A transfer moves stock from one of your locations to another: from the warehouse to a shop, between two branches, or back again. It needs at least two locations in your company.
A transfer can happen in one step (Completed now, when you carry the goods over yourself) or in two (In transit, when the goods travel and someone at the other end checks them in). In two steps, the stock stays counted at the sending location until the receiving location confirms what arrived, so goods on a van are never counted in both places, and any shortage or extra is dealt with at that moment.
Opening transfers
- Vendors ▸ Inventory Activities ▸ Transfer Inventory opens a new transfer.
- Vendors ▸ Inventory Activities ▸ Inventory Transfers opens the list of transfers, where you also receive and cancel them.
Sending stock: a new transfer
If your company has only one location, the screen says Transfers need at least two locations. Add another location first (see Business and location settings).
- Open Transfer Inventory. FROM starts at the location this computer works in and TO at another location; change either. TO never offers the same location as FROM.
- In Scan or type to add items to send…, scan a barcode or type at least two letters of the item's name, variation or code, and click the item. It is added with a quantity of 1 and the cursor returns to the search box for the next one.
- For each line, enter the Qty to send and check the Unit cost. The cost fills in by itself (finding cost… while it is looked up); if SeroBooks cannot find one, the line says cost needed in red and you type it.
- Under WHEN DOES THE STOCK MOVE, choose:
- In transit (the default) — the goods will travel; the receiving location confirms them when they arrive. Nothing moves until then: the stock stays counted at the sending location, and leaves it and arrives at the other in one step when the transfer is received.
- Completed now — the goods move straight away, with nothing to receive.
- Add any Notes (the driver, a seal number, what to check).
- Optionally tick Print, Save PDF, Email or WhatsApp under On save, also to produce the transfer slip as soon as it is saved. Email and WhatsApp start with the receiving location's email address and mobile number.
- Click Send in transit or Transfer now.
A message confirms it: Transfer … sent — receive it at the destination when it arrives. or Transfer … completed — stock moved. SeroBooks then shows the list of transfers.
New transfer fields
| Field | What to enter / what it means |
|---|---|
| FROM | The location the goods leave. |
| TO | The location the goods go to. |
| Scan or type to add items to send… | Finds items by name, variation or code. An item already on the transfer is not added again (That item is already on this transfer.). |
| Qty | How many units to send. Must be more than zero. |
| Unit cost | What one unit is worth on this transfer. Filled in from the last price you paid, then the item's standard purchase cost. Never the selling price: moving stock between your own locations is not a sale. |
| Value | Quantity × unit cost for the line. |
| Bin icon | Removes the line. |
| Items / Value at cost | The number of lines and the total value of the transfer. |
| In transit / Completed now | When the stock moves (see above). |
| Notes | Printed on the slip and kept with the transfer. |
| On save, also | Print, save as PDF, email or WhatsApp the transfer slip once it is saved. |
The Send in transit / Transfer now button stays greyed out until both locations are chosen, there is at least one line, and every line has a quantity and a unit cost above zero with no cost still being looked up.
There is no date field: a transfer is dated when you save it. There is no shipping charge on a transfer either; enter a carrier's invoice as a bill or expense.
The Inventory Transfers list
The heading shows how many transfers are in transit and, in amber, how many are awaiting receipt HERE (on their way to this computer's location).
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Period | Limits the list to a date range (Today, This month, Last month, This year and so on, or a custom range). It starts on all dates and remembers your choice. |
| All / Transfer Out / Transfer In | All transfers; only those sent from this computer's location; only those coming to it. |
| Refresh | Reads the list again. |
| New Transfer | Opens a new transfer. |
The list shows up to the 100 most recent transfers in the period.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Ref | The transfer number. |
| Date | The date it was sent. |
| From / To | The two locations. |
| Items | The number of lines. |
| Value | The transfer's total value. |
| Status | In transit, Received, or Variance (received, but what arrived differed from what was sent). A transfer sent as Completed now shows Received. |
The buttons at the end of each row depend on the status:
- In transit: a printer icon (print the slip), Receive, and a bin icon (Cancel transfer).
- Received or Variance: View and a printer icon.
Double-clicking a row (or Enter) edits a transfer that is still in transit, and views one that has been received. Receiving is always its own button, because it moves stock.
Receiving a transfer
Receive a transfer at the location it was sent to, once the goods are there and counted.
- In the list, click Receive on the transfer. The Transfer In page opens, showing From → To and every line.
- Each line shows the item, shipped N, and a Received box already filled in with the shipped quantity. A green ✓ means they match.
- Where the count differs, type what actually arrived. The difference appears in red (for example -2 or +1) and the line asks what happened:
- Short: Reship — still at source or Lost/damaged in transit.
- Over: Accept extra or Send extra back.
- Read What will happen, which sums up the documents SeroBooks will create.
- Add a Receiver note if you wish; it is kept on the transfer.
- Click Receive & update stock.
The stock moves at both locations at once and a message confirms it. Double-click an item name on the page to open its Product 360.
Receive & update stock stays greyed out, with Choose a disposition for every changed line to continue. in red, until every line that differs has a choice.
What each choice does
| Choice | When | What SeroBooks does |
|---|---|---|
| Reship — still at source | Fewer arrived because the rest was never sent. | Only what arrived moves. The shortfall stays in the sending location's stock, and a new in-transit transfer for it is created from the same sender to the same receiver, noted Reship of shortfall on transfer …. Receive it when it comes, or cancel it if it will not be sent. |
| Lost/damaged in transit | Fewer arrived because the rest was lost or broken on the way. | What arrived moves. The missing units are written off at the sending location with a Damage / loss adjustment, noted Lost/damaged in transit — transfer …, valued at the transfer's unit cost. It appears on the Adjustments list. |
| Accept extra | More arrived because more was really sent. | The larger quantity moves, and both locations record it. |
| Send extra back | More arrived and the extra should go back. | Everything that arrived is received, and a new in-transit transfer for the extra is created back to the sender, noted Return of over-shipment on transfer …. The sender receives it in the usual way. |
The received transfer is changed to show what actually moved, and its notes record, for each line that differed, what was shipped, what was received, the choice made and the number of any transfer or adjustment created. The list then shows it as Variance.
Putting received goods into bins
If the receiving location uses bins and your role may put stock away, SeroBooks then asks Put transfer … away? Each line has a Bin (already set to the bin the item usually lives in, or a suggested empty one) and a Qty. Click Put away to place them, or Later to leave them on the Putaway list. The receipt is recorded either way. See Warehouse and bin locations.
Editing a transfer in transit
While a transfer is in transit nothing has moved, so everything on it can change. Double-click it in the list. The transfer screen opens with an amber EDIT TRANSFER band and its number, and you can change FROM, TO, the lines, quantities, unit costs and notes. WHEN DOES THE STOCK MOVE only states the status, which cannot be changed. The slip buttons (Print, Save PDF, Email, WhatsApp) work straight away.
Click Save with the transfer's number to save (Transfer … updated.), or Cancel editing to leave it unchanged. Either way you return to the list.
A received transfer cannot be edited. Correct it with an adjustment at the location concerned, or with another transfer.
Cancelling a transfer
Only a transfer still in transit can be cancelled. Click the bin icon on its row. The box Cancel transfer …? explains that an in-transit transfer never moved stock, so cancelling only removes the documents. Click Cancel transfer to confirm, or Keep it. The transfer is removed from the list.
Viewing a received transfer
Click View (or double-click the row) to open the transfer as a page:
- Transfer and its number, Received or Received with variance, and the date.
- FROM and TO, each with the location's address, phone and email (No address on this branch record when the location has no address).
- The lines: Code, Item, Batch, Qty, Unit cost and Value. Double-click a line for Product 360.
- The notes, headed RECEIVING VARIANCE in amber when the receipt differed.
- This movement: Lines, Units moved and VALUE AT COST.
- Send the transfer slip: Print, Save PDF, Email (to the receiving location's email) and WhatsApp.
The transfer slip
The slip is the packing list that travels with the goods. It is headed STOCK TRANSFER SLIP with the number, date and status, shows FROM and TO with both addresses, and lists CODE, ITEM, BATCH (when any line has one), QTY and an empty CHECKED column for the receiver to tick, then TOTAL UNITS, the notes, and signature lines for Packed / despatched by and Received & checked by. You can print it before the goods leave, and again long after they arrive.
What happens to stock and the books
- In transit: nothing moves when you send it. The goods are still counted, and can still be sold, at the sending location until the transfer is received.
- Received, or Completed now: the sending location's stock goes down and the receiving location's goes up, at the same moment.
- No journal entry. Both locations share one inventory asset account, so moving goods between them changes no account balance, and a transfer does not appear on the Profit & Loss or the Balance Sheet.
- Goods lost in transit do. The Lost/damaged in transit write-off posts like any other write-off: it debits Damage / shrinkage write-offs and credits Inventory on hand with the missing units' value. See Adjust Quantity/Value on Hand.
- Cost follows the goods. The Unit cost you enter values the transfer document (its Value, the list and the slip). The units that arrive carry the cost they actually had at the sending location, taken from the purchase batches they came from, so selling them at the new location costs them correctly even if you priced the transfer higher.
- Closing date. Editing or cancelling a transfer dated on or before your closing date is refused with a message naming the closed period. See Set Closing Date and Year-End.
Permissions
| Action | Permission (in the role's permissions) |
|---|---|
| Send a transfer, or save changes to one | Send Transfer (Transfers ▸ New Transfer) |
| Receive a transfer | Receive Transfer (Transfers ▸ All Transfers) |
| Cancel a transfer | Cancel Transfer (Transfers ▸ All Transfers) |
| Put received goods into bins | Put Away & Pick (Inventory ▸ Warehouse) |
Without the permission, SeroBooks asks a colleague who has it to approve that one action with their Login ID and Password. See Roles and permissions explained.
Messages you may see
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Transfers need at least two locations. | Add a second location. |
| cost needed (on a line) | Type the unit cost. |
| This transfer has no lines. | The transfer has nothing on it to receive or print. Cancel it. |
| This transfer has already been received — it cannot be edited. Adjust stock at the destination instead. | Someone received it while you were editing. Use an adjustment. |
| This transfer was already received | It was received elsewhere. Refresh the list. |
| Cannot cancel — this transfer was already received and stock moved | Move the goods back with a new transfer instead. |
| This stock transfer is dated …, which falls in a period closed on … | See Set Closing Date and Year-End. |
| Something went wrong — the transfer was NOT created (or NOT changed, or nothing was moved) | Nothing was saved. Try again. |
Tips
- Receive promptly. Until it is received, an in-transit transfer's goods still show as available at the sender. The amber awaiting receipt HERE count in the list heading is the reminder.
- Use Completed now only when the goods really arrive at once. It gives the receiver no chance to check them.
- Count against the slip. Print it with the goods, tick the CHECKED column on arrival, and type any difference into Received.