In this article the difference between real stock and virtual stock will be explained, and an explanatory example will be shown so that the differences between the two can be clearly understood.
Table of Contents
Actual Stock
The “Actual Stock” represents the stock, inventory or quantity of units that we have in our warehouse or warehouses at a given moment, for all the products of our catalog for which the stock management has been activated through the Product tab > Stock, and the checkbox “Control Stock” has been checked.
The “Actual Stock” units are modified with the delivery notes and invoices, both purchase and sales, increasing by as many units as are included in the delivery notes and purchase invoices, and decreasing by as many units as are included in the delivery notes and sales invoices.
In addition, when an invoice is generated from a delivery note, then the invoice does not contemplate the warehouse movements, since STEL Order takes into account that it was created from a delivery note, and therefore the delivery note was already in charge of registering such movements.
Therefore, an invoice will register the warehouse movements when it is created from scratch, or when it is created from a quotation or an order.
Virtual Stock
The “Virtual Stock” represents the stock, inventory or quantity of units that will be held in our warehouse in the near future, calculated on the basis of the “Actual Stock” at a given time, and purchase orders pending receipt and purchase orders pending shipment or delivery.
Since purchase orders do not evidence the delivery or receipt of goods, but rather the request for material from a supplier, which has not yet been received, or the request for material from a customer, which has not yet been delivered, it is for this reason that they do not affect “Actual Stock”, but do affect “Virtual Stock”.
Therefore, purchase orders increase the “Virtual Stock”, while sales orders decrease it. We remind you that all these stock changes due to orders pending delivery or receipt will only affect the “Virtual Stock”, and never the “Real Stock”.
Finally, if a pending order is finally marked as “Rejected”, then all the modifications to “Virtual Stock!” that it contemplated will be automatically reverted, and for the purposes of “Virtual Stock” it will be as if this order had never existed.
Example
If at any given time you have 20 units of a given product in stock, and you have no pending purchase or sales order, the stock of the product will be:
| STOCK REAL | STOCK VIRTUAL |
| 20 | 20 |
If we place a purchase order with a supplier for 50 units, the stock will be as follows:
| STOCK REAL | STOCK VIRTUAL |
| 20 | 70 ( = 20 + 50 ) |
If a customer then places a sales order with a value of 5 units, the stock will be as follows:
| STOCK REAL | STOCK VIRTUAL |
| 20 | 65 ( = 20 + 50 – 5 ) |
If we then make a delivery note to a customer for a value of 10 units, which proves that the goods have been delivered to the customer, the stock will be as follows:
| STOCK REAL | STOCK VIRTUAL |
| 10 ( = 20 – 10) | 55 ( = 10 + 50 – 5 ) |
If we then receive from our supplier the outstanding order for 50 units, which we prove by making a delivery note or a supplier invoice from this order, the stock will be as follows:
| STOCK REAL | STOCK VIRTUAL |
| 60 ( = 50 + 10 ) | 55 ( = 60 – 5 ) |
If we finally deliver to our customer the outstanding order for 5 units, which we credit by making a delivery note or a sales invoice from this order, the stock will be:
| STOCK REAL | STOCK VIRTUAL |
| 55 ( = 60 – 5 ) | 55 |
