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Managing Physical Inventory and Location Transfers in Acumatica

28 June 2025

Accurately tracking your inventory across multiple warehouse locations is essential—and Acumatica handles this efficiently through its Physical Inventory and Inventory Transfer features. When items move between locations without using the system, discrepancies arise. Here's how to detect and correct them using Acumatica's built-in tools.

Detecting Discrepancies During Physical Inventory

When you perform a Physical Inventory Count, Acumatica displays quantities based on expected locations. If items were moved physically but not updated in the system, your count will reveal dislocations. For example, if Item A was counted in Location 1 but Acumatica shows it in Location 2, that mismatch will surface during variance review.

However, Acumatica does not automatically transfer inventory to correct locations. Instead, the system highlights location variances—prompting you to take action during or after the count .

Resolving Location Mismatches

Once discrepancies are identified, you have two options:

1. Inventory Transfer Document

Use a standard Inventory Transfer to move stock between locations. This process effectively performs the necessary adjustments to align system records with physical reality.

Steps:

  1. Navigate to Inventory → Transactions → Transfer.
  2. Create a transfer record:
    • Set the source warehouse and location.
    • Enter the destination location.
    • Add the quantity and item details.
  3. Release the transfer. This corrects the internal balance and maintains audit trails.

2. Counting + Transfer Hybrid

A practical workflow for many teams:

  1. Perform the count across all locations in a warehouse.
  2. Review variances, noting which items are in unexpected places.
  3. Create corresponding transfer documents for those variances.

This hybrid approach lets you align location data without distorting quantity control. Your warehouse-level totals remain correct; you're only adjusting the internal distribution across locations.

Example Workflow

Consider a warehouse with three locations (A, B, C):

  1. A physical inventory reveals:
    • 10 units of Item X counted in B, but recorded in A.
  2. Invariance reporting shows –10 in A and +10 in B.
  3. Create a transfer: from A → B, quantity = 10.
  4. Release the transfer. Now both location and overall balances match reality.

Why It Matters

  • Accurate reporting: Location details feed operations like picking, replenishment, and audits.
  • Control & traceability: Transfers maintain logs, timestamps, and user accountability.
  • Flexibility: This approach works whether you missed transfers or count across multiple spots.

Final Thoughts

  • Physical Inventory uncovers location discrepancies—but doesn’t move inventory.
  • Inventory Transfers are required to correct those discrepancies.
  • Combining both tools ensures your system reflects what’s truly on the shop floor, preserving accuracy and control.

By integrating counts and transfers into your workflows, you’ll maintain reliable, location-specific inventory records without compromising regulatory or audit requirements.