Basic [inventory tracking](/help/products/manage-inventory) counts stock up and down as orders come in. **Warehouse** builds on top of that: it adds receiving supplier deliveries into your store, tracking stock in dated lots, and a full history of every change — reservations, corrections, and write-offs included. Warehouse is for stores that need more than a stock number — usually because some products expire, come from named batches, or arrive through a receiving process you want a paper trail for. ## What Warehouse adds | Without Warehouse | With Warehouse | |---|---| | A single stock number per product or variant | Stock held in one or more **lots**, each with its own expiry and quantity | | You edit the number by hand when stock changes | Stock **increases only through a posted receipt** | | No record of where a count came from | Every change is recorded in **Movements**, with a reason and who made it | | No expiry tracking | Products can require a **lot number and expiry date** on receiving | Regular inventory tracking keeps working for every product that doesn't need this — Warehouse only changes behavior for products you specifically turn lot tracking on for, once it's active. ## Turn on Warehouse Open **Settings → Modules → Warehouse**, or go straight to **Inventory → Activate**. Warehouse is the one module that isn't a simple switch — read the activation screen before you press the button: - New orders start **reserving** stock instead of deducting it immediately. - Receiving, stock lots, and packing checks turn on for your whole store. - Orders placed before activation keep their old accounting and restock the old way if cancelled — you don't need to do anything about them. - **Activation cannot be undone.** > **Warning:** If you sync stock levels from another system — for example through Allegro or NoviCloud — Warehouse takes over as the source of truth. Once it's active, those incoming stock updates are refused, and you receive new goods through Warehouse instead. The activation screen warns you if a connected add-on would be affected. Once active, **Inventory** gains three new tabs: **Incoming**, **Lots**, and **Movements**. ## Turn on lot tracking for a product Activating Warehouse doesn't change any product by itself. To track a specific product in lots, open it for editing and turn on **Track lots and expiry dates**. This requires a lot number whenever goods for that product are received, and keeps the lot a unit shipped from linked to the order it went out on. Products without lot tracking keep working exactly like ordinary tracked stock — a single number that goes up on a receipt and down on an order — they just don't get expiry dates or a lot number. > **Note:** Turning lot tracking on for a product that already has stock opens one lot for what's currently on the shelf, so nothing you're already holding is lost — it just won't have an expiry date until you receive dated stock going forward. ## Receiving a delivery Go to **Inventory → Incoming → New receipt**. You can either: - **Upload the supplier's paperwork** — drop in a PDF, photo, or a JSON/XML export from your supplier. YNS reads the document and drafts the line items for you. Photos are compressed automatically before upload. - **Enter it by hand** — pick products from a list and fill in quantities yourself. Either way, you land on a **draft** you review before anything touches your stock: 1. **Match each line to a product.** Matches by barcode, SKU, or a supplier name you've matched before happen automatically — use **Apply exact matches** to accept them, and pick the right product yourself for anything left unmatched. 2. **Check quantity, cost, and lot details.** For lot-tracked products, enter the lot number and expiry date (and a best-before date, if it differs). If the supplier's own quantity isn't a whole number, YNS shows you the original figure so you can resolve it. 3. **Reject anything that shouldn't count.** Set a line's quantity to 0 and add a note — the line stays on the receipt as a record, it just doesn't add stock. 4. **Post the receipt.** Every goods line needs a match and a quantity before you can post. Posting adds the stock immediately and records it in Movements. A posted receipt can't be edited. > **Tip:** The first time you receive from a supplier, match their line items to your products by hand. YNS remembers the match, so the same supplier's wording is recognized automatically next time. ### Correcting a receipt after the fact If a supplier sends a credit note or correction document, upload it the same way — YNS recognizes it as a correction and links it to the lot it adjusts. Correction lines can reduce a lot's quantity (a negative amount), but every one has to name which lot it corrects, since a correction is about one specific delivery rather than whichever stock happens to be oldest. If you need to undo a posted receipt entirely — before anything on it has shipped or been used — open it and choose **Void receipt**. You'll need to give a reason; voiding creates a compensating entry in Movements rather than deleting anything, so the original receipt stays in your history. ## Lots **Inventory → Lots** lists every batch of stock you're tracking, opening stock included, with its expiry date, what's still on the shelf, what's reserved, and what's marked unavailable. A lot within 30 days of expiry is flagged, and an expired one is called out clearly. When an order is packed, YNS automatically picks the **first-expiring stock first** (then the oldest delivery) from the lots that have it — you don't choose a lot yourself unless something needs your attention. ### Write off or mark stock unavailable From a lot's row: - **Mark damaged or unavailable** sets units aside — they can't be sold, but they're still counted as stock you're holding, in case you resell or return them later. - **Write off** removes units for good — use this once you know they're gone. You'll need to give a quantity (up to what's on the shelf and not reserved), a reason (damaged, expired, or a correction), and a note. Both actions are recorded in Movements. You can't write off or reassign units that are already reserved for an order — deal with the order first. ## Movements **Inventory → Movements** is the full ledger: every reservation, receipt, correction, write-off, dispatch, and cancellation, with the date, the product, what changed, who did it, and a link back to the order or receipt it came from. Test-mode orders are tagged so you can tell them apart from real activity. Filter by product, date range, or reason, and export the list as a CSV when you need it outside YNS. ## Common mistakes to avoid - **Turning on lot tracking mid-delivery.** Switch it on before you receive a product's next shipment, not partway through matching one. - **Posting a receipt before every line is right.** Once posted, a receipt is locked — fix mismatches in the draft first, or use a correction afterward. - **Writing off instead of marking unavailable.** Writing off is permanent. If there's any chance you'll recover or resell the units, mark them unavailable instead. - **Forgetting a stock-sync add-on will stop working.** If you sync stock from Allegro, NoviCloud, or a similar integration, check the activation warning first — Warehouse takes over as the source of truth. ## FAQ ### Can I turn Warehouse off after activating it? No. Activation is permanent for the store. If you're not ready, keep using regular inventory tracking — see [Manage inventory](/help/products/manage-inventory). ### Do I have to turn on lot tracking for every product? No. Turn it on only for products that need an expiry date or a lot number — everything else keeps a simple stock count. ### What happens to orders I placed before activating Warehouse? They keep working exactly as before — cancelling one restocks it the old way. Only orders placed after activation reserve stock and interact with lots. ### Can I pick which lot an order ships from? YNS picks automatically — the stock closest to expiring goes out first, then the oldest delivery. You only need to step in if an order is missing an allocation, which YNS flags for you to review. ### What's the difference between marking stock unavailable and writing it off? Marking stock unavailable sets it aside without removing it — useful while you're still deciding what to do with it. Writing it off removes it from your count for good, with a reason recorded in Movements. ## What's next - Learn the basics of stock counts in [Manage inventory](/help/products/manage-inventory). - Turn on lot tracking when you [add a product](/help/products/add-a-product). - Check [Fulfill and ship an order](/help/orders/fulfill-and-ship) for what happens after a lot-tracked order is packed. - Failed labels or sync errors show up in [Spot and fix store issues](/help/orders/store-issues).