Inventory and stock
What is a stock ledger? Format and example
Definition
Stock ledger: A stock ledger, or stock register, is a running record of every movement of each product into and out of stock, with the balance after each entry.
Also called: stock register, inventory ledger, stock movement register, item ledger, stock card
What a stock ledger shows
A stock ledger has one line for every movement of a product: goods received, sold, moved, used in production, returned, counted or written off. Each line shows what changed and the balance after it, so you can follow a product's stock day by day and answer questions like where 10 kg of cumin went last month. A useful ledger has these columns:
- Date and time
- Product and SKU
- What happened, with the document number, such as an invoice, purchase order or write-off note
- Batch and location
- Quantity in or out, and the balance after
- Value at cost
- Who recorded it, with a note
Stock ledger and GST records
Section 35 of the CGST Act requires every registered person to keep a true and correct account of the stock of goods, among other records. Rule 56 of the CGST Rules adds that registered businesses, other than those paying tax under section 10, the composition levy, must keep stock accounts showing the opening balance, receipts, supplies, goods lost, stolen, destroyed, written off or given away as gifts or free samples, and the balance of stock, including raw materials, finished goods, scrap and wastage. A stock ledger is the natural way to keep that account.
Keeping it accurate
Record movements when they happen, not at the end of the week. Never change or delete an old line: correct a mistake with a new adjustment and a note, so the history stays honest. Keep every product in one unit, and link each line to the document behind it. A stock summary, with opening stock, total in, total out and closing stock for a period, is built from the ledger.
Worked example
A month of sunflower oil at a distributor's godown
Sunflower oil 1 litre pouches, main godown, October. Opening balance 240. On 3 October, received on PO-00031, +600, balance 840. On 5 October, sold on INV-00412, −120, balance 720. On 8 October, transferred to the shop, −96, balance 624. On 12 October, written off on WO-00003 for leaking pouches, −6, balance 618. On 31 October, stock count, −2, balance 616. The ledger shows that 6 pouches were written off and 2 found missing at the month-end count, and when each happened.
In managemate
managemate keeps the stock ledger for you: every receipt, sale, transfer, count, adjustment, production run, return and write-off adds a line. Inventory's History tab shows each movement with its date and time, the product and SKU, what it was, such as Received from supplier, Sold or Transferred out, with its document number, the lot and location, the change, its value at cost, the balance after at that location and who recorded it, with any note. Filter by received, sold, transfers, counts and adjustments, production, returns or write-offs, search by product, code, lot, location, reference or note, and open the linked order or write-off. Lines cannot be edited; a mistake is put right with a new movement. The ledger cannot be exported to a spreadsheet.
Where this shows up in managemate
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