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The Stock-module settings, warehouse structure and opening-balance steps to get right before your first real stock transaction in ERPNext.
29 checks · 7 sections
Inventory is the hardest part of most ERPNext go-lives, because a wrong setting only shows up weeks later as a stock valuation that won't reconcile with your ledger. This is a reference walkthrough of the real Stock-module decisions — Warehouse tree, Enable Perpetual Inventory, valuation method, negative stock, reorder rules, Putaway Rules and opening stock — with the exact ERPNext DocType or setting behind each one. Read it as a design guide, not a form to fill: confirm each decision with your implementation partner before you post a single stock entry, because some of these are painful to change once transactions exist. Our team walks Indian teams through every one of these during implementation.
Design the Warehouse tree, not a flat list + 4 more
Decide on Enable Perpetual Inventory before go-live + 3 more
Choose the default valuation method + 3 more
Turn on auto-reorder if you want automatic replenishment + 3 more
Create Putaway Rules only if you need capacity-aware receiving + 3 more
Load opening balances via Stock Reconciliation (Opening Stock) + 3 more
Set default warehouses on items + 3 more
All 29 checks across 7 sections as a clean branded Excel — each item with the guidance for why it matters, ready to share with your team. Free, no email required.
For almost every business, yes. Perpetual inventory (a Company setting) posts an accounting entry for every stock movement so your stock value and general ledger always agree, using the GL account mapped to each warehouse. It is the recommended mode and is far cleaner to enable before go-live than to switch on once you already have transactions.
ERPNext supports FIFO, Moving Average, LIFO and Standard Cost in Stock Settings (valuation_method). FIFO suits businesses with batch/expiry or fast price changes; Moving Average suits stable, high-volume commodities. Most Indian trading and manufacturing companies use FIFO or Moving Average — choose one default and only override per item where there's a real reason.
Usually no. With Allow Negative Stock (Stock Settings) OFF, ERPNext stops you dispatching stock the system doesn't show, which forces you to record receipts first and keeps valuation accurate. Turn it on only if your data-entry timing genuinely can't keep up — and understand it can distort your stock value.
Use a Stock Reconciliation with the Purpose set to 'Opening Stock'. Enter each item's warehouse, quantity and valuation rate; with perpetual inventory on, that rate posts to your stock GL account. Then check the resulting Bin / Stock Balance figures against your physical count before you begin live transactions.
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Kochi (Kadavanthra & Infopark) · Thiruvananthapuram · across India & overseas · In business since 2011