Selecting this option displays a window which enables you to set or change the way the stock module works and control some areas related to the stock module. The window is made up of a maximum of 6 tab cards, the availability of the tabs depends on which modules you are using.

The FIFO value can be calculated in real time as movements are posted, giving a more accurate FIFO value and Cost of Sale (FIFO). To enable this you must choose to have both Method of Valuation and Profit Cost set to FIFO. If not, your FIFO Value and Cost of Sales (FIFO) is only recalculated at the end of a month or manually calculated per stock record. Access recommends that you set up the real time FIFO Values.

Also see: Stock Valuation Methods, Post Landed Costs, Updating Landed Costs from Transactions

, Update Stock to Nominal

, Stock Records, Stock Facets, Sales Order Detail, Security Profiles, System Options

The system maintains five different methods of stock valuation: FIFO, Average, Latest, Weighted and Fixed Weighted. You may choose which valuation is displayed on the main stock record window.

Important note: The Method of Valuation selected by a company is part of it's internal accounting policy. Any change in accounting policy, such as the Method of Valuation, should be discussed with your auditors prior to making the change. Such a change may have a material effect on the true and fair nature of the accounts; it may materially change the P&L and Balance Sheet.

Two quantity figures are maintained, Physical and Free. You can choose which figure is displayed on the main Stock record window (and in the Detail lines of Sales Orders).

This gives you four ways of calculating Free Stock:

Physical - (Allocated Stock + Unallocated Stock) + Order In

Physical stock is reduced by all outstanding Sales and increased by the outstanding Purchase Orders.

Physical - (Allocated Stock + Unallocated Stock)

Physical stock is reduced by all outstanding Sales only.

Physical - Allocated Stock + Order In

Physical stock is reduced by outstanding Sales Orders where the stock has been allocated and increased by the outstanding Purchase Orders.

Physical - Allocated Stock

Physical stock is reduced by outstanding Sales only where the stock has been allocated.

In addition to the valuation methods shown above, the cost price used in the calculation of profit can be selected from: Average, Latest, Standard, Weighted, Landed Cost, FIFO, and Fixed Weighted.

FIFO Profit Cost is not compatible with the Assemblies option Do not create component movements. If this option is selected on the Assemblies tab then you will not be able to select FIFO as your Profit Cost method. See Assemblies.

Ticking this option will disable the standard test that the system runs to ensure that physical stock quantities do not become negative.

If this option is unticked, the system will not allow stock to be delivered if there is no physical stock available.

When the option is ticked, you will be able to deliver stock even if this means that the physical stock quantity will become negative.

Important: If Allow Negative Stock is switched on and some of your physical stock quantities have become negative, we recommend that these negative stock quantities are cleared before the Allow Negative Stock option is switched off.

It is not recommended that the Allow Negative Stock and Sub Analysis Check pop up options (see Transactions tab card) are used together as the two options contradict each other.

The adjacent lookup button displays list of fields that can be used for the Barcode. None is the default.

This defaults to BC39. Clicking the button displays a window listing all the fonts installed on your system.

The method by which the first Serial Number is selected. The options are:

There are two options available, which can be changed at any time. The setting of this option determines the default opening mode of the Serial Number Entry window:

Quick (Scanner Compatible)

If this mode is selected, the assumption is made that the selection of Serial Numbers will be made by scanning. The Serial Number Selection window will be displayed but the list of Serial Numbers will not be populated. Use the Display All icon or the Find function to display the available numbers if not being selected by scanning.

Detailed

The Serial Number Selection window will be displayed and populated, enabling the selection of Serial Numbers for the transaction.

Tick if you wish to use Stock Facets in Sales and Purchase Ordering.

You can only use Stock Facets if you are using the combined Detail and Total Window in System Options/Transactions tab.

These options relate to the movement of stock.

Document when saving

If this option is selected, a movements report will be generated when saving transactions involving stock items.

Auto Show Price List

This will automatically display all ten selling prices for each stock code entered on a detail line when entering a sales order.

Sub Analysis - Check pop up

This will automatically display the Sub Analysis window when entering detail lines on sales orders if there is insufficient stock available in the default Sub Analysis.

You should not use Allow Negative Stock (on the Records tab card) and Sub Analysis - Check pop up options together as the two options contradict each other.

Calculate Profit Cost at time of Delivery

The Profit Cost is the cost used to calculate the profit associated with a sale of an item. This can be the sale of an item of stock or a price record.

This option is incompatible with FIFO valuation and profit cost method.

The Cost Price pop-up is a window that appears as you enter a Sales Order detail line, it appears as you tab away from the price field on the SOP detail line entry window and enables you to view and change the cost price that will be used to calculate the profit cost for the SOP Order or Credit Note being entered. The Cost Price drop-down menu allows you to choose an option for the behaviour of the pop-up. The menu contains various options for processing Sales Order Detail lines.

This option enables you to maintain the value of the stock shown in the Balance Sheet on a day-to-day basis, by automatic updates of stock movements from the Sales and Purchase Ledgers and the Stock Module.

If this option is selected, the following apply:

If you are planning to switch to using Update Stock to Nominal, please read the Help page Switching to Update Stock to Nominal.

It is recommended not to use FIFO as a valuation method or Profit Cost method as it will cause Nominal Stock value to differ from that of the Stock Module Valuation.

When enabled in Security Profile Global options, you can apply restrictions on the use of Sort Keys and User Sorts. This tab enables you to define different levels of restrictions for individual Sort Keys when used on the Stock Record.

There are four restriction options available for the record Sort Key and each of the User Sort keys 1 to 3:

The Sub Analysis feature provides a means for holding variations for a stock item.

In Dimensions Lite there is only one level of analysis and this tab card will simply contain the Use Main Cost option (see below).

The Sub Analysis feature provides a means for holding variations for a stock item. This may be a single variable, such as location, colour or size, or a combination of variables, for instance, the same item in different colours within different sizes held at different locations.

The settings you create here will act as a template for all new Sub Analysis type stock records. If you change he settings after creating some Sub Analysis records, the changed settings will only apply to new records, existing records will not be changed.

You may change the name Sub Analysis to a term that is more relevant to your business or the usage of the analysis.

For example, if the Sub Analysis is used to describe the locations of the stock within the warehouse, you may wish to change the name to Location. This is achieved using the Description/Language feature from the Info menu. The new name would then replace the name Sub Analysis throughout your system.

The names given to the elements (User Sort 1 to User Sort 6) can also be changed using the Description/Language feature in the Info menu. For example User Sort 1 could be changed to Warehouse; User Sort 2 to Aisle; and User Sort 3 to Bin.

You should first consider if you wish to use the cost price from the main stock record in preference to the cost information from the Sub Analysis record.

If this option is ticked:

Transactions include:

If this option is ticked, the Minimum and Maximum quantities on the main stock record will be the sum of the minimum and maximum quantities set against the Sub Analysis records and you will not be able to edit the Minimum and Maximum quantities on the main stock record.

Where an organisation is split over multiple locations, staff are able to buy and sell in and out of those locations. However they also need to see stock in other locations so they can organise a transfer. If this option is ticked, you are able to set a default location for users but users are able to browse and choose another location if required.

Sub Analysis codes can be entered manually or created by the system. Select the code entry method from the menu.

Manual Entry - you will enter the codes yourself.

Concatenated - codes will be created automatically by joining the individual element names together and removing any spaces.

Concatenated and Justified - similar to concatenated but any trailing spaces are not removed. The Code uses the Field Lengths that have been entered here for each element. The entire concatenated Code must not exceed 25 characters.

Tip - In order to ensure that the resulting codes are unique, you should ideally use Stock Codes and Sub Analysis that are alphabetic, or are all the same length, otherwise the following situation could occur:
​
You have two Stock records, 123 and 12. You make them both Sub Analysis stock:
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Against 123, you create Sub Analysis 456. This creates 123456.
Against 12, you create Sub Analysis 3456. This also creates 123456. This will be rejected, as it is not unique.

For each sub analysis, you must enter the maximum Field Length (number of characters) that will be used for identifier. For example: if the sub analysis is Colour, you might set it to 6 to cope with Purple or Yellow. Also, you will need to select a Field Type from the menu:

Free Text - Select this option if you want to enter free text for the sub analysis details. This is the default but you should, if possible, select either Value or Lookup because there is less scope for input errors with these types.

Lookup - Enables you to define a list of possible entries and then select from that predefined list. With this type, Users may only select a value from the defined list of entries. The lookup lists are created from the Stock record - Sub Analysis tab card by clicking on the search button for the sub analysis definition.

Value - As with the Lookup type, you can define a list of possible entries and then select from that predefined list. However, with the Value type, you can also enter data directly into the value field. You do not have to use all six fields, set as many or as few as you need. The settings stored on this tab will act as a template for all new stock items that are given Sub Analysis status. Changes made to the fields will only be applied to new stock records.

Stock records can be duplicated using the Duplicate function button. For Sub Analysis type stock records, all the Sub Analysis codes and their fields will be duplicated along with the stock record. To prevent the Sub Analysis codes from being copied, if they contain data, you should tick one of the adjacent checkbox enables you to stop the Sub Analysis codes from being copied if they contain data.

Example: You are using one of the Sub Analysis fields to record a unique shipment number.
​
To avoid duplicating the shipment numbers to new stock records, tick the do not duplicate tick-box alongside the Shipment No. field.
​
When this option is ticked and you select to duplicate the stock record, all the Sub Analysis codes and fields will be copied except where the Shipment No. field contains a value.

You should select the method by which the system will identify the oldest sub analysis.

When using the stock allocation window, order lines where the sub analysis has been left empty can have stock allocated automatically by choosing allocate the oldest sub analysis.

Select a definition for the oldest sub analysis from the menu.

The Assemblies feature enables you to create multi-level assembly stock items. It is an additional and optional module within Stock Control.

The options on this tab enable you to control the methods used to record the assembly process.

This menu enables you to select whether or not you wish to Create Movement Transactions for all the movements involved in building an assembly.

FIFO Profit Cost method is not compatible with Do Not Create Movements, you will not be able to change this option to be incompatible.

If you select to use Update Stock to Nominal on the Transactions tab, this option will be set to Create Movements and will be disabled. This is correct, movement transactions are part of the Update Stock to Nominal feature.

You might select not to create stock movement transactions if your assemblies contain a very large number of low cost components.

When assemblies are built, the cost of the components will be evaluated. From the second menu, you should select the cost that should be used for this evaluation.

You can select to use Latest Cost (the default), or Standard Cost (if this has been recorded).

The third menu enables you to select the way in which assemblies will update Project Costs.

The options are When building assemblies increase project costs or When building assemblies decrease project costs.

Once set, a disassembly will work in reverse, i.e. if Increase Project Costs is selected, then disassembling will Decrease Project costs.

If you have selected to use Update Stock to Nominal, an additional option will be available on this tab card so that you can indicate which Nominal Ledger account should be used for non-stock costs.

Select a default Nominal Account for the Non-Stock Costs of Assemblies.

Non-Stock Costs can be charged to any suitable account and your choice will depend on the type of non-stock costs that are involved in creating assemblies.

The Price Matrix allows unique selling prices to be entered for every combination of Customer and stock record.

The entry window is opened by selecting Price Matrix.

The settings for the matrix are selected from this tab:

If you categorize the Customers and Stock records into groups, using Sort and User Keys, you will be able to use these to create your pricing matrix.

Once a pricing matrix has been created, it cannot be changed except by deleting all the elements and starting again.

The Works Order Processing module enables you to create and build orders, using complex stock assemblies, whilst tracking the material and labour costs and the progress of the order through it's production stages. The module works in conjunction with the stock module and the existing functionality for recording and building assemblies.

From this drop-down list, you should select the method to be used to find the cost price of the materials as they enter the Works Order processing cycle.

The options are Average Cost; Weighted; Latest Cost; FIFO; Standard Cost; Fixed Weighted.

FIFO may only be selected if the Profit Cost method is also Fifth Profit Cost method is selected on the Records tab.

If the option to use Update Stock to Nominal has been selected on the Transactions tab card, you will need to enter the default analysis codes to be used to update the Nominal ledger.

These should all be Stock Type Analysis codes.

Default codes will be created with the database, you may edit these or create your own.