Consumables

Consumables are the supplies that get handed out and used up: toner, paper, toilet paper, pens, coffee. They are not fixed Assets - they do not depreciate, they have no serial number or individual record, and nobody is going to RFID-count them - which is why they live in their own module.

The module answers three questions that most Companies answer by hand, with a notebook or a spreadsheet:

1. How much is there? The stock of each consumable in each storeroom, with its value.
2. Who took it, and charged to whom? Every issue is recorded with its cost center, and optionally with the employee and the asset that consumed it.
3. What needs restocking? A reorder point per storeroom, with a daily email alert and a report that is literally the shopping list.

The screens

How it works, in one page

The item defines the what. A consumable has a code, a name and one unit of measure. That unit is how it is counted and how it is handed out: if you buy boxes of 500 sheets but hand out loose sheets, those are two different items, not a conversion. ActivoHQ deliberately does not convert units: conversions are the main source of discrepancies in any storeroom.

Stock lives per location. There is no single company-wide total: there are 14 toners in the Main Office and 3 in the Data Center, each with its own reorder point. If something moves between storerooms, it is recorded as a transfer, and the system writes both sides of the movement.

Cost is averaged on receipt. Each receipt recalculates the weighted average cost of that consumable in that storeroom:

new average = (on hand x current average + quantity received x receipt cost) / (on hand + quantity received)

If you had 10 toners at $89 and receive 10 more at $99, the average becomes $94. Issues are valued at that average, and that cost is frozen on the issue: a later, more expensive purchase does not rewrite what last week's hand-out cost. That is why Reports for closed months do not change on their own.

Issues are the only thing that counts as consumption. Receiving is not spending; neither is transferring. The Consumption by Cost Center report only looks at issues.

The history is not editable. There is no "correct this movement" button. If the physical count does not match the system, an adjustment is recorded with its reason, and both stay visible. That is the module's entire audit story, and it is deliberate: a storeroom where movements can be deleted is no use for auditing anything.

The life of a consumable, end to end

1. The item is created under Items: TON-26A, "HP 26A Toner", each, reorder point 5.
2. The purchase arrives and is recorded under Receipt: 10 units at $89 in the Main Office. Stock goes to 10 and the average to $89.
3. Someone comes to the counter. Under Issue, the code is scanned, 2 units are entered, it is charged to Administration, and optionally noted as going to printer MAIN-OFF-02. Stock drops to 8 and the issue is valued at $178.
4. The voucher is printed and handed over as proof.
5. Stock reaches 5 and that night the storekeeper gets the daily email: TON-26A is at its reorder point in the Main Office.
6. Month end: the Consumption by Cost Center report shows how much Administration spent on supplies, and the Dashboard card shows the storeroom's total value.

What this module does not do

That matters as much as what it does:

• It does not produce journal entries and is not sent to CifraHQ. The expense hit the accounts when the consumable was bought; this module answers what it was used on, it does not book it again.
• It does not handle purchase orders or a supplier catalog. The vendor is free text on the receipt.
• It does not convert units of measure (box to each).
• It does not handle lots or expiry dates.
• It does not consume your plan's asset limit. Consumables are records separate from fixed Assets: you can have thousands of items without affecting your subscription.

Permissions

A typical storekeeper gets View, Issue and Receive - they can work the counter and record purchases, but not correct stock or touch the catalog. Administrators hold every permission. They are assigned under Users and roles.

Reports

They are all under Reports and detailed in Reports.

On the Dashboard

The dashboard carries a Consumables card with the stock value, the month's consumption and how many items are below minimum, plus the Consumption Trend chart over the last 12 months. And the Total Cost of Ownership table gains a consumables column: what each asset category has spent on supplies, where the issue was charged to an asset.