Delivery Notes (Dispatches)

What it is and what it's for

Every Dispatch states the Location (warehouse) the goods leave from, who it's addressed to (customer, vendor or related party) and the detail of items shipped. It's an inventory transaction: as soon as it's saved, it subtracts the dispatched quantity from that location's available stock.

It works as the link between two documents: on one side, the source document that authorized the movement (a Sales Order, a Vendor Return Authorization, a Location Transfer Request or a Project); on the other, the document that ultimately invoices or formalizes that shipment (a Credit or Cash Invoice, a Remission Guide, or the Return Reception that closes out a transfer). The Dispatch keeps track of how much of each source-document line has already been dispatched, so you can't over-dispatch it.

Screens in this area

How to create a dispatch step by step

1. Generate it from its source document whenever one exists. From the Sales Order, the Vendor Return Authorization, the Location Transfer Request or the corresponding Project, use the dispatch option: AdmCloud opens a new dispatch already filled in with the customer/related party, the location and the pending lines with the quantity still owed. If there's no source document, open the list and click New.
2. Review the general data. The date must fall inside an open Inventory period; the Location is required and must belong to the same subsidiary as the document. If your company uses subsidiaries, set that too.
3. Add or confirm the items with their quantity and unit of measure. If your company has any of the selection helpers enabled (items pending from an order, multiple-item selection, or available serials), you can use them to fill the table faster instead of typing each item by hand. If every line uses the same Bin, type the value on the first line and click the blue arrow in that column header to copy it down to the rest of the detail. The bin only goes to lines whose item uses bins; if a line is left out, AdmCloud tells you.
4. Set the shipping address on its tab if it differs from the customer's default address, and attach supporting files if you need to.
5. Save. The dispatch gets numbered automatically and immediately deducts stock from the location. From here you can invoice it, mark it as picked/packed/shipped (if your company uses that workflow), or generate the Remission Guide when applicable.

Warehouse tracking: Picked, Packed and Shipped

If your company has the add-on Warehouse (WMS) module active, each dispatch can move through a three-step tracking flow before it's considered fully shipped, visible both as a quick filter on the list and on the document's Details:

• Picked: warehouse staff has physically pulled the items.
• Packed: the items are packed and ready to go out.
• Shipped: the dispatch left the warehouse; once marked, the progress buttons no longer show for that document.

This tracking is informational: it doesn't block you from invoicing or printing the dispatch while it moves through these states.

Related documents

A Dispatch is almost always connected to other documents, both before and after it:

• From a Sales Order: pulls in the quantities still pending dispatch on that order; you can't dispatch more than what's still pending.
• From a Vendor Return Authorization: records the outbound movement of the items you're physically returning to the vendor.
• From a Location Transfer Request: the source location is locked (not editable) and must match the request's location; the debit account is automatically fixed to the in-transit inventory account.
• From a Project: dispatches materials still owed to the job or project.
• To a Credit or Cash Invoice: from the dispatch's Details you can generate the matching invoice directly, if your plan has Sales Orders enabled.
• To a Remission Guide: if your company operates in Ecuador, or has the Remission /Transport Guides feature enabled, you can issue it directly from the dispatch.
• To a Return Reception: when the dispatch was generated from a Location Transfer Request, you can record that merchandise's reception at the destination location.

Key fields

Validations on save

• You must add at least one item to the dispatch.
• The number of file attachments can't exceed your plan's maximum.
• Subsidiary is required if your plan has subsidiaries enabled, and it must be active (not disabled or read-only).
• The Location must belong to the same subsidiary as the dispatch.
• The customer/related party and any addresses set can't be voided.
• The Inventory period matching the document's date must be open.
• You can't dispatch more than what's pending on the source document (Sales Order, Return Authorization or Transfer Request) for that item.
• A source document can't be set on both the header and a line with a different source at the same time; the system rejects saving if it detects that combination.
• If the dispatch comes from a Location Transfer Request, the Location must exactly match the request's location.
• The document number can't change when editing.

Reports

From the Reports menu on the list you can generate a Summary Report (one row per dispatch) or a Detailed Report (one row per item line), filterable by date, subsidiary, location, department, item class, division, customer(s), transaction type and whether voided documents are included, printable in portrait or landscape.

Availability, permissions and conditions

• Access is controlled with the "Dispatches" permission, with separate levels for browse, add, edit, delete and void; reprinting an already-printed dispatch also requires the "Dispatches, Reprint" privilege.
• This feature requires your plan to have the Inventory module active (on the Enterprise plan, it's turned on/off as an add-on module).
• The Picked/Packed/Shipped tracking and the status quick-views on the list only show up if your company has the add-on Warehouse (WMS) module active.
• The Trip field only shows if your company has the Transportation Management (TMS) module active.
• The buttons to generate a Credit or Cash Invoice require your plan to have Sales Orders enabled.
• The button to issue a Remission Guide shows up automatically if your company operates in Ecuador, or if AdmCloud enabled the Remission/Transport Guides feature for your company.
• The item-selection helpers (pending from an order, multiple-item selection, available serials) depend on features AdmCloud enables per company; if you don't see them, contact support.
• The Dispatch Instructions column/field depends on a feature AdmCloud enables per company.

Tips and common mistakes