Table of contents:
Introduction
Based on feedback and requests from our merchants, the Product Team has enhanced the "Stock Transfer" feature to include a request-and-confirm-receive function. This allows outlet staff to easily request additional inventory and confirm receipt before updating the stock count, streamlining inventory management and improving stock control.
This article will provide a comprehensive explanation of how the stock request and transfer function works.
Benefits
The enhanced feature allows:
Outlet staff to request more inventory from the warehouse or other stores
Outlet staff accept incoming inventory transfers that will automatically update their outlet's inventory count
Operation Managers (from the warehouse) to view all low-stock inventories and make transfers to or between the outlets
How to setup
📌 Note: The enhanced feature is exclusively accessible to merchants using Chain Store Management and a POS version of 20231220 or later.
To easily determine where each stock request originates from, each store can establish its own unique "Stock Request Number Prefix" on the QashierHQ portal.
Go to the QashierHQ portal, select the Gear icon on the top right of the page, then select "Inventory Management".
At the "Stock Request Number Prefix", the merchant can input a unique prefix for each store (orange box).
The prefix will appear before the stock request number:
📌 Note:
To help the users easily identify the origin of stock requests, it is recommended that they set up the "Stock Request Number Prefix."
This prefix can be up to 10 characters long and will streamline the process of tracking and managing stock requests.
The stock request number is assigned in a sequential order and is shared across the client's account.
E.g. If Store A sends the first request, it will be 00001 and when Store B sends a request subsequently, it will be 00002.
How to use
📌 Note: There are three main flows to the enhanced Stock Transfer feature:
Flow 1: Stock Request > Accept > Transfer > Received
The stock request flow will always begin from the POS as it is meant for the outlet staff to request more inventory.
📌 Note: If the terminal PIN has been set up, the user must enter the terminal PIN to create new stock requests or make edits to existing ones.
However, if the terminal PIN has not been set up, the user can access the stock request page directly on the POS without any additional authentication.
How to create a new Stock Request?
Step 1: On the POS, select "Inventory Management".
Step 2: Select "Stock Request", then select "+ New Request".
💡 Tip: Users can search for an item via the item name, barcode, or SKU number instead of manually scrolling down the list.
📌 Note: If the user has the "Hide Inventory Count in Inventory Management Page on POS" setting enabled, the "In Stock" column will be hidden from the user's view.
The image below shows what the stock request form would look like on the POS:
📌
Request stock from - users can choose the store that they would like to request the stock from
By default, the store from the most recent request will be chosen.
Request delivery date - users can choose the delivery date for the stock to be delivered to their store
By default, the delivery date will be the next day and users can only select 1 date.
Duplicate stock quantities from previous requests - users can choose to duplicate items and stock quantities from previous requests
If the user has input the order quantity in the inventory list and then decides to duplicate stock quantities from previous requests, any order quantity that has already been input into the inventory list will be overridden, even if the product is not in the previous request.
When necessary, users should first duplicate the stock quantities from previous requests before adding any new items to the request form.
If the product from the previous request has been deleted, it will not be duplicated in the new request.
By default, all low-stock items will be displayed on the top, and once an item has "Order Qty" filled in, the item will also move to the top of the list.
Step 3: Input the quantity of the items that you would like to request under the "Order Qty" column.
Step 4: Select "Submit" to submit the stock request.
Once the request has been submitted successfully, the user will be able to view the request from the panel on the left.
How to accept a stock request on QashierHQ portal?
Step 1: Go to QashierHQ portal > Inventory Management.
📌 Note: If any pending stock requests need to be approved by the HQ user, a notification badge will appear on the "Stock Request and Transfers" button.
Step 2: To view the stock requests for this store, select "Stock Request and Transfers".
Step 3: Under the "Stock Requests" tab, select the stock request that you would like to review.
The image below shows what the stock request form would look like on QashierHQ portal:
📌
i. The HQ user can edit the delivery date to a new preferred delivery date.
ii. The "Send Qty" field shows the amount this store confirms they will send to the destination store. This field can be edited to be more or less than the ordered quantity. By default, it will display the ordered quantity by the destination store.
However, if the "Send Qty" value is more than the "Source Stock" value, the HQ user will not be able to proceed with accepting the stock request.
If the HQ user does not have sufficient stock that the destination store has requested, they must input 0 in the "Send Qty" field; the field does not allow negative values.
iii. The HQ user can include additional products, regardless of whether or not the destination store has requested them on the stock request form.
iv. The HQ user can either reject or accept the stock request. However, the HQ user must accept the stock request so that the requesting store can verify the receipt of the requested stocks.
How will the changes to the stock request be displayed on the POS and QashierHQ portal?
The POS user can only make changes to the request before it is accepted/rejected by the HQ user.
If the POS user makes changes to the stock request, it will override the original information.
Once the HQ user makes changes to and accepts the request, the POS will automatically update to reflect these changes. At this point, the POS user will only have the option to mark the request as received.
💡Tip: The HQ user can still make changes to the stock request form (e.g. Updating the "Send Qty", adding more products to the stock request form, changing the delivery date, etc.) before the POS user marks the request as received.
For example:
The POS user made a stock request for 1 x Qashier Soundbox to be delivered on 27 December 2023. However, the HQ user is unable to fulfill the delivery on the requested date and changed the delivery date to 28 December 2023. At the same time, the HQ user has also decided to deliver 2 x Qashier Soundbox instead of 1.
Stock request form on QashierHQ showing the updated delivery date and "Send Qty"
Stock request form on POS showing the updated delivery date and "Accepted Qty"
How to mark the stock request as received on the POS?
When the stock request form's delivery date arrives, the "Inventory Management" button on the main page of the POS system will display a notification badge. This badge will inform the store how many stock requests are scheduled to arrive on that particular day:
To mark a stock request as received, follow the steps below:
Step 1: On the POS, select "Inventory Management", then select "Stock Request".
Step 2: Select the request with the status "Arriving Today", then select "Mark as received".
There are 2 ways that the POS user can mark the request as received:
Received with exact quantities - all quantities confirmed by the HQ user (under "Accepted Qty") are delivered accurately
By selecting this option, the inventory count on the destination store will be updated to what was listed in the "Accepted Qty" section; and the same amount will be deducted from the source store
Received with discrepancy (edit and accept) - some of the stocks received may be incorrect e.g. More or less than what was expected
By selecting this option, the user will need to input any differences in the received quantity e.g. If the expected receive quantity is 2 but the POS user received only 1, then the POS user will input 1
The quantity of stock added to the destination store and deducted from the source store will be based on the quantity input at this point i.e. 1 instead of the expected 2
❗️Warning: The POS user must double-check and accurately enter the number of stocks they have received because once the request is marked as received, they cannot make any modifications.
Flow 2: Stock Transfer initiated by HQ > Received
HQ users can also initiate a transfer of stocks to another store without needing a request from the destination store.
Step 1: Go to QashierHQ portal > Inventory Management.
Step 2: Select "Stock Request and Transfers".
Step 3: Select "Transfer Stock" and ensure the following mandatory fields are being selected:
Source Store - it will always reflect the current selected store and cannot be edited
Destination store - only active main stores will be displayed (excluding the current selected store)
Delivery Date - preferred delivery date for the delivery of stocks
Step 4: Once the mandatory fields in Step 3 have been selected, the HQ user will be prompted to add the products to be transferred to the destination store:
Add products - HQ users can choose to manually select the products to be added to the Transfer Stock list, or by searching for the product via its product name, barcode, or SKU number
Quick add low stock products at destination store - this quick-add option will add all the products that fall below the low-stock threshold set at the destination store
Send Qty - HQ users will be required to input the quantity of stocks to be sent to the destination store
📌 Note: The HQ user will not be able to input a "Send Qty" value that is greater than the current "Source Stock" value.
Once the product information has been entered, the HQ user should click on the "Confirm" button to start the process of transferring the stock to the selected destination store.
After initiating the transfer of stocks to the selected store, the HQ user will be able to see that the request's status has been updated to "Initiated by XXXX", where XXXX represents the store name that initiated the stock transfer:
How to mark the store transfer request as received on the POS?
To mark the store transfer request as received on the POS, you can follow the same steps as marking a stock request as received. Please refer to the instructions provided here.
Flow 3: Stock Transfer immediately initiated by HQ
📌 Note: This function can only be done on the QashierHQ portal.
Flows 1 and 2 are meant for requests or transfers that have a longer delivery timeline.
Flow 3 is identical to our previous Stock Transfer feature and is designed for HQ users who need to make immediate transfers between stores.
To initiate a stock transfer from the HQ to the store immediately, follow the steps outlined below.
Step 1: Go to QashierHQ portal > Inventory Management.
Step 2: Select "Stock Request and Transfers".
Step 3: Select "Transfer Stock" and ensure the following mandatory fields are being selected:
Source Store - it will always reflect the current selected store and cannot be edited
Destination store - only active main stores will be displayed (excluding the current selected store)
Delivery Date - for immediate transfers, the HQ user should select "Immediately (Update stocks instantly)"
📌 Note:
If the HQ needs to transfer stocks to the outlet right away and wants the staff to check and receive the stock on the POS, the HQ user should set the delivery date as the current date.
If there is no need for the outlet staff to receive the stock after HQ has initiated an immediate transfer, the HQ user should choose the "Immediately (Update stocks instantly)" option.
Step 4: Once the mandatory fields in Step 3 have been selected, the HQ user will be prompted to add the products to be transferred to the destination store:
Add products - HQ users can choose to manually select the products to be added to the Transfer Stock list, or by searching for the product via its product name, barcode, or SKU number
Quick add low stock products at destination store - this quick-add option will add all the products that fall below the low-stock threshold set at the destination store
Send Qty - HQ users will be required to input the quantity of stocks to be sent to the destination store
📌 Note: The HQ user will not be able to input a "Send Qty" value that is greater than the current "Source Stock" value.
Once the product information has been entered, the HQ user should click on the "Confirm" button to immediately transfer the stocks to the selected destination store.
📌 Note: This function does not require the POS user to mark the stocks as received. The inventory will be immediately updated on both source and destination stores.
After the stocks have been immediately transferred to the selected destination store, the HQ user will be able to see that the transfer status has been updated to "Manual", which indicates that the stock transfer process was done manually by the HQ user:
Similarly, on the POS, the status will reflect as "Manual Transfer". As this is not a request made by the POS user, the "Ordered Qty" column will reflect as "-", whereas the "Received Qty" will reflect the number of stocks that the HQ user has transferred to the destination store:
Stock Request Statuses Definition
Status | Which platform is the status showing up on? | Definition |
Pending | POS | POS user creates a new request |
Cancelled | POS, QashierHQ portal | POS user cancels request before the request is accepted,
OR
HQ user cancels requests after accepting the request |
Rejected | POS, QashierHQ portal | HQ user rejects requests before accepting the request |
Request accepted | POS, QashierHQ portal | HQ user accepts request |
Arriving today | POS | Delivery date = current date (on POS) |
Due today | QashierHQ portal | Delivery date = current date (on QashierHQ portal) |
Overdue | POS, QashierHQ portal | The delivery date is before the current date and the status is not received/completed For example, the delivery date is 20/12/2023 and the request has not been received at the destination store as of today (28/12/2023). The request on both the POS and QashierHQ portal will be displayed as "Overdue". |
Received | POS | POS user marks the request as received |
Completed | QashierHQ portal | POS user marks the request as received |
Manual | QashierHQ portal | HQ creates an immediate transfer of stocks |
Manual Transfer | POS | HQ creates an immediate transfer of stocks |
Initiated by storeName | POS, QashierHQ portal | HQ creates a transfer of stocks for a future date |
FAQ
What happens if multiple outlets are requesting the same product in the same quantity?
If this situation arises, the HQ user responsible for accepting the request should exercise caution to avoid making unrealistic promises to the stores. Instead, they should collaborate with the outlet staff to determine the order in which the products will be delivered to each outlet.
What if I have received defective goods from the HQ?
The POS user should mark the stock request as "received with the correct quantities". Afterward, they should promptly notify the headquarters (HQ) about the number of defective goods found, so that appropriate actions can be taken.