Stock, locations, and transfers
Add, correct, remove, and move physical stock with a useful history.
In Inventory Tracking, Inventory folders represent places where physical stock is held. Use dedicated stock controls to keep each location's quantities accurate and preserve the reason behind a change.
Organize stock by physical location
An Inventory folder has a backing stock location. Use these folders for the places staff visit: a warehouse, storage room, refrigerator area, or point of use. Folder controls let you set a name, icon, color, and notes, and nest locations to match your storage organization.
Opening a location folder narrows your work to its stock. A stock entry belongs to one item and location and may include an expiration date and lot. If you keep the same item in several rooms, give it stock entries in those locations rather than making copies of the catalog item.
System folders such as On order and Committed to orders serve a different purpose: they show order quantities. They are not physical destinations for receiving or transfers.
Renaming or re-parenting a folder keeps its location history. Manage these physical locations through Inventory folders; the underlying Location object also defines attributes such as zone and temperature zone, but those are not part of the current everyday folder editor.
Add or correct stock
Manual stock edits are intended for a specific correction or adjustment. When a supplier delivery belongs to a purchase order, receive it on that order so the delivery history and remaining order quantity stay connected. When several people are checking an area, use a count to separate entry from review.
- Open the item's details and find its stock controls. Choose Add stock to enter a new stock entry.
- Enter the quantity with its unit, select the physical location, and add an expiration date or lot number when relevant.
- Choose the adjustment reason and add a note. The available reasons include Correction, Internal use, Write-off, and Other; Other requires a note.
- Review the entry and save. Matte records the stock change and refreshes the item's quantities.
- To correct an existing entry, use Edit stock entry. Enter the quantity that should remain in that entry and check its expiration information. Use a transfer when stock changes location.
Remove stock with a reason
Remove stock lets an authorized person reduce the quantity in a selected entry. Check both the source location and the available batch quantity before entering the amount to remove. The unit matters: removing one case can mean removing many base units.
For expired or damaged stock, the Stock actions dialog provides Log expired stock. It lets you pick the item, Inventory folder, batch, quantity, and reason together. Use the batch that physically left the shelf so other batches remain accurate.
Move stock between locations
Transfers preserve batch identity as stock moves. When a movement does not specify an individual batch, Matte draws from dated stock in earliest-expiration order, followed by undated stock. Compare the recorded batch movement with the stock staff actually handled.
- Open Inventory and choose Stock actions, then Move stock. You need at least two physical Inventory folders.
- Choose the From and To locations. The destination must differ from the source.
- Add each item being moved and enter its quantity and unit. Add more lines when the same trip includes several items.
- Add notes that help another person understand the movement, then review and submit the transfer.
- Check the source and destination folders. The source quantity falls and the destination quantity rises; the item's overall physical total stays the same.
Move an entire batch or organize folders
Select Inventory rows and use the Move action when an entire batch belongs in a different folder. This relocates the full batch with an audited stock transfer while retaining its lot, date, and other batch details. Use Stock actions and Move stock for a partial quantity.
Moving a folder changes its position in the folder tree, including its nested folders. Inventory rows must remain in a physical location folder; they cannot be unfiled like ordinary descriptive records.
Inventory entries cannot be deleted directly through Trash. Use a stock adjustment or transfer to change physical quantities while preserving their history.
Read totals without double-counting
Quantity belongs to the row. Total Quantity in this location repeats the combined amount across all batches at that location, and Total Quantity on Hand repeats the combined amount across all physical locations. Because those totals repeat, adding the total column down a multi-batch table would count the same stock more than once.
Available subtracts outstanding sales commitments from physical stock at the relevant location. An order being drafted or a delivery expected next week is not already on the shelf.
Reorder point and Par level are also shared by all batches of an item at a location. Stock status compares the location's combined quantity against those shared targets. A small individual batch does not necessarily mean the location is low.
Review history and permissions
Stock Activity is the movement log. It shows when the change happened, its type, the item, the change in quantity, reason, and reference. Counts, receipts, shipments, and transfers provide the related operational context.
Manual stock editing uses the inventory.manual_adjust permission. The Stock actions transfer and waste controls use inventory.adjust, with plan checks for the applicable feature. Catalog editing alone does not grant every stock-changing action.
A negative stock balance means more stock has been recorded leaving than entering. Some operational movements allow this with a warning so real work can still be recorded. Investigate the location, units, receipts, and count history before correcting it.