A stock movement records any change in inventory — items entering a warehouse, leaving it, or moving within it. Every time physical goods change location or status, a stock movement transaction captures the details.
Movement Types
Each movement transaction has a reference type that describes why inventory is moving:
| Reference type | What it represents |
|---|---|
| Purchase order | Goods received from a supplier against a purchase order. |
| Sales order | Goods shipped out to fulfill a customer order. |
| Transfer order | Goods moving between warehouses (see Transfer Orders). |
| Adjustment | Inventory corrections from cycle counts or other adjustments (see Inventory Adjustments). |
| Count | Quantity changes discovered during physical counting. |
| Return | Goods returned by a customer or returned to a supplier. |
| Production | Finished goods produced from raw materials. |
| Consumption | Raw materials consumed in a production process. |
Transaction Lifecycle
Every movement transaction follows a status progression:
DRAFT --> PENDING --> IN PROGRESS --> COMPLETED
\-> CANCELLED| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Draft | The transaction has been created but not yet submitted. You can still edit all details. |
| Pending | The transaction has been submitted and is awaiting processing. |
| In progress | Physical movement of goods has started (e.g., items are being picked or loaded). |
| Completed | All items have been moved and the transaction is finalized. Stock levels are updated. |
| Cancelled | The transaction was cancelled before completion. No stock changes are applied. |
A movement is moved on by the buttons at the top of its page — Submit, Start, Complete and Drop movement — and each asks you to confirm before it acts, because completing a movement writes stock and dropping one cannot be taken back. Only the button for the step the movement is actually at is offered.
Finding Movements
The movements list shows transactions in reverse chronological order. Use the search bar to find rows by source or destination warehouse code/name or by the notes attached to a transaction. The filter button beside it narrows by Type (every kind of document that moves stock, the till and maintenance included), Status, the Source or Destination warehouse, or a Date range (Working with lists).
The Paper Behind the Move
The reference type says what kind of paper caused the move. The Reference beside it says which one — the purchase order, the transfer, the customer return — by the number printed on it.
Pick it from the list when you write the movement. The list only offers documents of the type you chose, so changing the type clears the reference and offers a fresh list; that is deliberate, and it is what stops a movement claiming a transfer order is a customer return.
Once saved, the reference is a link. Click it and the document opens, which is the quickest way to answer “why did this stock move?” without leaving the movement. The same link appears on every stock journal entry the movement wrote.
Two cases show no reference, and both are normal:
- A movement made by hand, with no paper behind it. Leave the reference blank.
- A document you are not allowed to open. A movement caused by a sale still says it came from a sales order; the order’s number is only shown to someone who may see sales orders.
Creating a Movement
- Go to Movements in the sidebar under Inventory and click New.
- Select the reference type to categorize this movement.
- Pick the reference — the document this move came from — or leave it blank for a move made by hand.
- Choose the source warehouse (where goods are leaving) and/or destination warehouse (where goods are arriving). At least one warehouse must be specified.
- Set the movement date.
- Add any notes for context.
- Save the transaction in Draft status. Its details are on the left of the page and its Lines are beside them on the right; add a line for each item, then move the transaction on as the goods actually move.
Note: For inter-warehouse transfers, consider using Transfer Orders instead, which provide additional logistics tracking (shipping method, tracking number, estimated arrival).
Movement Lines
The lines sit beside the movement’s details, and can be written while it is still a draft. Each one is a specific product or variant being moved:
- The product or variant being moved.
- Source and destination locations (within the warehouses).
- The quantity being moved and the unit of measure.
- Optional lot and serial number references for traceability.
- Unit cost for financial tracking.
How Movements Affect Stock
When a movement transaction reaches Completed status:
- Stock quantities at the source location decrease.
- Stock quantities at the destination location increase.
- A permanent record is written to the Stock Journal for audit purposes.
Movements in Draft, Pending, or Cancelled status do not affect stock levels.