Adding Opening Inventory Balances

The opening balance for Inventory is the quantity of products physically in the warehouse when you start working on the system, or carried forward from a previous financial period. You record it using a Manual Addition Requisition so that it affects both quantity and value.

When should you record the opening balance?

Recording the opening balance is optional. You can start right away by adding Purchase Invoices, Sales invoices, and other documents without recording it; a Purchase Invoice adds quantities to Inventory, and a Sales invoice deducts them.

Record the opening balance if you had goods in the warehouse before you started using the system, so that:

• Product quantities in the system match the warehouse.
• The cost of goods sold is calculated correctly.
• You can sell these goods if the Negative Inventory setting is set to Stop transactions when the quantity runs out for all products.

Steps to add the opening balance

1. From the main menu, click Inventory, then Manage Requisitions.
2. Click Add, or click the arrow next to it and choose Manual Addition.
3. Under Requisition Details, select the Date.
4. Under Warehouse Details, choose the Warehouse.
5. Under Other Information, choose the Sub-account, and add any Notes.
6. Under Items, add the products, and set the Unit Price and Quantity for each product. To add a large number of products, use Copy from spreadsheet.
7. Click Confirm.

The manual addition Requisition is saved with the status Approved right away, and the quantities are added to the warehouse.

Field descriptions

Field	Description
Date	The date the balance is added. The journal entry is recorded with this date. Select the date you started using the system or the start of the fiscal period.
Warehouse	The warehouse the quantities are added to. This field appears only when you have more than one warehouse.
Sub Account	The account that offsets the inventory value in the journal entry. The default is Other Creditors. This field appears when Accounting is enabled.
Notes	Any notes about the requisition.
Unit Price	The cost of one unit of the product. It is used to calculate the average cost.
Quantity	The quantity of the product being added.
Stock Balance Before	The quantity of the product in the warehouse before the requisition. The system displays it automatically.
Stock Balance After	The quantity of the product in the warehouse after the requisition. The system displays it automatically.
Total	Unit Price × Quantity.

Copy Items from a Spreadsheet

If your product data is in an Excel file, you can copy and paste it all at once instead of adding each product manually.

1. On the manual add requisition page, click the arrow next to Add below the items table.
2. Select Copy from Spreadsheet.
3. Copy the Item Name/Code column from your Excel file and paste it into the first cell of the same column in the table. All the values in the column are pasted automatically.
4. Repeat the same step for the Quantity and Unit Price columns.
5. To delete the items you added manually before the import, enable Remove Old Records.
6. Click Import.
7. Review the items on the requisition page, then click Confirm.

Rules and Restrictions

• The quantity and unit price must be positive numbers.
• You can add up to 500 items at a time from a spreadsheet.
• The Unit Price is used to calculate the product’s average cost, so enter the actual cost, not the selling price.
• You can’t add a requisition dated within a closed period.

Error Messages and Solutions

Message	Cause	Solution
The product code was not found in the system	The product name or code in the spreadsheet does not exist in the system.	Correct the name or code to match the product in the system, or add the product first.
You must enter valid positive numbers in Quantity	The quantity is empty, negative, or not a number.	Enter a positive quantity.
You must enter valid positive numbers in Price	The unit price is empty, negative, or not a number.	Enter a positive unit price.
You can add up to 500 items only	You pasted more than 500 items.	Split the items across more than one Requisition.

Impact on the System

A Journal Entry is created automatically when you save the Requisition. Example: adding 10 units at a price of 50 per unit:

Account	Debit	Credit
Warehouse account	500
Other Payables (or the selected sub-account)		500
Total	500	500

• Quantities: The quantity of each product increases in the selected warehouse.
• Average cost: It is recalculated based on the Unit Price.

Alternatives

• Quantity in Inventory when adding a new product: Use this to enter the opening quantity for a single product directly. The field appears for a new product that has no balance, and when Requisitions are not enabled for Sales and Purchase Invoices.
• Purchase Invoice: Use this if you will record the goods as Purchases from a Supplier instead of an opening balance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to record an opening balance before adding Purchases and Sales?

No. Recording an opening balance is optional, and you can add Purchase Invoices, Sales, and other transactions directly. However, if the Negative Stock setting is set to Stop transactions when quantity runs out for all products, you will not be able to sell a product that has no balance. Details.

Can I record the opening inventory balance with a Journal Entry?

This is not recommended, because the entry affects only the account balance and does not add quantities to the products. Use Manual Add.

Which date should I choose for the opening balance?

Use the date you started working on the system or the start of the financial period. It is best for this date to precede the date of any Sales of these products.

Which account is affected by the opening balance value?

The warehouse account is debited, and Other Payables is credited by default. You can change it from Sub Account.

Can I add the opening balance for a large number of products at once?

Yes, by using Paste from Spreadsheet, with up to 500 items per requisition. Details.