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); 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 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.