Supplies Dispatch

What is it and what is it for?

Each Supplies Dispatch states which warehouse (Location) the items leave from, in what quantity, and optionally which Equipment (Fixed Asset) they're being used for. As soon as you save it, AdmCloud deducts each item's stock, validates that there's enough available, and posts the movement: it debits the maintenance expense account tied to the equipment or item, and credits the warehouse's inventory account.

You can generate it three ways: from scratch, from an already-authorized Dispatch Request (copying its location, equipment and the lines still pending delivery, and locking the Subsidiary field), or from a Sales Order (copying its subsidiary, location, department, division and item class). In either of the last two cases, the document stays linked to its source document so AdmCloud can track how much has already been dispatched against it.

Screens in this area

How to use it, step by step

1. Open "New" from the list, or click the Dispatch button from an already-authorized Dispatch Request's Details. The Subsidiary and Location are filled in with your session's defaults (or with the source request's/sales order's values, if you're coming from one); you can change them unless the document came from a request, in which case the Subsidiary stays locked.
2. Set the Equipment if the dispatch is for maintaining a specific Fixed Asset. If you set it on the header, every item line is automatically tied to that same equipment and you won't be able to assign a different one to any line.
3. Add the delivered items, with their quantity and unit of measure. While creating (not while editing) you see each item's available stock at the chosen Location, to avoid dispatching more than you have. 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. Enter the meter readings on the Readings tab if your company tracks its equipment's hours or mileage. For each piece of equipment on the dispatch lines, the tab shows a row for each active meter (the ones defined on the Meters tab of the Equipment record) with its last reading as a reference. Type the reading of the meters you measured and leave the others blank. Some equipment requires at least one reading before saving.
5. Attach files or add notes if you need to record extra details about the work done.
6. Save. The dispatch is numbered automatically, reduces inventory, and generates its accounting entry. If the dispatch came from a Dispatch Request or a Sales Order, those documents immediately update how much has been dispatched against them.

Key capabilities

• Record items physically leaving a warehouse, with automatic inventory deduction and expense posting.
• Link the dispatch to a specific Equipment (Fixed Asset), both on the header and per item line.
• Record, on the Readings tab, the reading of each of the equipment's meters at the time of dispatch (hour meter, odometer, etc.). The reading enters that meter's history with the dispatch's date, and if you edit, void or delete the dispatch, the history is updated along with it.
• Generate automatically from an authorized Dispatch Request or from a Sales Order, inheriting its data and tracking how much has already been delivered.
• Support Lots, Bins, serials and item attributes when the item or your plan requires them.
• Duplicate, void or delete an already-saved dispatch, depending on your permission level.
• Print the dispatch with the default template or a custom template.

Key fields

Validations when saving

• Subsidiary is required if your plan has subsidiaries enabled.
• Location is required, and must belong to the same subsidiary as the dispatch.
• You must add at least one item to the dispatch.
• The Inventory period covering the document's date must be open.
• There must be enough available stock of each item at the chosen Location; AdmCloud doesn't let inventory go negative unless your configuration allows it.
• If you set an Equipment on the header, no line can have a different equipment; lines with no equipment of their own automatically inherit the header's.
• If your company has the "Require Equipment When Dispatching Supplies In Detail" preference turned on, every item line must have an equipment set.
• Every item follows its own configuration: Bin, Lot, serials, unit of measure and attributes are required or optional depending on how that item is set up. Kit-type items cannot be dispatched.
• Readings cannot be negative, and each meter takes a single reading per dispatch. If the equipment has "Require Reading On Dispatches" turned on, when creating the dispatch you must enter at least one reading of its meters.
• Readings belong to equipment on the dispatch: you cannot record the reading of a meter of an equipment that is not on the lines. If your plan has subsidiaries enabled, the equipment can belong to any subsidiary, just like in the Equipment column of the lines (unlike the Readings screen). When creating a reading, the meter must also be active: an inactive meter no longer receives readings. When editing, a reading the dispatch already had can still be corrected even if its meter was made inactive afterwards.
• The equipment must exist and not be inactive.
• The document number cannot change when editing, and an already-voided dispatch cannot be edited.

Availability, permissions and conditions

• Access is controlled by the "Dispatches" permission, with separate levels to view, add, edit, delete and void. This is the same permission used by the general inventory dispatch (materials issued to production); it isn't exclusive to the maintenance area.
• This screen is available on any plan with Inventory enabled (from the Start plan upward), or on the Enterprise plan with the add-on Equipment Maintenance module active. If your plan has neither, the screen shows an "unavailable in this edition" notice.
• Generating the dispatch automatically from a Dispatch Request requires your company to have the add-on Equipment Maintenance module active (see the Dispatch Requests page).
• If your company turned on the Company Configuration preference "Require Equipment When Dispatching Supplies In Detail", the Equipment field becomes required on every item line, both here and on the Dispatch Request.

Tips and common pitfalls