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v26.3

Setting Up Stock

For whom: owner and installer · One-time work, after which stock runs on its own.

This page walks you once from top to bottom through the setup: switch on the module, create stock locations, define min/target stock levels, assign workstations and grant permissions. After that, the kitchen can maintain recipes and the counter can request its replenishment.

Prerequisite

Stock management is a paid add-on module. If it is not included in your licence, the badge "not licensed" appears in the module list and the switch cannot be flipped — in that case, sales will help.

1. Switch on the module

  1. Open Admin → Settings → Operations.
  2. In the Modules section, switch on "Stock management".
  3. Save. The item Stock appears in the sidebar.

Optionally switch on right away: "Stock: auto requests". With it, DiKAS automatically creates a request to the main stock as soon as the stock level of a counter stock falls below the minimum stock (checked every 5 minutes). If you prefer to trigger requests by hand, leave the switch off.

Preparing and maintaining larger article stocks

For an assortment with many articles, use Admin → Articles → Import. The existing wizard reads CSV and Excel files. First download the template or export your current article list. The template and the export also contain the stock fields.

What the stock fields mean

Field in the wizard Meaning and example
Article number Your stable key, e.g. GET-001. When updating, it must match the existing article.
Track stock yes or true keeps a stock of its own; no or false switches this property off.
Track serial numbers yes marks individual devices with serial numbers and also activates stock tracking. The devices themselves are recorded at goods receipt.
Minimum stock From this limit, replenishment becomes relevant, e.g. 10. The number applies in stock units.
Target stock The quantity to top up to, e.g. 30; the value must not be below the minimum stock.
Content per stock unit Content of a bottle or pack, e.g. 0,7. This does not mean a current stock quantity.
Content unit For example l for the 0.7-litre bottle. Recipes can then use e.g. 4 cl of it.

The unit, by contrast, is the stock unit, for example bottle, piece or kg. For bottles, the stock counts bottles; content and content unit allow a recipe quantity to be converted. See also Recipes and units.

Example for new articles

A CSV file with semicolons can look like this:

Artikelnummer;Bezeichnung;Einheit;Bestandsführung;Mindestbestand;Sollbestand;Inhalt;Inhaltseinheit
GET-001;Hauswein weiß;Flasche;ja;10;30;0,7;l
GET-002;Mineralwasser;Flasche;ja;20;60;0,5;l
  1. Upload the file in the import.
  2. Check the suggested column assignments. Target stock must point to target stock, Content unit to content unit.
  3. Use Article number as the matching field. On the first import you can skip existing articles; to maintain existing articles, choose Update.
  4. Check the preview with Next and then choose Import.
  5. Check the result with created, updated and skipped articles and the row errors. Correct faulty rows and read them in again.

For numbers, 0,7 and 0.7 are both allowed. Do not use thousands separators. Negative min/target values, a content quantity of zero and unclear yes/no values are reported as errors.

Changing min/target values in a list

To maintain existing articles, the article number and the fields to change are enough:

Artikelnummer;Mindestbestand;Sollbestand
GET-001;0;20
GET-002;30;90

Choose Update and the matching field Article number. Names and stock fields not supplied are kept. An empty stock cell means unchanged; to set a minimum stock to zero, write 0 explicitly. Empty cells delete no values, even with the Replace choice.

If a unit or content quantity changes, DiKAS also checks the dependent recipes. A change that would, for example, turn a litre ingredient into a kilogram ingredient and thus make an existing drink recipe unusable is rejected before the articles are saved. Check the recipe named in the message and first correct the details that belong together.

Pre-check before saving

In the Preview step, Pre-check (nothing is saved) checks the whole file without changing anything. It shows how many articles would be created or updated and lists all errors with row numbers at once:

  • Duplicates in the file: if an article number appears twice in the file, the later row is reported ("already in row 4"); it is never imported.
  • Duplicates in the article master: if your article master has two articles with the same article number, DiKAS names both and changes neither. Clean up the article master first.
  • Unusable entries: negative or unclear numbers, target stock below minimum stock, content without a content unit, unclear yes/no values and unit changes that would make a recipe unusable.

The error list as CSV can be downloaded and edited in Excel. With the checkbox Skip rows with errors, the error-free rows are imported and the faulty ones reported; without the checkbox nothing at all is saved as soon as one row is faulty. New product groups are only created once the import really saves.

Supplier articles, recipes and opening stock from tables

After the article import, Admin → Articles → Import → Stock relations takes over three further tables. Each table has a template, is first checked and then applied. Apply is possible only after an error-free check of that file. With errors, nothing is saved; a repetition updates and duplicates nothing. Article numbers, suppliers and stocks must already exist: the import does not create suppliers or stocks.

Table Columns Repetition
Supplier articles & pack sizes ArticleNumber, Supplier (name or supplier number), SupplierArticleNumber, PackagingName, PackagingFactor (bottles per pack), PurchasePrice (per pack), IsDefault, optional Staffel (price tiers, e.g. 4:55; 8:52,5, see Tiered prices) Updated via supplier plus supplier article number. At most one default supplier per article.
Recipe lines ArticleNumber (recipe article), Ingredient (article number of the ingredient), Quantity, Unit The recipe of an article that is in the file is replaced completely by the rows of the file. Cycles, excessive nesting, unknown ingredients and incompatible units (4 kg for a litre article) report errors.
Opening stock ArticleNumber, Stock (stock name; empty = main stock), Quantity, Ek (per stock unit) An identical repetition is "already present".

Example for supplier articles, where a carton holds 6 bottles and costs €60 net:

ArticleNumber;Supplier;SupplierArticleNumber;PackagingName;PackagingFactor;PurchasePrice;IsDefault
GET-001;Getränke Müller;GM-4711;Karton 6 Flaschen;6;60,00;ja

In the order proposal, this results in a purchase price of €10 per bottle.

Opening stock never overwrites running stock

Opening stock is booked as a traceable opening booking (goods receipt with the comment "Eröffnungsbestand"), one document per stock. If an article already has stock or movements in that stock, DiKAS reports an error and books nothing. Correct such articles via the stocktake or a stock booking. Serial-number articles, sets, articles without stock tracking and the pass-through stocks (goods receipt, goods issue, loss, kitchen) are rejected. Without a purchase price, the stock is opened without a goods value; this appears as a note in the list. With the choice Opening stock valued you decide per import run whether the prices from the file set the average purchase price or whether only the quantities are opened — see Stock settings. If the setting Corrections need their own permission is switched on, the import needs the permission Book corrections and free goods receipts.

2. Create stock locations

Admin → Stock → Stock locations

A stock location is a place with its own stock. Create exactly the places where you actually want to count separately — usually one stock per counter and one for the kitchen.

  1. In the field "Name of the new stock location (e.g. Counter 1)", enter the name.
  2. Click "Create stock location". The stock location appears in the list immediately.
  3. The column "Used by workplaces" stays empty at first — it fills in step 4.

To delete, open the stock location in the list and choose Delete; after the confirmation "Really delete this stock location?" it is gone. DiKAS does not check whether goods are still stored there. Therefore transfer the stock beforehand (tab Inventory → Transfer) and remove the workstation assignments.

The system stocks

DiKAS manages seven stock locations itself; they are created as soon as they are needed for the first time. They carry the badge System in the list and can be neither renamed nor deleted. Only the main stock is a stock in which goods lie; the others are pass-through stocks of double-entry booking and hold no tangible goods:

System stock Purpose
Main stock The central stock. Everything not assigned to a stock of its own books from here.
Goods receipt Origin of every delivery. A goods receipt books from here into your target stock.
Loss Target of every loss booking (breakage, best-before, own consumption, staff consumption).
Goods issue Counterpart for goods leaving the house, for example a sold device with a serial number.
Kitchen Pass-through of production: ingredients go here, the finished goods come from here into the chosen stock. Not a stock for the kitchen itself — create a stock location of your own for that.
Consumption Reserved for consumption bookings. A normal sale reduces the stock of the workstation's stock directly; in everyday use nothing lies here.
Returnable packaging Counts the deposit units from sales and returns.

Showing and hiding system stocks

In the Inventory tab, the checkbox "Show system stock locations" shows these stocks. In everyday use they are better left hidden — they are booked automatically and serve only for checking. The counter accounts Goods receipt and Goods issue inevitably show the negative of what came onto the shelf or left the house; that is not an error.

3. Define min/target stock levels per stock location

Min and target are the basis for replenishment and the order proposal: below min triggers a request, topped up to target.

  1. In the list, click the stock location — the detail view "Stock location: …" opens.
  2. In the section "Min/target stock levels", choose an article via the search field "Search and add articles (arrow keys + Enter)".
  3. In the columns Min and Target, enter the quantities in stock units.
  4. Add further articles, then Save.

The minimum stock on the article only works in the main stock

A minimum and a maximum stock can also be defined on the article itself (Articles with stock). These values apply exclusively in the main stock and even there only as long as no rule of its own is defined for the main stock. In every other stock, only the rule you enter here counts.

Saving transfers the name and the complete rule list — so a row you removed is really gone after saving.

4. Assign a workstation to a stock

So that each counter books off from its own refrigerator, each workstation gets its stock.

  1. Open Admin → Settings → Workstations.
  2. For the desired workstation, expand the field "Stock" and choose the stock location. (The field appears as soon as the stock management module is switched on.)
  3. Save.

\"-- No stock --\" means main stock

If the field stays empty, this workstation books off from the main stock. For a business with only one register, that is exactly right.

5. Grant permissions

Admin → Staff → open employee → "Permissions" tab → Stock section

Permission Allows
Manage stock fully Full permission: includes all of the following permissions
View stock View stock levels including purchase prices and booking history without changing anything
See availability only For service staff: the register shows "Sold out" and the remaining quantity — no purchase prices, stock values, suppliers or bookings
Record waste and own consumption Book breakage, expired goods, own consumption and staff meals with a reason, at the stock of your own workstation; for dishes the ingredients are booked off. No goods receipt, no transfer, no correction
Bookings/requests Book goods receipts, transfers and losses, create requests, produce own products. Includes "Record waste and own consumption"
Book corrections and free goods receipts Only takes effect if the setting Corrections need their own permission is switched on; granted in addition to "Bookings/requests"
Stocktaking Create stocktakes, count stock levels, close a stocktake
Orders Create and send orders to suppliers and post goods receipt
Locations & suppliers Create, edit and delete stock locations and suppliers

Administrators and managers automatically have all stock permissions. View stock and See availability only are included in all higher permissions (except in "Record waste and own consumption", which only changes quantities and shows no prices). The permissions for devices, delivery notes, shipping and claims belong to merchandise management (Permissions).

Without a read permission, the stock and sold-out indicators are missing at the register

The register hides the remaining quantities and the "Sold out" marking on the article tiles if the logged-in employee lacks both View stock and See availability only — without comment. If you wonder why a colleague does not see the indicators, check these permissions first. For service staff, See availability only is enough: it sees "Sold out" but no purchase prices.

Stock permissions presuppose a register: in the register-less operating modes, they are not even available for selection in the permissions tab.

Practical example: restaurant with two counters

A ristorante with kitchen, bar area and terrace bar.

  1. Switch on the Stock management module, and auto requests as well.
  2. Create two stock locations: Counter Bar, Counter Terrace. The Main stock (cellar) already exists. If the kitchen is to be counted separately, create a third stock location (e.g. "Kitchen stock").
  3. For Counter Terrace, define the ten summer articles with min/target: Aperol min 2 / target 6, Prosecco min 6 / target 24 …
  4. Workstation "Register Terrace" → stock Counter Terrace; workstation "Register Bar" → Counter Bar.
  5. Give the service staff See availability only, the counter staff Record waste and own consumption and Bookings/requests, and the office staff additionally View stock, Orders and Stocktaking.

From the next evening on, the terrace reports by itself when the Aperol falls below two bottles.

When something does not work

Message / observation Cause and remedy
"No permission for stock management. Please ask your administrator for the stock right." The logged-in employee has no stock permission. Set the permission under Staff → Permissions.
"Name is required." No name was entered when creating a stock location.
"System stock locations cannot be renamed or deleted." Expected behaviour — create a stock location of your own instead.
"No workplace uses this stock location. Assignment under Settings → Workplaces." A note, not an error. The stock has been created but not yet assigned to a register (step 4).
"The stock location could not be deleted." Deleting failed (for example no connection, or a system stock). Try again. Deletion happens without checking for stock — transfer goods beforehand.
The item Stock is missing in the sidebar Module not switched on (step 1) or not included in the licence.

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