Inventory¶

Last reviewed: 2026-03-31 · Nnamdi Status: Complete Route: /inventory

1. What is it?¶

Inventory is a catalogue of products and services the business sells. Adding items to Inventory means they can be selected by name on invoices and quotations (via "From Inventory") instead of being typed manually each time. For physical products, Finora also tracks stock quantities, flags low stock, and automatically posts Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) entries to the GL when items are sold.

2. How does it work in Finora?¶

2.1 The inventory list (`/inventory`)¶

Header actions: - Columns — toggle visible columns - + Add Product — opens the Add New Product panel

KPI summary cards: | Card | What it shows | |------|--------------| | Total Products | Count of all inventory items (products + services) | | Inventory Value | Total value of current stock (quantity × cost price) | | Low Stock Items | Count of items at or below the Low Stock Threshold | | Out of Stock | Count of items with zero remaining stock |

Search and filter: - Search bar: searches by name, SKU, or description - Type filter: All Types / Products / Services / Low Stock

2.2 Adding a new product or service¶

Click + Add Product. A panel slides in on the right:

Basic Information: | Field | Required | Notes | |-------|----------|-------| | Name | Yes | Displayed in the "From Inventory" picker on invoices/quotations | | SKU | No | Stock-keeping unit — internal product code | | Type | Yes | Product (physical, trackable stock) or Service (no stock tracking) | | Description | No | Optional detail — not shown on the invoice line |

Pricing: | Field | Required | Notes | |-------|----------|-------| | Unit Price (₦) | Yes | The selling price. Pre-filled when selecting from inventory on an invoice | | Cost Price (₦) | No | What the business paid to acquire it — used for COGS calculation |

How Cost Price affects accounting: - Cost Price increases the Inventory asset account on the Balance Sheet - When a product is sold on an invoice, Finora automatically moves the cost from Inventory to Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) — this is the COGS journal entry - Stock adjustments (damage, loss) also create entries that reduce the Inventory asset - If the cost price already includes shipping, customs, or packaging, do not record those separately as expenses — this would double-count the cost

Inventory: | Field | Notes | |-------|-------| | Initial Stock | Starting quantity when the product is first added | | Low Stock Threshold | When stock falls to or below this number, the item counts as Low Stock. Default: 10 |

Tax Classification: | Field | Notes | |-------|-------| | Tax Category | Per Nigeria Tax Act 2025. Governs the VAT rate applied when this item is sold. Defaults to "Unclassified" (7.5% VAT) |

Tax categories for goods (non-exhaustive): - Standard Goods / Goods Supply — 7.5% VAT - Educational Materials — 0% (exempt) - Medical & Pharmaceutical Products / Medical Equipment — 0% (exempt) - Basic Food Items / Agricultural Inputs / Animal Feeds — 0% (exempt) - Baby Products / Sanitary Products — 0% (exempt) - Petroleum Products / Renewable Energy Equipment — specific rules

Action buttons: - Cancel — closes the panel - Save as Draft — saves without making the item available for invoicing - Create Product — adds the item to the inventory list and makes it selectable on invoices

2.3 Using inventory on invoices and quotations¶

When creating an invoice or quotation, each line item has a selector: From Inventory or Custom.

Select From Inventory → pick a product from the list → Name, Unit Price, and VAT rate pre-fill
Quantity can then be adjusted
If it's a physical Product type, the stock count decrements when the invoice is posted
COGS is automatically calculated and posted to the GL (Cr Inventory, Dr COGS)

3. Business rules & constraints¶

Rule	Detail
Services have no stock tracking	Type: Service items do not decrement or count towards stock KPIs
Stock goes negative if oversold	Finora does not block invoicing when stock is at zero — stock can go negative
COGS is auto-posted on invoice	No manual COGS entry needed — it's calculated from Cost Price × Qty sold
Cost Price is optional	If not set, no COGS entry is made when the item is sold
Low Stock Threshold defaults to 10	Can be changed per product — set to 0 to disable the warning
Inventory Value = Cost Price × Quantity	Unit Price (selling price) is not used in the Inventory Value KPI

4. Nigerian regulatory context¶

COGS and P&L - Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is deductible for CIT (Companies Income Tax) purposes - Accurate COGS tracking supports the P&L statement used for tax filings - FIRS may require a breakdown of COGS in tax computations — Finora's automatic COGS journal entries provide this audit trail

VAT on products - The Tax Category set on the product determines which VAT rate is applied when the item appears on an invoice - Schools selling uniform items at 0% (Educational Materials) must classify them correctly to avoid over-charging VAT

Stock valuation - Finora uses a simplified stock valuation (Cost Price × Quantity) - More complex methods (FIFO, weighted average) are not currently supported - For businesses with significant stock holdings, this may need to be reconciled against a separate stock count for year-end accounts

5. Common customer questions¶

Q: "When I add a product to an invoice, does it automatically track how many I have left?"

Yes, for Type: Product items. Each time a product is invoiced and the invoice is posted, the stock count decrements. When stock reaches the Low Stock Threshold, it shows in the Low Stock Items KPI.

Q: "I need to add a service (like a consultation fee) — does it need to go in inventory?"

Not necessarily. You can add a service to Inventory to avoid re-typing it on every invoice — select Type: Service, enter the Unit Price, and it will pre-fill when you pick it. Services don't track stock, so there's no depletion.

Q: "My Inventory Value shows ₦0 even though I have products."

Inventory Value is calculated using Cost Price, not Unit Price. If Cost Price was left blank when the product was added, the value shows as ₦0. Edit the product and add the cost price.

Q: "A product on an invoice says it's out of stock but I still want to sell it."

Finora does not block invoicing when stock is at zero. You can still add the item — the stock count will go negative. This may indicate a stock receipt was not recorded. Consider adding a stock adjustment or recording a purchase of new stock.

Q: "Can I do a stock count / adjustment?"

Finora does not currently have a dedicated stock adjustment or stocktake screen. Contact Tier 2 for guidance on manual adjustments.

6. Known edge cases¶

Stock goes negative¶

Finora does not prevent invoicing when a product is at zero stock. Negative stock values are possible. Businesses should reconcile stock regularly, especially before year-end.

Cost Price missing = no COGS¶

If a product was added without a Cost Price, selling it on an invoice produces no COGS journal entry. The P&L will show revenue but no corresponding cost — overstating gross profit. Advise businesses to always set a cost price for physical products.

Services showing in Low Stock filter¶

If a business added a Service type item with a stock quantity (shouldn't happen, but may if migrated from CSV), it could appear in Low Stock. This is a data quality issue — the item should be corrected to Type: Service with no stock values.

Inventory not in use (service businesses / schools)¶

The test business (COA Test School Academy) has zero inventory items — schools typically sell services (school fees) rather than physical goods. The Inventory section is most relevant for trading, retail, or distribution businesses.

7. Escalation trigger¶

Escalate to Tier 3 (Founder) if: - COGS journal entries are not being posted when products are sold - Inventory Value KPI does not match the expected sum of (Cost Price × Quantity) - Stock count is significantly negative and the business needs a bulk correction

Escalate to Tier 2 (Support Lead) if: - Business needs to do a bulk stock adjustment or stocktake - Business wants to import a large product catalogue via CSV - Business confused about COGS vs Cost Price vs Unit Price

8. Last reviewed¶

2026-03-31 — Nnamdi. Verified against production. Inventory list confirmed (empty — school business). Add New Product panel fully captured: Basic Information, Pricing, accounting explanation box, Inventory thresholds, Tax Classification. No existing products to verify COGS flow against.