Serial Numbers vs Expiry Dates

Owned by Julie Hanlon
Aug 28, 2020
2 min read

Question

What is the main difference between the two check boxes in Inventory Maintenance - Use Serial/Batch Nos. and Use Expiry Date? 

 

 

Answer

There are two main differences between the two check boxes (apart from the obvious, one is a traceable number and the other is a traceable date).

One, when receiving in items with only one box checked, the user will be prompted with only the relevant field.

Eg, if only Use Serial/Batch Nos is checked, only that field is required when entering quantities on the GRN.

If only the Use Expiry Dates box is checked, only that field is required when entering quantities on the GRN.

If both are checked, then both fields are available for data entry.  The serial number may be left blank, but not the Expiry Date. (Date fields can normally not ever be blank, hence why you might sometimes see the date 01/01/10001)

The other main difference is that when selling the item, the user will be prompted to select the serial item if it is serialised.  However, the user won't be prompted if the item is only expiry, and not serialised.

I.e. Adding a serialised item to the sales order entry lines will result in the popup, 'Serial Selection for ...'.  This form won't popup if the item is Use Expiry Dates and not Use Serial/Batch No.