Scenario
A company discovers that inventory was received into the correct bin but assigned to the wrong lot number. The team needs to move the quantity to the correct lot while keeping the financial impact as close to zero as possible.
This situation is common in environments that use:
- Lot-numbered inventory
- Bin management
- Average costing
If both a negative and a positive inventory adjustment are entered for the same item and date, cost recalculation can affect the estimated unit cost and create unexpected postings to COGS or the Inventory Adjustment account.
Solution
Use Inventory Adjustments to remove quantity from the wrong lot and add it back under the correct lot. To avoid unwanted variance, separate the transactions by date when needed.
Option 1: Adjust the Lot Assignment with Matched Quantities
Create two Inventory Adjustment lines for the same item:
- a negative line to remove quantity from the wrong lot
- a positive line to add the same quantity to the correct lot
For lot-numbered items, enter the appropriate lot and bin details on each line. This reassigns the inventory without changing the total quantity on hand.
Option 2: Use Different Dates for the Positive and Negative Adjustments
If NetSuite recalculates the negative line cost after saving, post the adjustments on different dates:
Transaction | Date |
|---|
Negative Inventory Adjustment | Original date |
Positive Inventory Adjustment | Next available date |
NetSuite processes positive inventory adjustments before negative adjustments when they share the same date, so separating the dates helps preserve the intended valuation and reduces the risk of variance in COGS or the Inventory Adjustment account.
Notes
- This approach is most relevant for Average Cost items.
- Negative adjustment costs are system-calculated and are not manually overridden.
- Always verify the estimated total value before saving the adjustment.
- Test the process in a sandbox before using it in production.
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