Mifumo

Inventory

Stock products, warehouses, adjustments, transfers and stock counts with a barcode scanner, landed cost on imports, purchase and sales orders, the point of sale till, and stock reports.

Getting started

Inventory comes with the Commerce and Professional plans. On other plans your account owner adds it from Settings, then Modules. Stock is valued at FIFO cost: the oldest cost in stock goes out first.

  1. Open Settings, then Warehouses under Other accounting settings. Add each store that holds stock and tick Default on the main one.
  2. Open Settings, then Products and services. For each product you keep in stock, set Type to Product and tick Track stock. Add a Unit, a Reorder level and a Barcode if it has one.
  3. Record what is on the shelf today. Open Inventory, then Adjustments and transfers, press New adjustment and use the reason Opening stock.
  4. From now on, supplier bills (or goods received notes) add stock, and approved invoices take it out.
  5. If you sell over the counter, open Point of sale, then Tills, and set up your first till.

To enter stock documents your role needs to be able to record documents. Posting adjustments, approving counts and taking returns at the till need someone who can approve.

How to

Add a stock product

  1. Open Settings, then Products and services, and use Add a product or service.
  2. Type the Name and choose Product as the Type.
  3. Tick Track stock. Bills then add to Inventory and invoices take stock out at FIFO cost to the Cost of goods sold GL.
  4. Fill in Unit (for example pcs), Selling price, Purchase cost and VAT.
  5. Set a Reorder level so the product shows on the reorder list when it runs low.
  6. Scan or type the Barcode. If the product has none, tick the box to make one for labels.
  7. Under Pack sizes, add inner packs, cartons or pallets with Units in it. Scanning a pack's barcode counts all its units.
  8. Press the + button (Add).

To add many products at once, press Import on the Products and services page and upload a spreadsheet. A row with a code (or name) already in the list updates that item.

Add a warehouse

  1. Open Settings, then Warehouses.
  2. Open Add a warehouse and type a Code, a Name and a Location.
  3. Press the + button.
  4. To change one, press Edit on its row. Tick Default for the store used when a document leaves the warehouse blank, or untick Active to stop using it.

Check stock on hand

  1. Open Inventory, then Stock on hand.
  2. Pick a Warehouse or leave All warehouses, then search by name, code, or scan a barcode. Press Show.
  3. Each row shows On hand, Average cost, Value and Reorder at. Products at or below their reorder level show Reorder.
  4. When sales orders hold stock, you also see Reserved and Free to sell.
  5. Click a product to open its stock card: every movement, the quantity in each warehouse, its batches with expiry dates, and Export CSV.

If you scan a supplier's barcode that no product has yet, Mifumo offers to link it. Choose the Product, set Units one scan counts (24 for a carton of 24) and press Link barcode.

Adjust stock or write it off

  1. Open Inventory, then Adjustments and transfers, and press New adjustment.
  2. Choose the Date, the Warehouse and a Reason: Opening stock, Found stock, Damaged, Expired, Theft or loss, Samples given out, Used internally or Other.
  3. Check Other side of the entry. Write-offs usually go to 5120 Stock count differences; opening stock goes to retained earnings or the opening balance account.
  4. Add a line per product. Choose Out (reduce) or In (add) and type the Quantity.
  5. For stock coming in, type a Unit cost or leave it blank to use the current cost. Stock going out is valued at FIFO cost.
  6. To release one exact batch (for example an expired carton), scan or type its code in Batch (stock out).
  7. Press Approve and post. If you cannot approve, press Save as draft and someone who can approve posts it.

To give out marketing samples, open Sales, then Samples, and press Issue sample. The cost posts to the samples expense account set in Samples settings; the form does not ask for it. Choose the customer under Given to (customer), or type a name under Or name, then press Dispatch note on the sample to print a note for the receiver to sign.

Move stock between warehouses

  1. Open Inventory, then Stock on hand, and press Transfer.
  2. Choose From warehouse and To warehouse. Add the Driver and Vehicle if the stock travels.
  3. Add the products and quantities.
  4. Press Send (in transit) if the stock is on the road. Press Move now if it is already at the other warehouse.
  5. Print the Transfer note from the transfer page to go with the driver.
  6. When it arrives, open the transfer and type what came under Arrived. If anything is short, choose why.
  7. Press Receive into the warehouse. Anything short is written off to 5120 Stock count differences at its cost.

While a transfer is in transit, the stock is in neither warehouse but still counts in your stock value. To stop it, use Cancel this transfer and the stock goes back.

Count stock

  1. Open Inventory, then Stock reports, and go to Start a stock count.
  2. Choose the Warehouse and Count date, and give it a name such as "September month-end".
  3. Under Products, pick a full count or Selected products only. Tick Blind count to hide system quantities from the counter.
  4. Press Start count and freeze quantities. Sales after this point do not show as shortages.
  5. Type each Counted figure, or scan barcodes into Scan barcode or batch code. Tick Each scan adds one sealed carton to count cartons.
  6. Enter 0 for an empty shelf, or tick Exclude. Every line with a difference needs a Reason.
  7. Press Save as you go, then Submit for approval.
  8. Someone else who can approve opens the count and presses Approve and post differences, or ticks lines and uses Send ticked lines for recount. A comment is needed to reject or send back.

Gains and losses post at FIFO cost against 5120 Stock count differences.

Count with the phone scanner app

  1. Open Inventory, then Stock on hand, and press Scanner app.
  2. Install the Mifumo app on Android or iPhone, then press Pair a phone.
  3. In the app, tap Pair with Mifumo and point the camera at the code. With no camera, type the address and code shown.
  4. Start a stock count here or in the app, then scan each item on the shelf. A carton barcode counts a full carton. The Now counting card shows the last product in what was scanned (CARTON ×12, PCS); press Type a number to enter whole cartons and loose pieces.
  5. Finish the count in the app. A product with a difference needs a reason, and a photo when it is damaged or expired. Someone else who can approve reviews it under Stock counts, where each line links its Evidence photos.

The app stays on an open count until it is sent: going back asks to pause, and the app reopens on the count. Scans made with no signal wait on the phone and are sent when it reconnects. Sending twice never counts twice. Press Switch off next to a phone to remove it.

  1. Open Inventory, then Stock on hand, and press Barcode labels.
  2. Find products by name, code or barcode and type how many labels you need, or press Fill from stock on hand.
  3. Choose Units only, Packs only or Units and packs, the Label size, and whether to Show selling price or Show product code.
  4. On a sheet you already used, set Start at label to the first empty one.
  5. Press Print labels.

Label the packs, not every unit. Products with no barcode get one when you press Make barcodes.

Bring in an import with landed cost

  1. Open Inventory, then Shipments and landed cost, and press + New shipment at the top.
  2. Type the Shipment no. (use the supplier invoice number), choose the Supplier and press Create shipment.
  3. Post the supplier's bill for the goods. On each product line, choose this shipment under Shipment.
  4. Post each cost of getting the goods here (freight, insurance, duty, port, clearing, transport) as a bill with the same shipment on the line.
  5. Open the shipment and press Edit CBM, weight and sharing to type CBM and weight from the packing list and choose how each cost is shared: Value, CBM, Weight or Quantity.
  6. Check the Landed unit cost of each product.
  7. Under Receive into stock, choose the warehouse and date, then press Receive into stock.

Until it is received, everything sits in Stock in transit. A cost posted after receipt is added to the stock still on hand, and the part for units already sold goes to cost of goods sold. Undo receipt works only while none of the stock has been sold or moved.

Order from a supplier and receive the goods

  1. Open Purchases, then Purchase orders, and press Raise an order.
  2. Choose the supplier, Order date, Expected delivery and Deliver to warehouse. Add lines with Qty and Unit cost.
  3. Press Approve order, or Submit for approval if your company needs an approver for orders.
  4. Print it with Print or PDF and press Mark as sent to supplier.
  5. When goods arrive, open the order and press Receive goods. Type Received now for each line, the Supplier's delivery note no., and a Batch or lot no. and Expiry date where needed.
  6. Press Receive into stock. Stock goes into the warehouse at the order price.
  7. When the supplier's invoice comes, press Make the bill from what was received.

To receive with the phone instead, open Receive a delivery in the Mifumo app, pick the order and scan each carton. Barcodes that carry a batch and expiry fill them in; for others, type them. Expired stock is refused, and stock expiring sooner than the days set under Inventory, then Scanner app, needs a reason. Press Finish receiving and the goods received note is made and received into stock.

The bill page shows Order, goods received and bill side by side. Each line says Matches, Price or VAT differs from the order, or More than received. Check any line that is not a match before paying. If the rest of an order is not coming, use Close: the rest isn't coming.

Take a sales order and deliver it

  1. Open Sales, then Sales orders, and press New sales order. You can also press Make sales order on a quote.
  2. Choose the customer, Deliver from warehouse, Deliver by date and the lines.
  3. Press Save and confirm. A confirmed order holds the stock for that customer. A draft holds nothing.
  4. To send goods, open the order. Under Deliver now, check Send now for each line.
  5. Press Invoice and take out of stock, or Make the invoice as a draft to check it first.
  6. Whatever you could not send stays on back order. See the Back orders tab for what customers are still waiting for and what you Can send now.

If a customer takes the rest elsewhere, use Close order with a reason. Orders never touch your books; each delivery's invoice does.

Hand over goods with a despatch note

  1. Open Inventory, then Dispatch. Posted invoices with stock on them are listed.
  2. Open an invoice and check the quantities for this handover. Leave 0 for goods not going yet.
  3. Add who collected the goods under Released to / notes, for example the driver and vehicle.
  4. Press Print despatch note for signing, then Post despatch.

Stock already left the books with the invoice. The despatch only records that the goods were handed over. What is left gets its own despatch number.

To pick with the phone instead, open Dispatch goods in the Mifumo app and choose the despatch. Each product lists the batches the invoice took, the one that expires first on top. Scan each carton as it goes on the vehicle; the app warns when you pick a later batch while an earlier one is still waiting, and refuses an expired batch. Press Finish dispatch to post it. Anything you did not pick stays on a new despatch for the next trip.

Every document that sends stock out to someone has a Dispatch note button that prints a page for the receiver to sign:

Till sales use the till receipt. Adjustments, stock counts, write-offs and production stay inside the business, so they have no dispatch note.

Sell at the till and cash up

  1. Open Point of sale, then Till. Type the Opening float you counted into the drawer and press Open shift.
  2. Scan a barcode or type a name or code. Change Qty or give a discount with Off %.
  3. Press Charge (or F2). Type the cash received or the amount paid into M-Pesa, another mobile money account or card. You can split one sale across several.
  4. Print the receipt and press Next customer. Use Hold sale and Recall to serve someone else in between.
  5. For a return, press Return and scan the receipt barcode. Only a supervisor takes returns.
  6. At the end of the shift, press Cash up, count the drawer, type Cash counted and add a note for any difference.
  7. Press Close shift and print Z report. The shift's takings go into the books, one journal entry per day.

Press Print X report to check the shift before closing it. A closed shift cannot be reopened. If the shop prints receipts on its own EFD machine, type the EFD receipt number on the sale under Till sales.

Run stock and sales reports

  1. Open Inventory, then Stock reports, and choose Valuation (quantity and FIFO value at a date), Aging (how long stock has been held) or Reorder & slow movers.
  2. Open Stock received and dispatched for the opening, received, dispatched and closing figures per product. Choose Qty & Value, Qty only or Value only.
  3. Open Sales, then Sales report, to see sales, cost of goods, gross profit and margin by product, customer, salesperson or city.
  4. Open Point of sale, then Shifts and Z reports, for each shift's takings and over or short.

Most reports have Export CSV and Print.

Settings

Questions

Why does the stock value differ from the Inventory account?

The Stock on hand page compares the FIFO value with the Inventory account. A difference usually means a journal was posted straight to the Inventory account instead of through a bill, invoice or adjustment.

Why can't I post a stock adjustment?

Posting needs someone who can approve. Save it as a draft and they post it with Approve and post.

Why can't I approve my own stock count?

The person who counted cannot approve the same count. Someone else who can approve must post the differences.

Why can't I void a goods received note?

Voiding takes the stock back out. That is not possible once any of it has been billed, sold or moved.

Why does a cashier see "A supervisor takes returns"?

Returns and price changes at the till need someone who can approve. Cashiers can give a discount up to the till's limit instead.

Does a sales order or purchase order post to my books?

No. A purchase order posts nothing until goods are received. A sales order posts nothing until a delivery is invoiced.

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