How inventory works

Start with the catalog and the stock

An item describes what you buy, store, use, or sell. Its catalog record holds shared details such as name, SKU, brand, category, supplier, prices, and units of measurement. Create one item for the product and use its stock entries to track where it is held.

Inventory shows those stock entries. Each entry belongs to an item and a location, and can also have an expiration date and lot code. The same item can appear more than once because you have stock in several places or batches. Editing a shared item detail affects the linked item; changing a batch date or quantity affects that stock entry.

• Quantity. The amount in this particular stock entry or batch.
• Total Quantity in this location. The combined physical stock for this item at the same location, across its batches.
• Total Quantity on Hand. The combined physical stock for this item across locations.
• Available. Stock at a location after subtracting quantities still committed to confirmed sales orders.

Set up your first inventory workflow

Once stock is set up, open Inventory Tracking Overview to add widgets for low stock, incoming deliveries, open purchase orders, active counts, and report summaries. Your dashboard layout is personal to the browser.

1. Create the physical places you use as Inventory folders, such as a warehouse, storeroom, or service area. Use names your team recognizes.
2. Add or import your items. Give each item a clear name and identifying details, then link a supplier when you purchase it from an outside vendor.
3. Open each item's units of measurement. Set a base unit and any packs or cases you actually count or order. Check the conversions before entering stock.
4. Add opening stock in the correct location. Record separate entries when the same item has different expiration dates or lot codes.
5. Set location stock targets where you want low-stock prompts. The reorder point is when to act; the par level is the amount you want to replenish to.
6. Create a count for a manageable area and assign it to a team member. Use the first count to verify the opening quantities.

Build an Inventory Overview dashboard →

Choose the action that matches the real work

These actions create stock history. A number typed into an ordinary descriptive field is different from a stock movement, so use the dedicated stock controls when the physical quantity changes.

• A delivery arrives. Receive it against a purchase order when an order exists. Record accepted and rejected quantities so only accepted items enter stock.
• Stock changes rooms. Use Stock actions and Move stock. A transfer moves quantities between locations without changing the workspace's total physical stock.
• The shelf does not match Matte. Use a count for a structured check and review, or an authorized manual stock correction for a specific entry. Supply the reason for a manual adjustment.
• Stock expires or is damaged. Use Log expired stock, select the affected batch, and choose Expired, Damaged, or Other.
• An order leaves. Use Ship items on the sales order. Recording the shipment reduces the physical stock at the fulfillment location.

Read stock status and replenishment prompts

Stock status distinguishes stock that is in stock, low, out, or negative. A low-stock result reflects the combined quantity for an item at a location against its reorder point; it is not a separate threshold for every expiration batch.

Replenishment settings can record whether a location should purchase more or receive a transfer from another location. For example, a service room may be supplied by a warehouse. This source setting is descriptive in the current workflow; it does not create transfer tasks or replace review of supplier suggestions. Suggested purchase quantities use your targets and ordering units.

Keep planned quantities separate from physical stock

Inventory also has system folders for Draft orders, On order, and Committed to orders. These show quantities being prepared for purchase, expected from confirmed purchase orders, or promised to customers.

Expected and Committed are separate from Quantity. A purchase order does not increase on-hand stock until you receive it. Confirming a sales order commits stock; shipping it removes stock. Links such as From orders and To orders let you trace these quantities to the documents behind them.

Understand access and common mismatches

The objects and actions you can use depend on the workspace's enabled products, plan, and your permissions. Creating catalog records, making manual corrections, transferring stock, managing counts, and receiving orders are distinct capabilities.

If a total looks surprising, first compare the unit, location, and batch. Then check whether you are looking at physical stock or an order folder. Use Stock Activity and the related count or order to understand the change. Negative stock indicates recorded movements have gone below zero and deserves investigation; it is not automatically corrected by a later count until that count is applied.

Explore the apps available in Matte →Learn shared table, view, and search controls →

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