Bottle shop step 5: purchases, lots and stock

View as .mdUpdated Oct 30, 2026

Stock in a bottle shop arrives from a few distributors and breweries, usually by the case and often several times a week. This page records those deliveries with lots and dates, pays the distributors and keeps an eye on stock and freshness.

Before you start

Distributors are added in Contacts › Suppliers with their pay terms.
Enable Lot number and Enable Product Expiry are on if you track them (step 1).

Record a delivery

Open Purchases › Add Purchase.
Choose the Supplier, enter the distributor’s invoice number in Reference No, the Purchase Date and set Purchase Status to Received.
Choose the Business Location that receives the goods. Link a Purchase Order if you sent one.
Scan or search each product. Pick the unit (Case (12)) or the pack variation, enter Purchase Quantity and Unit Cost.
Enter the Lot Number and the MFG / EXP Date for beer, cider and mixers.
Enter what you pay now (or 0) and save.

Add Purchase form with supplier, reference number, purchase date, purchase status, location, pay term, purchase order, and a products table with lot number and MFG / EXP date columns — Purchases › Add Purchase with lot number and dates on each line.

Purchases list with distributors, purchase status Received, payment status Paid or Due, totals and payment due — Purchases list: what was received and what is still to pay.

Watch freshness and stock

Reports › Lot Report: stock per lot with its expiry date; expired lots are flagged Expired.
Reports › Stock Expiry Report: what has expired or will expire soon.
Reports › Stock Report: stock, value and potential profit per product and location.

Lot Report with SKU, product, lot number, expiry date with Expired badges, current stock, total unit sold and total unit adjusted — Reports › Lot Report for a 4-pack IPA: each canning lot with its date.

Stock Report with closing stock by purchase price and sale price, potential profit and profit margin, and wines with stock in bottles — Reports › Stock Report: value and margin by product.

Tips and mistakes to avoid

Remove expired or broken bottles with Stock Adjustment › Add Stock Adjustment and a reason. Web adjustments only remove stock.
Send damaged cases back with Purchases › List Purchase Return so the distributor’s balance is right.
Do counts of spirits more often than of beer; they are high value. See stock counts.

Next: daily operations.

Purchases

Expiry and batches

Supplier payments and credit

Frequently asked questions

Can I receive cases and sell bottles?

Yes. Choose Case (12) on the purchase line; stock is added in bottles.

Where do I enter the lot number and best-before date?

On each purchase line, in Lot Number and the MFG / EXP date fields. They appear when Enable Lot number and Enable Product Expiry are on.

Can the cashier pick the lot when selling?

Yes. With lots on, the POS line shows a Lot & Expiry choice.

How do I see beer that is going out of date?

Reports › Stock Expiry Report and Reports › Lot Report list stock by lot with its expiry date, filtered by location and category.

How do I pay distributors later?

Save the purchase with nothing or part paid and a pay term. Pay later with Add payment on the purchase or Pay on the supplier.