What negative stock is
When you sell goods you have not received yet, or delete a purchase whose goods were already sold, the warehouse's balance goes below zero. It is allowed in some businesses (you sell first and the stock arrives tomorrow) and an error in others.
The Negative stock setting in Configuration under Inventory decides it for sales: Block, Warn or Ignore (Company settings that change selling).
Which documents check what
| Document | Check | Follows the setting? |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Invoice, Goods delivery note | A line over the balance is blocked ("Negative stock not allowed."), warned about ("Stock is going to be negative.") or accepted | Yes |
| The same documents, when you save | Under Block the save is refused when a line takes more than the warehouse holds at the document date (not for an invoice made from delivery notes) | Yes |
| Sales order lines, point-of-sale | As the invoice. An order can ignore the block with By pass negative stock block in Entry control (Entry control: which fields the sales screens show) | Yes |
| The quicker Grid invoice | Never goes over the balance: "Quantity exceeds available product balance" | No: always blocks (The grid invoice for fast entry) |
| Stock Transfer line | The quantity cannot be more than the From warehouse holds: "Negative stock not allowed." / "Insufficient stock balance" | No: always blocks |
| Stock adjustment that takes stock out | The quantity cannot be more than the balance: "Negative stock not allowed." | No: always blocks |
| Production journal | Raw materials cannot be more than the balance: "Raw material stock is not sufficient" | No: always blocks |
| Bundling | The parts cannot be more than the balance: "Available stock is not sufficient to bundle the product." | No: always blocks |
| Purchase return, expiry or breakage return | None | Not checked |
| Editing or deleting a purchase, a transfer, an adjustment or an opening | None: taking goods out of the books can leave a warehouse below zero | Not checked |
| Restaurant bill | None: ingredients are taken out without a check | Not checked |
The checks always look at one warehouse. Stock in another warehouse does not help: transfer it first.
What negative stock does to the numbers
- The balance on the reports shows a minus quantity.
- The cost of what you sold has no stock to take its cost from, so its profit is wrong until the purchase is entered and the values are worked out again (How stock is valued and what a sale costs).
Fix it
- Find the missing receipt: a purchase or goods received note not entered, or entered in another warehouse.
- Enter it with its true date, or move the stock with a Stock Transfer from the warehouse that holds it.
- Open Stock summary again and check the balance (Stock summary).
Common questions
Can we allow negative stock for sales only?
That is what the setting does. Transfers and the other documents keep their own checks.
The setting says Ignore and a sale still stops.
It is the Grid invoice, which always stops, or the stock is short on a document that is not a sale.
Penahak lets me sell but the stock report shows minus.
Your setting is Warn or Ignore. Receive the goods to bring the balance back.