Batches and Serial Numbers on Documents
When an item is tracked in batches or by serial number, every document that moves it records exactly which batches and which units moved. You enter them when goods come in (Bill, GRN), pick them when goods go out (Invoice, Delivery Challan), and choose from what actually moved when goods come back (Purchase Return, Sales Return).
The screens are the same ones you use on a Stock Adjustment, so once you know one, you know them all.
Which items need batches or serial numbers
Only items set up for tracking. On the item, under its inventory details:
| Item setting | What a document asks for |
|---|---|
| Track this item in lots | A batch for each line, with its supplier batch and expiry date where you have them. |
| Track this item by serial number | One serial number for every unit on the line. |
An item can use both. Items with neither setting work as before.
Batch and serial entry on documents is switched on for each business unit. If you don't see the chip described below on a tracked item's line, contact support at support@bizconnekt.com.
Opening the batch and serial details on a line
Under the quantity of each tracked line there is a small chip that sums up what the line carries, for example No lot, Lot B-0412, 2 lots or 3 serials. On an Invoice or Delivery Challan line you have not touched yet, it reads Lots: automatic (FIFO) or Lots: automatic (FEFO). A warning mark on the chip means the line still needs attention before the document will save.
Click the chip. A window opens in the middle of the screen:
- Batch Details opens first for an item tracked in lots.
- Serial numbers follow for an item tracked by serial number, one card per batch.
Batch Details shows the item, the Required Qty (the line's quantity) and a Status column: ✓ Complete when the batches account for the whole quantity, ⚠ Pending when they do not. The serial number window shows a count message on each card instead. Click Save to write the details back to the line, or Cancel to leave it as it was.
Goods coming in: Bill and GRN
On a Bill, batches and serials are asked for when the bill brings goods into stock (with Material Received ticked). On a GRN they are asked for whenever the receipt brings goods into your store.
Enter the batch
In Batch Details:
- Choose Existing batch to add to a batch you already hold. Its expiry date and supplier batch come from that batch.
- Choose New batch and type the Batch No, with the Supplier Batch and Expiry Date if the goods carry them.
- Leave the batch blank if the goods carry none.
If the item has a batch number series, a new line arrives with a suggested batch already filled in, and the chip reads, for example, Lot B-0413 (suggested). Keep it, change it in Batch Details, or click the ✕ next to the chip to clear it.
If you type a batch number that already exists for the item, Bizconnekt asks you to switch to Existing batch and pick it from the list.
Split one line across several batches
A delivery of 10 units can arrive as 6 from one batch and 4 from another. Tick Multiple Batches, enter each batch and its quantity, and click Add Another Batch for more. The running total, Allocated 10 of 10, tells you when the batches add up to the line quantity. The line will not save until they do.
Enter serial numbers
After the batch, Enter Serial Numbers opens with one card per batch. Type one serial number per unit, or use Paste list, Scan or Import CSV to enter many at once. Each card tells you when the count matches its quantity, or how many to add or remove.
- Enter exactly one serial number for every unit. The document will not save until the count matches the quantity.
- A serial number can be used only once on the document.
- On a Bill, GRN or Sales Return, a serial number already in your stock is refused. Each unit can be in stock only once.
Editing a saved GRN
When you reopen a saved GRN line, the window reopens with every batch and serial number received on the line, across its Accepted Qty, Damaged Qty and Returned Qty. Change what you need and save.
Goods going out: Invoice and Delivery Challan
On an Invoice (with goods being dispatched) and on a Delivery Challan, you pick the batches and serial numbers that leave your stock.
Pick the batch
In Batch Details, the batch list shows each batch with its expiry date, supplier batch and the quantity available. Batches held for the line's sales order are marked Reserved for this order.
- Leave it on Automatic (by FIFO) or Automatic (by FEFO), following the item's setting, to let Bizconnekt choose the batch when the document is saved.
- Or pick a batch yourself. You cannot take more than the batch holds.
- To take the line from several batches, tick Multiple Batches and enter a quantity for each. For an item that is also tracked by serial number, a line takes one batch; add another line for the next batch.
Dispatching from an expired batch
If you pick a batch whose expiry date has passed, you see Expired Item Warning: You are dispatching an expired batch. Do you want to proceed? Click Yes to continue or No to pick another batch. Whether an expired batch can be dispatched at all is set by your business unit's Expired-lot Policy.
Pick the serial numbers
Select Serial Numbers to Ship lists the serial numbers in stock at the document's location. Tick the units leaving, or search for one.
- For an item tracked by serial number, serial numbers are required on every Invoice and Delivery Challan line.
- Pick exactly as many serial numbers as the line quantity.
- A serial number that has already been dispatched cannot be dispatched again.
Goods coming back: Purchase Return and Sales Return
A return can only send back what actually moved on the document it is raised against. The batch and serial lists offer only what that bill, GRN, invoice or challan moved, minus anything already returned on an earlier return.
- Batch Details lists the source document's batches. Automatic takes them in the source document's order.
- Select Serial Numbers to Return lists the source document's serial numbers that have not come back yet. Tick them, search, scan, or click Select the first.
- You cannot return more than came in or went out on the source document.
- On a Purchase Return, a unit that has already left your stock (for example, sold on an invoice) cannot be sent back to the supplier.
When you reopen a saved return, the window shows the batches and serial numbers of every part of the line, so you can see and change exactly what is going back.
When a document will not save
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| The batches do not add up to the line quantity | Change the batch quantities until the total matches, or untick Multiple Batches to use a single batch. |
| A serial number is already in stock (Bill, GRN, Sales Return) | Check the number. That unit has already been received; it cannot come in twice. |
| A serial number has already been dispatched (Invoice, Delivery Challan) | Pick a different unit. Each unit can go out only once. |
| Serial numbers are missing | Open the chip and enter or pick one serial number for every unit on the line. |
| You picked more than a batch holds | Pick a batch with enough stock, split the line across batches, or leave it on Automatic. |
| The return is more than came in or went out | Lower the return quantity, or pick units the source document actually moved. |
Where this applies
Batch and serial entry described here works on the Bill, GRN, Invoice, Delivery Challan, Purchase Return and Sales Return screens in the web app. Stock Adjustment uses the same windows.
Related guides
- Expired-lot Policy — warn or block when an expired batch is issued
- Stores & Inventory — where your stock lives and how it is counted
- Add a Bill — record a supplier bill and receive the goods
- Record a Goods Receipt — receive goods against a purchase order
- Add an Invoice — bill a customer and dispatch the goods
- Add a Delivery Challan — send goods without an invoice
- Raise a Purchase Return — send goods back to a supplier
- Raise a Sales Return — take goods back from a customer
Need help? Contact support at support@bizconnekt.com