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What is a stock adjustment?

Understand how to correct and adjust your stock levels in Katana with Stock Adjustments.

Dayvid Lorbiecke avatar
Written by Dayvid Lorbiecke
Updated over a week ago

A stock adjustment is a manual entry used to correct or modify the quantities of items in your inventory. This feature ensures that your recorded stock levels align with the actual physical inventory, maintaining accuracy in your stock records.


When to use a stock adjustment

Stock adjustments are versatile tools for various inventory management scenarios:

Inserting initial stock

When setting up Katana for the first time, you can input your existing stock levels using a stock adjustment.

  • Method: Create a stock adjustment with the relevant items, quantities, and values.

  • Alternative: Import initial stock levels using Katana's import template.

Correcting discrepancies after stocktakes

If a stocktake reveals differences between physical stock and recorded quantities, use a stock adjustment to reconcile these discrepancies.

  • Increase or Decrease: Adjust the quantities to match the actual count.

Adjusting for consumable materials not in product recipes

Some low-value materials (e.g., thread, nails) used in manufacturing may not be included in product recipes. Since manufacturing orders don't track these materials, periodic stock adjustments help maintain accurate records.

  • Action: Manually update stock levels for these consumables as needed.

Accounting for other inventory changes

Use stock adjustments to reflect any other events affecting inventory levels, such as:

  • Theft

  • Fire damage

  • Lost items

  • Gifts or promotional giveaways


How to create a stock adjustment

  1. Navigate to the Stock screen in Katana.

  2. Click on the "+" icon and select Stock adjustment.

  3. Fill in the necessary details:

    • Stock adjustment number: Auto-generated but editable.

    • Reason: Describe the purpose of the adjustment.

    • Items: Select existing products or materials, or create new ones.

    • Quantity: Enter positive numbers to increase or negative numbers to decrease stock.

    • Cost per unit: Defaults to the current average cost but can be edited.

Note: For detailed steps, refer to Katana's guide on how to create a stock adjustment.


Additional features

  • Batch and serial number tracking: If enabled, specify batch numbers or serial numbers during adjustments to maintain traceability.

  • Exporting adjustments: Export stock adjustments to a CSV file for analysis or record-keeping.

  • Printing adjustments: Print individual or multiple stock adjustments for documentation purposes.


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