Printing Standard Inventory Reports

Printing Low-Stock and Overstock Reports (Standard)

The Low-Stock Report shows suggested order quantities, based on three months' usage or 17 months' usage. The Overstock Report indicates which items you may have overstocked, based on sales quantities and on-hand accounts.

When you run the Low-Stock Report, you can create a low-stock file, which you can use to create purchase orders automatically. You create purchase orders automatically using the Short Buys action code in the Purchase Order Entry window. You can also use the low-stock file when posting stock transfers.

The Low-Stock Report can calculate the suggested order quantity in two ways: using the sales history of each item and the projected number of weeks between purchases, or using minimum and maximum stock levels. You specify which calculation to use when you print the report.

The formula that calculates the suggested order quantity based on sales history uses sales for the last three months. Month-to-date sales are not used. Since this formula uses extended history, it is accurate only for items in stock classes with an extended history. You specify which stock classes have extended histories in the Class Range To Build History From field in the (LE1) Inventory Parameters screen.

The formula gives double weight to the most recent month and takes into account quantities on-order, on-hand, and backordered. You specify the number of weeks between purchases, which are called cycle weeks.

The number of weeks you specify relates to the number of times your inventory turns over in a year. For example, ten-week cycles give you five turns a year, and seven-week cycles give you seven turns a year. Varying the number of cycle weeks when running this report can help you see whether to increase or decrease inventory quantities.

The following formula is used to calculate the suggested order quantity:

([ (M1 x 2) + M2 + M3 ] x CW ) - ( OO + OH) + BO = Order Quantity

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This formula produces two projections. The Need column shows the projected total sales for an item over the number of weeks in the cycle. The Order column shows the suggested order quantity.

The quantities in the Min and Max boxes in the Item History Inventory tab are used to calculate the suggested order quantity. In the Min box, specify the lowest quantity of an item you want to have on-hand. In the Max box, specify the largest quantity. For more information, see In the Item History Inventory Tab.

The on-hand, on-order, and backordered quantities are compared to project if stock levels will fall below the minimum. If so, an order quantity is suggested to bring stock levels to the maximum. For items without information in the Min and Max boxes, cycle weeks are used to calculate order quantities.

The suggested order amount is calculated for each item that is at or below the minimum according to the following formula:

Max - O/H = Need

Need - (O/O + O/H) + B/O = Order Quantity

Note: An asterisk (*) next to the suggested order quantity means the amount is based on the Min and Max boxes. No asterisk means the quantity is based on the cycle weeks formula.

1. In the (RR) screen, select the [L] Low-Stock type code.

2. Use the L/O field to indicate which type of report you are printing. To print the Low-Stock Report, press Enter. To print the Overstock Report, type O.

3. In the Weeks field, enter the number of weeks in a cycle.

4. In the Sales field, press Tab to include all items. To include only items sold this month or in the last three months, type Y. To include only those items that have not sold this month or in the last three months, type N.

5. In the A/D/R/P field, specify the cost or price to use for this report. Select a code from the following:
   
    

   Code	Description	From
   A	Average landed cost	Cost $ box in the Item Master tab
   D	Manufacturer's cost	Direct Buy and Cost boxes in the Item Master tab
   R	Wholesaler's replacement cost	Cost box in the Item Vendor tab
   P	Selling price	List $ box in the Item Master tab

6. At the Keep Low Stock File for P/Os prompt, to delete the suggested order quantities in a low-stock file, press Enter. Go to Step 8.
   
   To save suggested order quantities in a low-stock file, which can be used to automatically create purchase orders, type Y. Low-stock files are automatically deleted after all items are placed on purchase orders.

7. At the File Name prompt, enter a name to call the file. For example, for the vendor Smead, you might name the file SMEAD. The default name is LOW-STOCK. You cannot have more than one low-stock file with the same name.

8. In the Location field, press Tab to include all locations. To specify a particular location, enter it. To include all locations with a separate total for each location, type 00.
   
   To print a Low-Stock Report using calculations based on the Min and Max boxes, enter a specific location or location 00. However, in the LOW-STOCK file, all information is saved under location 1.

9. Use the Sorts fields to specify the order in which information prints. To sort first by item number and then by company, press Enter while the cursor is in the Sort 1 field. Go to Step 11.
   
   To specify sorts for your report, enter the appropriate sort codes in the Sort 1, 2, and 3 fields. (The sort codes are to the right of the Break Page fields.) For example, to specify vendor as the first sort, enter V in the Sort 1 field. You can specify up to three sorts. For more information, see Inventory Sorts and Limits.

10. For the first two sorts you select, the cursor moves to the corresponding Break Page field. This field lets you begin a new page each time there is a change in the corresponding sort group. For example, if you specify vendor in the Sort 1 field and specify to break the page in the Break Page 1 field, each time the vendor changes, the information for the new vendor begins at the top of a new page. This field can also be used to leave a blank line between sorts or to print subtotals for the sort.
    
    Note: If you choose to break the page, a heading and subtotal print for each sort group.
    
    To specify a new page for each new group in the specified sort, subtotals for the sort group, or a blank line between each sort, enter the appropriate code from the following list in the corresponding Break Page field.
    
     

    Code	Description
    N	No page break for the particular sort
    Y	Each new group within the sort prints on a new page and a heading and subtotal print for each new group
    D	Place a blank line between the sorts with no page break
    S	Print subtotals for the particular sort with no page break.

  If you specify fewer than three sorts, press Enter.

11. The cursor moves to the first limit field, the Avg Cost Gt Rep field. You can limit a report using any combination of limits. To be included in a report, however, an item must meet all the limits you set.
    
    Note: There are no default limits for this report. If you do not specify limits, the report includes information for every item in the database.
    
    To not set limits, press Enter until the cursor moves to the Printer field. Go to Step 12.
    
    For details on available limits and how to use them, see Inventory Sorts and Limits.
    
    To limit the report to item records that belong to a particular group, type Y. To limit the report to item records that do not belong to a particular group, type N. To omit items that belong to a particular group, type O.
    
    Note: These limits are often used in combination. For example, to limit a report to items that do not have on-hand quantities, but omit those items that are on-order, specify N in the On Hand field and O in the On Order field.
    
    To limit by a range of items, enter the beginning of the range in the first field, and enter the end of the range in the To field.

12. Use the Printer field to specify where to print the report.
    
    Note: You must use wide paper or set your printer for compressed print (17 characters per inch) to print these reports. To set your printer for compressed print, change the print setting manually. Refer to your printer manual for instructions.

13. Use the Copies field to specify how many copies of the report to print.

14. Use the Records To Print field to specify the number of records to print. For example, if you enter 50, information for the first 50 items prints. The sorts and limits determine which 50 records print.

15. In the Totals Only field, press Tab.

16. The report prints according to the sorts and limits you set.

See also:

About Inventory Reports

Printing Low-Stock Reports (Custom)

In the (LE1) Screen