Warehouse tracks stock below the level of a location: which bin, on which shelf of which rack, holds each item. You create bins, print a QR label for each one, place stock into them as it arrives, walk sales orders and invoices in shelf order to pick them, and count bins to keep them honest.
Bins are entirely optional. A location that has no bins shows a single invitation card on this screen, and nothing anywhere else in SeroBooks changes. Once you start using bins, SeroBooks keeps them in step with your stock: invoices take units out of bins, received goods wait on a Putaway list until someone places them, and bins can never claim more than the location holds.
Open Warehouse
- Inventory ▸ Warehouse, or
- Vendors ▸ Inventory Activities ▸ Warehouse, or
- the Warehouse tab of the Inventory module in the left navigation, or
- Edit ▸ Preferences, Items & Inventory, then Warehouse.
The top of the screen
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Location (drop-down at the left) | The location whose bins you are working with. Every bin belongs to one location. SeroBooks opens on the location you used last this session, or your own location the first time. Only locations your role may work in are listed. |
| Map, Bins, Putaway, Pick, Count, Find | The six sections of the screen, described below. Putaway shows a count in brackets when received goods are waiting to be placed. SeroBooks remembers the section you were on for the rest of the session. |
| Summary text | N bins · N SKUs placed · N moves this week for the selected location. |
| QR icon | Print QR labels for every bin here: a PDF with a label for every bin at this location. |
| Save layout | Appears after you drag bins on the map. Saves their new positions. |
| New bin | Creates a bin at this location. |
Get started: create your first bin
When a location has no bins, the screen shows No bins here yet with two buttons:
- Create the first bin opens the New bin dialog.
- Import old rack labels is for companies whose items already carry Rack, Row and Position details. It creates one bin for each different rack-row-position (coded like
4-2-B, with the rack as its zone) at the location it was recorded for, and places into that bin whatever quantity of the item is on hand there and not yet in a bin. A message then says how many bins and placements it made.
The New bin / Edit bin dialog
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Code (e.g. A-03-2-B) | Required. The bin's name, printed large on its label and used when someone types a bin instead of scanning it. It must be unique at the location. |
| Name (optional) | A friendlier description, for example Returns shelf. Printed on the label under the code. |
| Zone (optional, e.g. A) | An area of the building. Shown on the label and in the bin's address. |
| Rack (optional, e.g. 4) and Shelf (optional, e.g. 2) | Where the bin is. Together with the zone they make the address shown everywhere the bin appears, for example Zone A · Rack 4 · Shelf 2. A small stockroom of labelled tubs can leave them blank. |
| Type | Pick, Bulk, Receiving, Staging or Returns. A description of what the bin is for; it is shown in the Bins list. |
| Walk order (Pick-path sort) | A number that puts bins in the order a picker walks past them. Pick walks and the package slip list lines in this order, and the empty-bin suggestion prefers bins early in the walk. |
Select Save. A new bin appears on the map at a free spot; drag it where it belongs.
Validation messages you may see:
- location_id and code are required. Enter a code.
- A bin coded 'X' already exists at this location. Choose another code.
- This bin holds stock, so it cannot move to another location. Empty it first.
Map
A floor plan of the location. Each bin is a rectangle showing its code, its address in short form (for example ZA · R4 · S2) and either empty or the number of different items and units it holds.
- Tap a bin to open its bin sheet.
- Drag a bin to move it on the plan (needs the Set Up Bins permission), then select Save layout at the top.
- Zoom with the mouse wheel or a pinch, and drag the background to pan.
Colour by switches the shading:
- Occupancy (the default) shades bins by how full they are; empty bins are nearly white.
- Velocity (30d picks) shades bins amber by how many units were picked from them in the last 30 days and turns bins with no picks grey, which shows slow stock at a glance. With this on, a Slotting ideas card may list up to three busy items that sit deep in the walk, with an empty bin earlier in the walk you could move them to. These are ideas only; moving stock is always your decision.
If a badge reads N item(s) over-claimed in bins, the bins at this location claim more of an item than the location holds (for example just after a sale). Hover over it to see which items. SeroBooks corrects this automatically within 15 minutes, or you can count the bins now.
Bins
The same bins as a list: code and name, address, type and walk order, and empty or N SKU · N units. Select a row to open its bin sheet.
The bin sheet
Opening a bin (from the map, the list or a scan) shows Bin code, its address, and every item in it with its SKU and quantity, or Empty bin.
- Tap an item line to move it: the Move from dialog asks To (another bin at this location, or Out of bins (back to unplaced)) and Qty. Select Move.
- Open page opens the bin's web page, the same page its QR label opens on a phone (see The bin label's web page).
- Print label makes a PDF label for this one bin.
- Edit bin opens the bin dialog.
- Delete removes the bin straight away, without a further question. SeroBooks refuses when the bin still holds stock (Bin X still holds stock (N). Move it out first.) or has items held for a sales order (Bin X has items held for a sales order. Release them first.).
- Place stock here opens the Place stock dialog with this bin already chosen.
The Place stock dialog
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Product (name / SKU) | Type a name or SKU and press Enter or the search icon, then choose the item. When you place from a Putaway line, the item is filled in and cannot be changed. |
| Into bin | The bin. SeroBooks suggests one and says why: already holds this item, last place it was put, or empty, nearest on the walk. Change it freely. |
| Qty | How many to place. From a Putaway line this starts at the quantity still to place. |
Select Place. If anything is missing you see Pick a product, a bin and a quantity. SeroBooks refuses to place more than the location holds and has not already placed: This location holds N with N already placed — only N left to place. Moving between bins of two different locations is refused too (Bins are in different locations — use a stock transfer for that.); use Transfer Inventory instead.
Print bin labels
Bin labels print on A4 sheets, 24 labels to a page (3 across, 8 down). Each label carries a QR code, the bin code in large type, the zone and name if the bin has them, and the location name.
- To print every bin at the location, select the QR icon at the top of the screen.
- To print one bin, open it and select Print label.
The labels open as a PDF; print them at 100% scale. The QR code holds the link to the bin's own web page. Scanning it with a phone camera opens that page; scanning it with a barcode scanner into SeroBooks selects the bin.
The bin label's web page
Anyone can open a label's link, so the page shows only what is already printed on the label (the bin, its zone, rack and shelf, the location and your company name) with a Sign in button. After signing in you come straight back to the bin.
Signed in to the same company, with a role that includes the Warehouse tab and that location, the page also shows (read-only):
- In this bin: each item, SKU and quantity, with the total units.
- Still to pick for invoices: invoices from the last 30 days that took units from this bin and have not been picked.
- Held for sales orders: units held in this bin for open sales orders.
- Recent movements: the last 20 moves in and out, with what caused each (Invoice, Received, Transfer received, Adjustment, Cycle count, Moved and so on), when, and who.
Other messages on the page: This bin belongs to another business; You cannot see this bin's stock (an administrator can grant the Warehouse tab or the location under Users & Roles); This label is not linked to a bin (the bin was deleted or re-created after the label was printed; print a fresh label).
Putaway
When goods arrive at a location that has bins, they are in stock but not yet on a shelf. The Putaway section lists every received line not yet fully placed, from:
- PO: goods received on Receive Items or a bill,
- Transfer: stock received from another location,
- Opening stock.
Each line shows the item, the source and its reference, received N, placed N, and a Place N button that opens the Place stock dialog for the remaining quantity. When there are many lines, the screen shows the first ones and says how many there are in total; the rest appear as these are placed.
Scan to put away
With a barcode scanner (or the camera on a phone or tablet) you can put away without the mouse:
- Click in the scan box, Scan a bin QR to start putaway.
- Scan the bin's label. The box changes to Placing into code — scan product barcodes, and a chip shows the bin.
- Scan an item's barcode. A small dialog asks for Qty (starting at the quantity still to place, or 1). Press Enter to place it.
- Keep scanning items into the same bin. Scan another bin label to switch bins, or remove the chip (or press Esc) to stop.
A typed bin code works as well as a scanned label. Messages: Scan a bin first, then products.; Nothing matches "…" — not a bin here, not a SKU.; Bin X is at another location — switch to that location to put stock away there.
Put a transfer away as you receive it
When you receive a transfer into a location with bins, SeroBooks asks Put transfer ref away? straight away. Each item is listed with a suggested Bin and the Qty. Choose Put away to place them now, or Later (for the whole dialog, or as the bin for one line) to leave them on the Putaway list. The receipt itself is already recorded either way.
Pick
The Pick section lists Waiting to be picked, in two groups:
- SALES ORDERS: picking an order holds the units on their shelf until the order is invoiced. The invoice then takes exactly those units.
- INVOICES: an invoice has already taken its units out of specific bins when it was saved. Walking it confirms that the units really came off those shelves.
Each document shows its number, customer, date and how much is left to hold or pick. Select Pick to start the walk; select the refresh icon to reload the list.
The pick walk
The walk lists the document's lines in walk order, with a progress count (N of N picked, or held). Each line shows what is needed and what is done, and a chip for each bin to take it from, for example Zone A · Rack 4 · Shelf 2 · A-03 · 12.
- Select a bin chip, or scan the item's barcode. The Pick from (or Hold from) dialog opens with the quantity to take.
- Adjust Qty if needed and select Picked (or Hold).
- If you took the item from a different shelf, scan that bin's label first, then the item. SeroBooks records where the units really came from and the bins update to match.
Lines marked Not in any bin here or Sold from stock that was not in a bin are items no bin accounts for; take them from the floor. When every line is done, a green message confirms it. Package slip prints the package slip for the document, with the bin location and quantity to pick printed under each line. Select the back arrow (or press Esc) to return to the queue.
Count a bin
The Count section lists every bin with the items and units on record and a Count button. You can also scan a bin label to open it.
- Open the bin. Each item shows on record: N and a Counted box that starts at the recorded figure.
- Type the counted quantity for each line, or scan each item: the first scan of an item sets its count to 1 and each further scan adds one. A line you do not touch keeps its recorded figure, so a partial scan never reads as a shortage.
- If you find something the bin is not supposed to hold, scan it, or select Found item and search for it.
- Select Apply count (needs the Count Bins permission).
SeroBooks moves shortages out of the bin (back to unplaced) and places overages into it, then reports N variance(s) applied to bin X. An overage is refused when the location's stock records do not hold that many unplaced units; that is a receiving or opening-balance correction, not something a count can force.
When the bin came up short, SeroBooks asks Stock missing, or just unplaced?
- It is elsewhere — skip: nothing more happens; place the stock where it actually sits.
- Write it off: records an inventory adjustment for the missing units at the location being counted, valued at each item's last purchase cost (or its default purchase price), with the note Cycle count — bin code. The adjustment posts to the books like any other; see Adjust Quantity/Value on Hand. An item with no cost on file is left out and named, so you can write it off from Adjustments, where you can type a cost.
Find
Type a product name or SKU (or scan a bin label) into Where is… (name, SKU, or scan a bin label) and press Enter. Each matching item shows the bins that hold it with their quantities (or Not placed in any bin.), and for each location with unplaced stock: N on hand — N placed, N not in bins. Scanning a bin label opens that bin, switching to its location if it belongs to another one.
Permissions
Viewing Warehouse needs access to the Inventory module and the Warehouse tab. Three actions are granted separately under Users & Roles (see Roles and permissions):
| Action | Allows |
|---|---|
| Set Up Bins | Create, edit and delete bins, arrange the map, import old rack labels. |
| Put Away & Pick | Place stock, move it between bins, confirm picks and holds. |
| Count Bins | Apply a cycle count. |
Buttons for actions your role lacks are greyed out or hidden. A picker without Put Away & Pick sees Your role cannot confirm picks. Ask an administrator for Put Away & Pick under Users & Roles.
Tips
- Set walk orders before you print pick lists; a sensible walk order is what makes pick walks and package slips efficient.
- Print a test page of bin labels on plain paper first to check the layout against your label sheets.
- Turn on Velocity colouring once a month to see which bins are busy and which hold stock nobody picks.
Common problems
- The Warehouse tab only shows "No bins here yet". The selected location has no bins. Choose another location from the drop-down, or create a bin.
- "This location holds N with N already placed — only N left to place." You tried to place more than the location has unplaced. Check the quantity, or record the missing receipt first.
- A bin cannot be deleted. Move its stock out (or release its sales order holds) first.
- The scanner does nothing. Click in the scan box first so the scan lands there, and check the bin belongs to the selected location.
- A bin label opens "This label is not linked to a bin". The bin was deleted or re-created. Print a fresh label from the bin sheet.