Stock & Expenses

The Sales permission group covers inventory and day-to-day operating costs. Laboratories use these modules to track reagent consumption, control wastage, and record expenses that feed financial reports.

Screen	Route	Permission module
Stock	/admin/stock	stock
Daily Expense	/admin/daily-expense	expenses
Consumption	Workflow integration	consumption

Stock management

Track consumables — reagents, tubes, calibrators, and general supplies.

flowchart TB
    PO[Purchase / opening balance] --> ST[Stock item]
    ST --> CON[Consumption entry]
    CON --> INV[Invoice / test volume optional]
    ST --> LOW[Low stock alert]
    LOW --> PO

Stock item fields

Field	Description
Item name & SKU	Unique identification
Category	Reagent, consumable, equipment
Unit of measure	Bottles, boxes, tests
Reorder level	Triggers low-stock visibility
Current quantity	Updated by receipts and consumption
Unit cost	For margin analysis
Expiry date	Lot tracking where applicable

Stock transactions

Transaction	Permission	Effect
Receive stock	stock.create	Increases quantity
Adjust quantity	stock.edit	Corrections after physical count
Record consumption	consumption.create	Decreases quantity
Retire item	stock.delete	Soft-delete inactive SKUs

Monthly physical count

Reconcile system quantities with shelf counts before closing financial reports. Post adjustments through stock edit with a note.

Consumption tracking

The consumption module links usage to operational activity:

• Manual consumption entries per shift
• Optional association with test volume for cost-per-test analysis
• Department-level allocation where configured

flowchart LR
    TEST[Test performed] --> CON[Consumption optional link]
    CON --> ST[Stock decrement]
    ST --> EXP[Expense / COGS reporting]

Lab expenses (daily expense)

Daily Expense (/admin/daily-expense) records operating expenditures not captured through stock:

Category	Examples
Utilities	Electricity, gas, water
Facilities	Rent, cleaning
Transport	Courier, fuel
Office	Stationery, internet
Maintenance	Equipment service

Expense entry workflow

1. Open Admin → Daily Expense.
2. Select date and category.
3. Enter amount, payment method, and ledger account if integrated.
4. Attach reference (receipt number, vendor).
5. Save — flows to cash flow reports.

Permissions

Action	Code
View expenses	expenses.view
Log expense	expenses.create
Correct entry	expenses.edit
Remove erroneous row	expenses.delete

Separation of duties

Staff who approve vendor payments (vendor_payment) should not be sole owners of expense deletion without supervisor review.

Finance integration

Stock and expenses connect to the broader finance stack:

Module	Relationship
Ledgers	Expense categories map to ledger accounts
Cash management	Petty cash payouts
Vendor payment	Supplier settlements for bulk reorders
Daybook summary	Daily cash and expense rollup

Reporting impact

Report	Stock/expense data
Cash flow	Outflows from expenses
Financial summary	Operating cost components
Test performance	Optional cost-per-test when consumption linked

Role recommendations

Role	Permissions
Store keeper	stock.*, consumption.create
Accountant	expenses.*, ledgers.view
Lab manager	View all, edit thresholds
Technician	consumption.create only

Best practices

1. Standardize SKUs — Avoid duplicate items with slightly different names.
2. Lot and expiry — Critical for reagents with stability requirements.
3. Timely entry — Log expenses daily, not month-end batch.
4. Category discipline — Consistent categories improve cash flow charts.

Related documentation

• Ledgers
• Financial Reports
• Roles & Permissions — Sales group