> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bumara.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Transfers

> Moving stock between your locations, with or without an in-transit stage.

A transfer moves stock from one of your locations to another. Nothing is created or destroyed — the
quantity leaves the source and arrives at the destination.

## When to use one

* Restocking a shop from a warehouse
* Moving goods between branches
* Loading a delivery vehicle
* Returning unsold stock to a central store

If stock is genuinely leaving your business — sold, written off, returned to a supplier — that is
an [adjustment](/inventory/adjustments), not a transfer.

## Two ways to transfer

### Complete in one step

Use this when the move is immediate — carrying stock between rooms, or between two shops on the
same trip.

Stock leaves the source and arrives at the destination in a single action.

### Ship, then receive

Use this when the goods are in transit for a meaningful period — a lorry between towns, an
overnight delivery.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Ship">
    Stock is deducted from the source. It is now in transit.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The goods travel">
    They are neither at the source nor at the destination. The transfer sits **In transit**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Receive">
    Stock is added at the destination when it physically arrives.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The in-transit stage is worth using whenever goods spend real time on the road. It tells you what
has left but not yet arrived — which is exactly what you need to know when something goes missing.

## Creating a transfer

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Inventory, then Transfers">
    Choose **New transfer**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the source and destination">
    They must be different locations.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add your lines">
    Item, quantity and unit for each.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a reference">
    A delivery note number, a vehicle registration, a driver's name — whatever helps you trace it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save as draft">
    Nothing has moved yet.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check it against what is physically going">
    Right items, right quantities.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Ship or complete">
    **Ship** if the goods will be in transit. **Complete** if the move is immediate.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Receiving

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the transfer">
    From Inventory → Transfers, filtered to In transit.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check what actually arrived">
    Against the transfer lines. Count it — do not assume.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Receive">
    Stock is added at the destination.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Deal with any shortfall separately">
    See below.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Transfer statuses

| Status         | Meaning                   | Stock position           |
| -------------- | ------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| **Draft**      | Being prepared            | Unchanged                |
| **In transit** | Shipped, not yet received | Deducted from source     |
| **Received**   | Complete                  | Added at destination     |
| **Void**       | Reversed                  | Returned to where it was |

## If something is missing on arrival

This is the situation the in-transit stage exists for.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Receive what actually arrived">
    Do not record a quantity you did not receive.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Investigate the difference">
    Was it short-loaded, mis-counted at the source, or lost in transit?
  </Step>

  <Step title="Record the shortfall as an adjustment">
    At whichever location the loss actually occurred, with the reason **loss** and a note
    explaining it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Follow it up">
    A pattern of shortfalls on a particular route or with a particular driver is worth knowing about.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Voiding

| Situation      | Effect of voiding                        |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| **In transit** | Stock returns to the source              |
| **Received**   | Movements at both locations are reversed |

Only an administrator can void, and a reason is required. The original transfer stays visible.

<Warning>
  Voiding a received transfer reverses stock at both ends. If some of the goods have already been
  sold from the destination, this will produce a negative balance. Adjust rather than void in that
  situation.
</Warning>

## What Bumara checks

| Check                         | Behaviour                                   |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Source and destination differ | A transfer to the same location is rejected |
| At least one line             | An empty transfer is rejected               |
| Source has enough stock       | Blocked if shipping would go negative       |
| Items are active              | Archived items cannot be transferred        |

## Good practice

* **Ship and receive separately** when goods are genuinely in transit. The visibility is the point.
* **Count on arrival.** Every time. This is where discrepancies are caught cheaply.
* **Reference the physical paperwork.** Delivery note number, vehicle, driver.
* **Review what is in transit weekly.** A transfer shipped three weeks ago and never received means
  either the stock or the record has gone astray.
* **Receive promptly.** Stock sitting in transit is stock nobody can sell.

## Reviewing transfers

| Watch for                                              | What it may indicate                                   |
| ------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| Long-standing in-transit transfers                     | Never received, or lost                                |
| Frequent shortfalls on a route                         | Loss in transit worth investigating                    |
| Transfers voided soon after posting                    | Errors at the point of entry                           |
| Stock constantly moving between the same two locations | Ordering or allocation is happening at the wrong place |

<Note>
  Related: [Adjustments](/inventory/adjustments) and [Stock counts](/inventory/stock-counts).
</Note>