Inventory is the total amount of goods and/or materials contained in a store or factory at any given time. Store owners need to know the precise number of items on their shelves and storage areas in order to place orders or control losses. Factory managers need to know how many units of their products are available for customer orders. Restaurants need to order more food based on their current suppliesand menu needs.
Some important features available in the Inventory module are

Multi-location Stock Control: Use Tally.ERP 9 to keep track of your stock at a single or multiple locations.

Comprehensive Recording of Stock Movement: Record inventory transactions easily and comprehensively using Goods Receipt Notes, Delivery Notes, Stock Transfer Journals, Manufacturing Journals as well as Physical Stock Journals. All stock movements are fully recorded and maintained in Stock Registers.

Management Reports: The Movement Analysis report gives the party-wise details of goods bought and sold and helps identify good and bad business partners. Stock Query is a unique single sheet report that gives information on stocks at different locations as well as total stock-in-hand.

Aging stock Analysis: This report identifies old stocks to aid in decisions relating to their quick disposal.

Batch-wise or lot-wise Inventory with Expiry: You can use the concept of Batches or Lots to track stock at the batch level, with expiry date support.

Re-Order Levels: Know your stock order position with the comprehensive Order Status reports in Tally.ERP 9. Specify reorder levels and minimum reorder quantity in absolute quantities or based on previous consumption. In Tally.ERP 9, you can configure and use the following depending on your requirement:

Stock categories: Stock Category offers a parallel classification of stock items. Like stock Groups, classification is done based on similarity in behaviour. The advantage of Categorising items is that you
can classify the stock items (based on functionality) together – across different stock groups, which will enable you to obtain reports on alternatives or substitutes for a stock item.

Multiple godowns: Locations/Godowns are places where Stock Items are stored. You can monitor the location-wise movement of stock by creating multiple Godowns. Tally.ERP 9 permits the creation of any number of godowns, under groups and subgroups to match the structure you need.

Stock transfers to locations/godowns: In Tally.ERP 9, Stock Transfers are recorded using Stock Journal Vouchers and are used to make stock adjustments. For example, to record any increase or decrease in stock due to shortage, wastage of stock or to record inter-godown transfers of stock, assembling or disassembling. It can be used to reflect the status of godown-wise stock. Additional costs incurred during stock transfer can also be tracked. This adds up to the value of the stock but does not get reflected in the accounts.

Stock query by stock group, or stock category: Stock Query is a statement which provides all the information related to a particular Stock Item such as:

• Closing balance and its value
• Cost price and Standard selling price of the product
• Last purchase details such as date, party, quantity and rate
• Information about last sales – date, quantity, rate, sales party etc.
• Warehouse details
• Stock items under similar categories etc.

In Tally.ERP 9, this statement can be generated either on the basis of a stock group or a stock category.

Multiple stock valuation methods: Tally.ERP 9 allows you to view the effects of different stock valuation methods on the closing stock value. You can view a columnar display of different stock valuations.

Each stock item can be set up to have a different stock valuation method. In some instances, a particular method of valuation may be required, for example, to assess the replacement value or saleable value of stock. Tally.ERP 9 displays stocks in any or all the valuation methods dynamically and simultaneously, without any complicated procedure.

Multiple units of measure: Stock Items are purchased or sold on the basis of quantity. The quantity is measured by Units. In Tally ERP.9, you can define these quantities as multiples of a unit of measurement, for e.g. dozens, gross, carton, etc. Citing an example, you could buy 25 boxes of pens with each box containing 12 pens. You could then pack them into a single carton and sell it as one carton containing 300 pens.

Alternate units of measure: Stock items can be purchased as one unit of measure and sold in a corresponding unit of measure, for e.g. you can buy paint in bulk in 50 litre barrels, repack and sell the same in 1 litre tins.

Tracking through receipt notes/ delivery notes/ rejections inwards/ rejections outwards: Tracking number is the reference to have a link between transactions. For e.g. if Tracking Number is selected in the Receipt Note, the details of the items are automatically displayed in the Purchase Invoice.

Additional costs incurred on purchase: In many situations, more than one item is purchased where the expense incurred is charged as a lump-sum amount. However, to give an effective cost including the expense to each of the items, the additional costs of purchase option is used. This process is automated and allocation of the expense to a stock item can be done on a predefined basis. Expenses posted using Additional cost on Purchase features, do not affect the relevant nominal ledger accounts but update the cost of the Stock Item, i.e., the additional costs incurred are updated without actually affecting accounting, only the stock value goes up.

Movement analysis: Party-wise/Item-wise/Stock Group-wise: Movement analysis shows the analysis of only those inventory transactions which are integrated with the accounts, i.e. inventories which are also recorded in the books of accounts.

Movement analysis is used for comparative studies and they give an insight into the flow characteristics of the stock in an organisation.

Price lists: Price Lists are useful for orders and invoices. An up-to-date price list helps in decision-making even at the lower levels of the organization and quickens the sales process. Tally.ERP 9 assists in creating quantity based pricing with a complex discount structure. Price Lists are available only for inventory items and hence the feature is available only if inventory and invoicing are activated for the company.

You can have one or more price lists, because you may require more than one price list, when you have different price structures/levels for different purposes viz., different groups of customers requiring different discounts or dealing in different products.

Sales and purchase order processing: When the order is received from a customer for the supply of goods, the Items, quantities, date of delivery, etc., details are given along with the Sales Order Number. Once these goods are delivered, this Sales Order is tracked for the order Details either in the delivery note or in the sales invoice.

When the order is placed with the suppliers for the supply of goods, the Items, quantities, date of receipt etc., details are mentioned along with the Purchase Order Number. Once these goods are received, the Purchase Order is tracked for the Order Details either in the receipt note or in the purchase Invoice.

Define and use Bill of Materials: A Bill of Materials is a list of constituent items along with quantity details that can be allotted for the manufacture of a certain product, by-product or likewise. This facilitates the immediate reduction in stock of the item automatically. This process of listing the items that make up another item is made possible in Tally by enabling the Bill of Materials Facility.

Bill of Material (BoM) is created only for those items that are assembled in-house. For trading items, you do not need a BoM. Therefore, you need to specify a BoM at the time of creating a Stock Item or when altering its master.

Point of Sale (POS): POS is an acronym for Point of Sale. Point of Sale could mean a retail shop, a check-out counter in a shop or any other location, where a sales transaction takes place. The various POS equipment used in retail outlets are Cash registers, card readers and barcode scanners. It is a computerized Cash Register which adds the sales total, computes the State sales tax or VAT, calculates the change from the money tendered and automatically adjusts the store's inventory.