and operations alerts.
Who Uses Inventory
- Inventory users who create items, record movements, check stock, and review reports.
- Warehouse teams who receive, issue, count, scan, label, and transfer stock.
- Procurement teams who use stock levels, reorder points, and movement history to decide what to buy.
- Sales and POS users who depend on available stock and correct warehouse deduction.
- Managers and finance users who review stock value, variances, low-stock alerts, and movement evidence.
Item Lifecycle
- Create the item: Add name, SKU or code, category, unit, optional barcode, reorder point, and required attachments.
- Assign where it lives: Connect the item to warehouses, locations, bins, or branches used by your team.
- Receive stock: Increase quantity through purchase receiving, check-in, opening balance, return, or approved correction.
- Move or issue stock: Use checkout, transfer, POS sale, sales fulfillment, or approved consumption.
- Count and investigate: Compare AWRA quantities with physical counts, scanner results, and recent movements.
- Correct with evidence: Use adjustments only after reviewing history, transfer status, returns, and count evidence.
- Report and improve: Use reports and alerts to find low stock, slow movement, stockouts, dead stock, and repeated variances.
Core Workflows
| Workflow | Use When | Check Before Saving |
|---|---|---|
| Check-in / receiving | Stock arrives, is returned, or is added through an approved process. | Item, unit, quantity, warehouse, location, document reference, and supplier or source. |
| Check-out / issue | Stock leaves for use, sale, consumption, department issue, or fulfillment. | Requester, destination, quantity, reason, approval, and remaining balance. |
| Transfer | Stock moves between warehouses, locations, branches, vehicles, or stores. | Source, destination, dispatch quantity, receiving quantity, and transfer status. |
| Count | Physical stock is counted for audit, cycle count, launch, or investigation. | Count scope, counters, cut-off time, open transfers, and variance notes. |
| Adjustment | A verified difference needs correction. | Evidence, approval, reason, quantity, warehouse, and effect on reports. |
Scanner And Alerts
Scanner workflows help teams reduce typing errors, confirm item identity, speed up counts, and support warehouse movement. Before relying on a scan, confirm the barcode belongs to the correct item and the device is working in the expected warehouse or offline mode.
Inventory alerts may flag low stock, stockouts, unusual movements, negative stock, pending transfers, expired or damaged stock, and repeated variances. Alerts should be reviewed before purchasing, adjusting, or promising stock to customers.
Permissions Needed
Users may need view, create, edit, receive, issue, transfer, count, adjust, export, approve, or report access depending on their role. If you cannot see an item, movement button, warehouse, scanner action, or report, ask your organization admin to review your role and warehouse assignment.
Common Mistakes
- Creating duplicate items instead of updating the existing item.
- Receiving stock into the wrong warehouse, location, or unit of measure.
- Using an adjustment when a transfer, return, receiving, checkout, or count workflow is correct.
- Ignoring transfers in transit while investigating stock mismatch.
- Forgetting to attach delivery notes, photos, count sheets, or approval evidence when required.
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