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Consumable issue

Consumable issue

Overview

Consumable Issue is the storekeeper's counter: the screen where you hand out what someone comes for and charge it to a cost center. It is built for the keyboard, not the mouse: scan, quantity, cost center, Enter, next.

One delivery can have several lines - two toners and a ream of paper - and it is saved as a single operation: either every line goes through, or none does. Each delivery can be printed as an issue voucher for the record.

How to get there

Consumables > Issue

Direct URL: /Consumables/issue

The screen's own guidance reads: Scan or type the code, set the quantity and the cost center, then press Enter. Add every line of the delivery before handing it over.

Key concepts

Term Definition
Delivery The set of lines handed out together. They share one voucher.
Cost center Who the consumption is charged to. It is required: it is what makes cost-per-area reporting possible.
Issue voucher The printable proof of a delivery, with its lines and who it went to.
Issue cost Each line is valued at that storeroom's current average cost at that moment, and that cost is frozen: a later, more expensive purchase does not rewrite what this delivery cost.

How to use it

Hand out Consumables

  1. Choose the Location (the storeroom you are issuing from) and confirm the Date.

    The storeroom is remembered for next time you come in, because almost nobody switches storerooms mid-shift.

  2. Under Add a line:
    • Consumable (required): scan the barcode or type the code or the name (Scan or type a code).
    • Quantity (required).
    • Cost center (required).
    • Employee, Asset and Note are optional. Asset is there to charge the consumption to a specific piece of equipment - the toner that went into printer MAIN-OFF-02, say - and feeds its total cost of ownership.
  3. Click Add. The line drops into the This delivery table and the cursor returns to the consumable field, ready for the next scan. The cost center is kept, because a delivery is normally charged to a single area.
  4. Repeat until the delivery is complete.
  5. Click Deliver.
  6. When it finishes, Delivery recorded. appears along with the Print voucher button.

Print the voucher

Click Print voucher after delivering. The voucher opens in a new tab with the voucher number, the date, the storeroom, who issued it and the line detail.

Correct before delivering

  • Use a row's delete button to take that line off.
  • Clear empties the whole delivery.

Nothing is saved until you click Deliver.

Fields

Field Type Required Description Validation
Location Drop-down Yes The storeroom the goods leave from. Must be chosen before delivering.
Date Date No The delivery date. Defaults to today in the company's time zone. None.
Consumable Searchable list Yes What is being handed out. Supports a barcode scanner. It must be active and have stock in that storeroom.
Quantity Number Yes How much is handed out. Greater than zero, and no more than the stock on hand.
Cost center Drop-down Yes Which area the consumption is charged to. Required: without it the delivery is rejected.
Employee Drop-down No Who receives it. None.
Asset Searchable list No The equipment consuming the supply. None.
Note Text No What for, the work order, who authorized it. None.

Permissions

Action Permission
Work the counter Consumables.Issue

A storekeeper normally has Consumables.View, Consumables.Issue and Consumables.Receive, and nothing else.

Notes

  • The delivery is all or nothing. If one line does not have enough stock, the whole delivery is rejected and no line is applied: that way there is no half-recorded delivery. The lines stay on screen so you can fix the one that failed instead of rekeying everything.
  • If the same consumable appears twice in the delivery, both quantities are added together to check the stock.
  • Stock never goes negative. If the physical count does not match the system, record an adjustment under Consumable stock and deliver again.

Troubleshooting

Symptom Likely cause Resolution
The Add button is disabled. The location, consumable, quantity or cost center is missing. Fill in all four required fields.
An error appears stating how many units are left. You are trying to hand out more than there is in that storeroom. Reduce the quantity, or correct the count with an adjustment.
The consumable does not appear when scanning. It is inactive, or it has never been received in this company. Check the item under Consumables > Items.
The delivery failed and I lost the lines. They are not lost: they stay on screen precisely so you can fix them. Adjust the failing line and click Deliver again.
It was issued from the wrong storeroom. The remembered location was a different one. Record an adjustment in both storerooms, or a transfer, whichever fits.

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