§ 20 · Money & operations

Inventory & stores

Inventory tracks what the university physically holds and what it is worth. It has its own workspace rather than the usual module bar, and it is period-controlled like the ledger — which means the same lesson applies: nothing posts into a closed period.

What it is for

Running stores: what is held, where, in what condition and at what value.

Who can do it

Inventory ManagerStore ManagerStorekeeperReceiving OfficerStock Counter

Needed first

Stores and locations defined
An item catalogue
Opening stock loaded
An open inventory period

Where it ends

A stock position and valuation that finance can rely on.

The Inventory Dashboard

Stock Status Summary splits stock three ways: On hand, Damaged and Quarantined. Only the first is issuable.
Inventory Value by Category — where the money is sitting.
Low Stock Alerts — items below their reorder level, with the store named. This is the reorder list, and it feeds straight into a procurement requisition.
Expiring Items — batches expiring within 30 days. For a university with medical and food supplies this is a safety list, not an accounting one.
Pending Approvals — requisitions, goods receipts, adjustments and transfers waiting on someone.

This module has its own furniture

Inventory does not use the module bar and task sidebar described in Finding your way around. It has its own header, its own breadcrumb and its own sidebar, and it logs out from its own button. It is the same sign-in — just a different workspace. On a narrow screen its tables run wider than the window, so scroll the table sideways rather than looking for a missing column.

The five movements

Everything that happens to stock is one of five movements. Learn these and the module is straightforward.

Movement	Screen	Stock goes	Needs
Receipt	Receipts & Inspection	In	A purchase order, or an opening-stock load
Issue	Issues & Returns	Out, to a department	An approved requisition
Transfer	Transfers	Between stores	Both stores defined; goods in transit are tracked
Adjustment	Adjustments	Up or down, with a reason	Approval — this is the movement auditors read first
Count	Stock Counts	Nowhere; it establishes truth	A count sheet, and sign-off on the variance

The Inventory Requisitions screen listing internal requests for stock with their approval status. — **Requisitions.** A department asks the store for stock. There is a separate non-catalogue route for something the catalogue does not carry, and an availability check before you promise anything.

The Inventory Receiving screen for booking goods into a store against a purchase order. — **Receipts & Inspection.** Goods are booked in and inspected. Anything failing inspection goes to Quarantine & Disposal rather than into issuable stock.

The Issues and Returns screen listing stock issued to departments and returns received back. — **Issues & Returns.** Issued against an approved requisition; there is a direct-issue route for genuine exceptions, and it is visible as such.

The Transfers screen showing stock moving between stores, including a transit view. — **Transfers.** Stock in transit belongs to neither store. The transit view is what you check when a count does not agree.

The Stock Counts screen listing counts with their variances. — **Stock Counts.** The count is the truth; the variance is the report. Shrinkage has its own screen beside this one.

Worked example

The Registry asks for 10 reams of A4 paper

1. Check availability	Requisitions → Availability — `Standard A4 Photocopy Paper` at `Main Store Juba`. The dashboard's Low Stock Alerts already flags it at `5.00` available against a reorder level of `23.00`
2. Not enough	Two paths: transfer from another store, or raise a procurement requisition. Do not issue stock you do not have — a negative position is worse than a delay
3. Requisition	Registry raises one for `10` reams. It goes to Pending Approvals
4. Approve	The store manager approves against availability
5. Issue	Issues & Returns → issue against the requisition. Stock on hand falls by 10; the issue is attributed to Registry
6. Value	Valuation reflects the movement in the current period
7. Later	At the count, the physical shelf and the system should agree. If not, an Adjustment with a reason — never a quiet edit

Periods, valuation and control

The Inventory Valuation screen showing stock value by item and store for the period. — **Valuation.** What the stock is worth, for the period. This is the figure finance carries.

The Inventory Settings screen with module configuration. — **Inventory Settings.** Its own permission, `inventory.manage_settings`, separate from running the stores day to day.

Period control, exactly like the ledger

Period Control opens and closes inventory periods. Once a period is closed, movements cannot be posted into it — so a receipt for goods that arrived last month must either be dated into an open period or wait for a deliberate reopening. Close the period after the count, never before.

If stores will not behave

Symptom	Cause	Fix
A movement refuses on its date	The inventory period is closed	Period Control
Stock is there but cannot be issued	It is Damaged or Quarantined, not On hand	Stock Status Summary — only On hand is issuable
A count does not agree and nothing is missing	Stock is in transit between stores	Transfers → Transit
Columns appear to be missing from a table	The table is wider than the window	Scroll the table sideways
An item cannot be requisitioned	It is not in the catalogue	Use the non-catalogue requisition route, or add the item
Goods arrived through procurement but stock did not move	Procurement receiving and inventory receipt are two records	Receipts & Inspection
Asset Management looks empty	Assets are a separate phase from stock	See Accounting — Asset Management is not yet in service