This is what happens in the video
Business Central lets you run structured inventory counts using physical inventory orders. You create the order, calculate lines per item or by filter, and split the work into recordings that your warehouse staff use for the actual counting.
Physical inventory orders only work on simple locations and on advanced locations that do not have the Directed Put-away and Pick checkmark set. They do not apply to locations with directed put-away and pick enabled.
You can create separate recordings for different parts of the inventory. A common approach is one recording for items with item tracking (serial and lot numbers) and one for the rest, since item tracking counts are more manual. You can also create recordings per bin, per shelf, or by any other filter, so you can hand out different documents to different employees.
What physical inventory orders are and where they apply
In Business Central, physical inventory orders give you a structured way to count your inventory. They are available for simple locations and for advanced locations without the Directed Put-away and Pick checkmark. If a location uses directed put-away and pick, physical inventory orders do not apply to it.
Creating a physical inventory order and calculating lines
Start from the Physical Inventory Order list and create a new order. You then calculate the lines for the location you want to count, for example your main location.
You can calculate lines per item, and you can apply filters such as an item filter to narrow down what gets counted. When you count items located on different bins, the order splits the lines so each bin gets its own line for the item.
Printing the physical inventory order overview
From the order, you can print the physical inventory order itself to see what the complete inventory should look like. This printout also shows serial number and lot number information for the items.
Keep in mind that this overview is not meant to be used for the actual counting. For that, you create recordings.
Creating recordings for the actual counting
Recordings are the documents you print and hand to your warehouse staff for counting. From the physical inventory order, you create recordings, and you can split the counting work into as many recordings as you need.
When you create a recording, you can filter on all the fields available on the physical inventory order lines. For example, you can filter on the Use Item Tracking field. This is useful when you want one recording for items with item tracking, which tends to be more manual and complex, and another recording for the remaining items.
For the second recording, you can create it without any filter and select the option to include only lines not already in recordings. This picks up the remaining lines that have not yet been assigned to a recording, so nothing is counted twice and nothing is left out.
Because you can filter freely, you can create recordings per bin, per shelf, or by any other criteria. This makes it easy to produce several different recordings and distribute them across multiple warehouse employees.
The counting process in the warehouse
Once a recording is created, you print it and hand it to a warehouse employee. They walk the inventory, count the items, and write down the actual quantity along with any serial or lot number information.
From the printed recording, you can see the items included, including those with item tracking. After counting, the actual quantities are entered back into the recording so the results can be registered.
Q&A
Do physical inventory orders work with directed put-away and pick locations?
No. Physical inventory orders only apply to simple locations and to advanced locations that do not have the Directed Put-away and Pick checkmark set.
How do I count items that have serial or lot numbers separately?
Create a separate recording and filter on the Use Item Tracking field. This gives you one recording for items with item tracking, which is more manual, and you can create another recording for the remaining items.
How do I avoid counting the same item twice across multiple recordings?
When you create a new recording, use the option to include only lines not already in recordings. It picks up only the remaining lines that have not been assigned to a recording yet.
Can I split a count across several warehouse employees?
Yes. You can create recordings per bin, per shelf, or by any other filter, then print each one and hand it to a different employee.
What is the difference between printing the physical inventory order and printing a recording?
The physical inventory order printout shows the complete expected inventory, including serial and lot number information, but it is not meant for the actual counting. The recording is the document you print and hand to staff to perform the count.