When you move batch-tracked or serial-tracked stock between two of your locations, Qoblex needs to know exactly which batches or serial numbers are leaving the source location. This article shows how a stock transfer collects that information when you receive the transfer, and what Qoblex does behind the scenes so the same batch number and expiry date arrive at the destination.
After reading this, you will know how to pick the source batches or serials on a transfer, understand why stock is held during the move, and know that a serial number stays as a single unit rather than being copied.
Before you start
- The variants you are transferring must already be set to batch or serial tracking. Standard (untracked) variants move without any batch step. See Set a variant to batch or serial tracked.
- The batches or serials you want to move must already exist at the source location with enough available quantity. Batches are created when you receive goods on a purchase order or through an adjustment, not on the transfer itself.
- The transfer must have a source location and a different destination location. Qoblex will not process a transfer where the source and destination are the same.
How the batch step appears
A stock transfer moves stock from one location to another. You build the transfer, add the variants and quantities, then receive it.
- Open your stock transfer and add the variants and quantities you want to move.
- When you are ready, choose to receive the transfer.
- If one or more lines are batch-tracked or serial-tracked, Qoblex opens the Receive Batch dialog before the transfer completes. Standard lines do not trigger this dialog.
- Assign the source batches or serials as described below, then confirm.
The batch step only appears for lines whose variant is set to batch or serial tracking. A transfer that contains no tracked lines completes without it.
Assign the source batches or serials
The Receive Batch dialog lists each tracked line with its product, SKU, and the quantity being moved. Under the heading Batch / Serial number details, each line shows these columns:
- Batch Number – the batch or serial number being pulled from the source location. Start typing in the Enter a batch number field and pick from the existing batches at that location.
- Quantity – how many units to take from that batch. For a serial, this is a single unit.
- Expires At – the expiry date, shown for reference. It is filled in automatically from the batch you select and cannot be typed over here.
To assign batches:
- In the Batch Number field, begin typing and select the batch or serial you are moving. The search only offers batches that exist at the transfer’s source location.
- Enter the Quantity to take from that batch.
- To split a line across more than one batch, choose Add Batch and repeat. For serial-tracked items, add one row per serial with a quantity of one.
- When every tracked line is assigned, choose Confirm. To close without assigning, choose Cancel.
Important: the total quantity you assign across the batch rows on a line must equal that line’s transfer quantity, every row must have a batch selected, and each quantity must be greater than zero. If these do not match, Qoblex shows a validation message and will not complete the transfer.
What Qoblex does automatically
Once you confirm the batches, Qoblex handles the destination side for you.
- The batch number and expiry date are preserved. For each source batch you move, Qoblex looks for a batch with the same number at the destination location. If one already exists, the moved units are added to it. If none exists, Qoblex creates a matching batch at the destination carrying the same batch number and the same expiry date as the source.
- Stock is held on the source during the move. Assigning the batches reserves that quantity against the source batches as part of receiving the transfer, so the units are accounted for as they leave the source and arrive at the destination rather than being counted twice.
- A serial number is moved, not duplicated. Because a serial is simply a batch of one unit, transferring it moves that single unit to the destination under the same serial number. The serial is never copied, so the same serial cannot end up at two locations at once.
Every transfer of a batch or serial is recorded against that batch’s history, so you can later see it as a transfer movement when you trace the batch. See Trace a batch or serial.
Related tasks
- To bring new batches into a location from a supplier, see Receive batches from purchase orders.
- To pick batches or serials when fulfilling a customer order, see Ship batches and serials on sales orders.
- To correct on-hand quantities for a batch at a location, see Adjust batch-tracked stock.