Stock allocation on sales orders
Allocation holds free stock for an order without taking it off the shelf. Stock only leaves when the goods are dispatched, collected or the job is handed over.
Where it is
- Orders → All orders — Filter by Stock Status
- Orders desk → Sourcing — Orders still short of stock
Settings for this
- Settings → Orders — Hold the stock: new orders allocate by themselves (on by default)
When an order is made, each stock line allocates (holds) what's free, so another order can't promise the same units. With Hold the stock on in Settings → Orders this happens by itself.
Free stock is what you have on hand less what other orders already hold. Stock a supplier holds for you off-site doesn't count. A kit uses its own stock first, then whole sets of its parts.
What each line shows
- Allocated: held for this order, still on the shelf.
- Partial or Unallocated: not enough free stock.
- N/A: lines that never hold stock (labour, freight, external services, or a line with no product, which shows Not tracked).
- Ordering status: Needs order, On order or Received.
What to do
- Allocate available (on the readiness strip) tops every line up from free stock. Allocate on a line does just that line; Unallocate gives its stock back.
- Order missing raises purchase orders for what's short: check each line's Supplier and the expected date, then Create PO. When the stock is received it's held for this order. See Purchase orders.
- Flag Order marks a line to be ordered later.
Stock leaves at dispatch (or collection, or handing a job over), never at allocation. Cancelling an order releases what it held.