Sometimes you need to correct a batch or serial record: fix a mistyped lot number, set an expiry date that was missed at receiving, or remove a batch that was created in error and never held any stock. This article explains what you can change on an existing batch record, what you cannot, and the safest way to make each kind of correction.
The most important thing to know first: the on-screen Batches list in Qoblex is a read-and-trace view. It does not have an edit button or a delete button. Batch records are created and changed through the everyday workflows that move stock (receiving, adjustments, stocktakes), and those workflows keep your traceability history intact. Direct edits to a batch number or expiry date, and deleting an empty batch, are available only through the Qoblex API.
What you can and cannot change on the Batches list
The Batches list (Inventory menu, Batches & Serial Tracking) shows one row per batch with its product variant, SKU, batch number, location, created date, expiry date, available quantity, reserved quantity, and cost. Each row has a single action: Trace, which opens the full movement history of that batch or serial.
There is no edit control and no delete control on this screen. To change what a batch holds, use a tracked workflow so the change is recorded and traceable:
- To correct the counted quantity of a batch, use a stock adjustment or a stocktake. See Adjust batch-tracked stock.
- To set or correct expiry dates and quantities in bulk, use the batch stocktake CSV. See Import or update batches by CSV (stocktake).
- To review a batch before changing anything, open its trace and check where the stock came from and where it went.
A serial number is simply a batch with a quantity of one. Everything on this page applies to serial-tracked records the same way it applies to lot or batch records.
Correcting a batch number or expiry date
If a lot number was mistyped, or an expiry date was left blank at receiving, the correction is made through the Qoblex API rather than on the Batches screen. Updating a batch lets you change:
- Batch or lot number
- Expiry date
- Quantity (see the note below on how quantity changes are handled)
You submit the change against the product variant the batch belongs to, identifying the batch by its ID. You can send several batch updates for the same variant in one request.
Changing only the number or the expiry date does not move any stock. It corrects the label information on the record while leaving on-hand quantity, reserved quantity, and cost as they were.
If your subscription plan does not include lot, serial, and expiry-date tracking, batch tools are not available on your account. The relevant plan capability is shown in billing as “Lot, Serial & Expiry Dates”.
What Qoblex does automatically when you change a batch quantity
Qoblex never quietly overwrites a batch quantity. If you include a new quantity when updating a batch, and it differs from the batch’s current on-hand quantity, Qoblex turns that difference into a tracked inventory movement for you:
- It creates an inventory Adjustment for the affected location and authorizes it automatically.
- The adjustment reason is recorded as “Manual Update” with the note “Autogenerated from changes to the batch quantity value.”
- If several batches at the same location change in one request, Qoblex groups them into a single adjustment for that location, with one line per variant.
This is the same stocktake-style adjustment pipeline the app uses everywhere else, so the quantity change appears in the batch’s trace and in your adjustment history. Because of this, correcting a count through a stock adjustment or stocktake (see Adjust batch-tracked stock) and correcting it through a batch quantity update produce the same kind of traceable record. Prefer the adjustment or stocktake workflow when your goal is a stock correction, and reserve batch updates for fixing the batch number or expiry date.
Important: A batch cannot appear more than once in the same update request. Sending the same batch twice is rejected with “Batch(es) {ids} were submitted more than once in the same request.” Combine your changes for that batch into a single entry.
Deleting a batch
Deleting a batch is meant only for cleaning up a batch record you no longer track, such as one created by mistake. Like editing, deletion is available through the Qoblex API, not from the Batches list.
You delete a batch by identifying its product variant and the batch’s ID. There is one firm rule.
Important: You can only delete a batch whose quantity is zero. If the batch still holds stock, the delete is rejected with “Cannot delete a batch that has quantity.” Deleting a batch that still holds stock or reservations would create an inventory discrepancy, which is why Qoblex blocks it.
If a batch still has stock on hand, bring its quantity to zero first through a tracked workflow, a stock adjustment, a stocktake, a transfer, or a shipment, then delete the empty record. Do not treat deletion as a way to write off stock; use an adjustment for that so the reduction is recorded.
Important: Deleting a batch removes the record. Restore it only by receiving or creating the batch again. Confirm the quantity is zero and that no open orders or reservations depend on the batch before you delete it.
When not to edit or delete
Editing and deleting are for correcting records, not for moving inventory. For everyday stock changes, use the workflow built for that purpose:
- Receiving on a purchase order to bring in supplier stock. See Receive batches from purchase orders.
- Shipments on a sales order to sell stock.
- Transfers to move stock between locations. See Transfer batch-tracked stock.
- Adjustments or stocktakes to correct counted stock. See Adjust batch-tracked stock.
These workflows keep the batch’s history complete, so a later trace still shows an accurate account of where the stock came from and where it went.