---
title: "Stock Journal"
description: "The stock journal is an immutable, append-only record of every inventory change that has occurred in your organization."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.beelocity.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Stock Journal

The **stock journal** is an immutable, append-only record of every inventory change that has occurred in your organization. Think of it as your inventory's accounting ledger — once an entry is written, it cannot be modified or deleted.

## What the Journal Records

Every time a stock movement completes, the system creates journal entries that capture:

| Field                    | Description                                                                          |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Direction**            | Whether the entry is **Inbound** (into a location) or **Outbound** (out of one).      |
| **Product / Variant**    | Which item was affected.                                                             |
| **Warehouse / Location** | Where the change happened.                                                           |
| **Lot**                  | The lot or batch involved, if applicable.                                            |
| **Quantity**             | How many units moved.                                                                |
| **Previous Quantity**    | The stock level at that location _before_ this change.                               |
| **New Quantity**         | The stock level at that location _after_ this change.                                |
| **Reference type**       | What triggered the change (purchase order, sales order, transfer, adjustment, etc.). |
| **Document**             | Which one, by its own number — open the entry and click it to read the paper itself. |
| **Value**                | What the entry was worth when it posted — its quantity at the cost of the day.       |

## Why the Journal Matters

The stock journal provides:

- **Complete audit trail** — every inventory change is traceable, with a clear before-and-after snapshot.
- **Accountability** — each entry records who initiated the change.
- **Financial accuracy** — the value on each entry feeds into stock valuation.
- **Dispute resolution** — if a discrepancy is found, the journal shows exactly what happened, when, and why.

## Using the Journal

Go to **Journal** in the sidebar under **Inventory**. The journal displays entries in reverse chronological order (newest first).

### Filtering

Use the search bar to find entries by product name or SKU, warehouse code or name, location code or name, or lot number. The **filter button** beside it narrows the ledger ([Working with lists](../getting-started/working-with-lists.html#narrowing-the-list)); what you can narrow on:

- **Date** — a From / To range.
- **Direction** — show only inbound or outbound movements.
- **Reference type** — show only entries related to purchase orders, transfers, adjustments, sales at the till, maintenance issues, and so on — every kind of document that moves stock.
- **Warehouse** — show entries for a specific warehouse.
- **Quantity**, **Previous quantity**, **New quantity** — a minimum and a maximum.
- **Product**, **Variant**, **Location**, **Lot** — one item's whole history, even though those columns are not shown in the grid (they are on each entry's page).

### Reading an Entry

Each journal entry tells a story. For example:

> **Direction:** Inbound | **Quantity:** 500 | **Previous:** 1,200 | **New:** 1,700 | **Reference:** Purchase order — **PO-0042**

This entry means 500 units were received (an inbound entry) at a location that previously held 1,200 units, bringing the total to 1,700. The change was triggered by purchase order PO-0042, and clicking that number on the entry opens the order — which is how you get from a figure you doubt to the paper that produced it. The same reference appears on the [stock movement](stock-movements.html#the-paper-behind-the-move) the entry belongs to.

An entry shows no document in two cases, and both are normal: a stock level someone corrected by hand, which has no paper behind it, and a document you are not allowed to open — the entry still says what kind of paper it was.

> **Important:** The stock journal is read-only. You cannot create, edit, or delete journal entries. They are generated automatically by the system when stock movements complete.

Source: https://docs.beelocity.com/en/inventory/stock-journal/index.mdx