What to do if your stock balances don't match the actual inventory

Check each item below to identify the cause and restore accurate inventory records.

1. Check whether the warehouse is assigned to the venue

If the warehouse containing your stock isn't assigned to the venue, Poster doesn't know which warehouse to deduct products from when you make a sale.

To check the warehouse assignment:

1. Open Access → Locations in the back office.
2. Click Edit next to the required venue.
3. Scroll down to the Warehouses in venue section.
4. Add the required warehouse.
5. Save the changes.

2. Check the stock deduction rules for production stations

If your venue has multiple warehouses but stock deduction rules by production station aren't configured, Poster deducts products not from the warehouse where the supply was recorded, but from the warehouse where the latest inventory movement for that product was recorded. As a result, stock in one warehouse doesn't change despite sales, while another warehouse may end up with negative stock balances.

To check and update the settings:

1. Open Access → Locations in the back office.
2. Click Edit next to the required venue.
3. Scroll down to the Stock deduction rules section.
4. Select Configure deductions by production stations.
5. Assign the appropriate warehouse to each production station.
6. Save the changes.

3. Check whether production stations are assigned to products and recipes

If a product or recipe doesn't have a production station assigned, Poster can't determine which warehouse to deduct stock from.

To assign a production station:

1. Open Menu → Products or Menu → Recipes in the back office.
2. Use the Production station filter and select No production station. Poster will display all items without a production station assigned.
3. Click Edit next to each item.
4. In the Production station section, select the appropriate production station.
5. Save the changes.

4. Check whether the product is stored in the correct warehouse

The product may be stored in a different warehouse than the one used for stock deductions. In this case, the stock exists, but in another warehouse, so you'll need to transfer it.

To check:

1. Open Inventory → Stock in the back office.
2. Find the required product or ingredient.
3. Click Stock next to the item to see how much is available and which warehouses store it.
4. If the product is stored in the wrong warehouse, create a stock transfer between warehouses.

5. Check for duplicate products

If the same product has been created under different names, Poster treats them as separate items.

For example, a supply may be recorded for one product while the recipe uses another. As a result, stock balances won't match. Even differences in letter case create separate products.

To fix the issue:

1. Search for duplicate products in Inventory → Stock.
2. Keep one product card and delete the duplicate.
3. Update the remaining product's actual quantity by performing a stocktaking.

To avoid duplicates in the future, use consistent product names, units of measurement, and barcodes. If products are similar, add a clarification to the name—for example, Rice and Cooked Rice, or Potatoes and French Fries—to make them easier to distinguish.

6. Check the recipe if the same ingredient keeps going negative

If the same ingredient is missing after every stocktaking, check the recipes that use it. The ingredient quantity in the recipe may no longer match the actual usage. For example, after changing suppliers or switching to a product with different characteristics, the real consumption may become higher than what's specified in the recipe.

To see where an ingredient is used:

1. Open Menu → Ingredients in the back office.
2. Click Details next to the required ingredient.
3. Review the recipes that use it.
4. Compare the recipe quantity with the actual consumption.
5. Update the recipe if necessary.

💡 If you're using the Pro plan and need to apply the changes to sales that have already been completed, edit the menu retroactively.

Verify the results

After checking all the items above and updating your warehouse, production station, recipe, or ingredient settings, make sure everything works correctly.

Make a few test sales, then open Inventory → Ingredients movements and verify that products are deducted using the correct recipe and from the correct warehouse.

If everything looks correct, perform a stocktaking to compare the actual and recorded quantities. Poster will show any quantity and value differences and automatically adjust the recorded stock to match the actual inventory.

💡 Partial and full inventory are available on the Mini, Business, and Pro plans.

If your stock balances still don't match the actual inventory after completing all the steps above, contact us via chat.