Accounting for Broken Goods or Waste
How Accounting for Broken Goods or Waste Works
Access requirements. Viewing the adjustment history needs "Inventory" view access. Actually recording an adjustment is checked against "Product List" edit access specifically — even though the button that opens the form also shows for anyone with Inventory or Prices edit access, so what's shown and what's actually enforced can differ slightly. Editing or deleting an adjustment afterward needs edit access to "Data cleaner" for that store — without it, the actions menu on each row doesn't appear.
"Waste" is the one reason that covers breakage, spoilage, theft, or anything else unsellable. There's no separate "damaged" vs. "stolen" option — just "Waste," "Promotion," "Donation," or "Other."
The reason field is optional. If you leave it blank, the adjustment is still recorded, just as a generic manual adjustment with no reason attached — not as "Waste."
This can be recorded from the register or from Back Office. Both write to the same adjustment history, so either surface gives you the full picture. Whether a cashier needs a manager's PIN to do this on the register depends entirely on your store's Terminal Security setup — with it off, any cashier can adjust inventory with no PIN at all; with it on, your admin controls whether it's allowed freely, blocked, or requires a PIN (manager PIN by default).
Recording from the register requires an internet connection. Unlike most things on the terminal, this doesn't work offline and won't queue for later — if the connection drops mid-adjustment, it simply fails, and nothing is recorded.
It takes effect immediately. There's no approval step or draft state. A manual adjustment can be edited or deleted afterward from the Adjustments page if you have the access for it — otherwise, correct it by entering another adjustment.
Every entry shows its dollar impact directly, not just the quantity change — computed from your actual cost.
Recording Waste from Back Office
Step 1
Go to Products → Product list, and open the item.
Step 2
In "Price and cost setup" (or "Availability and cost"), click "Edit."
Step 3
Change the Stock number to reflect what's actually left. If the Stock box is greyed out, a note explains that inventory tracking is off for this item — click "Turn on tracking" in that note to switch it on and edit stock, without losing any price or cost you've already typed.
Step 4
A "Reason for stock change" panel appears since the count changed. Choose "Waste," and add a note if you want one.
Step 5
Click "Save." If the change can't be saved, the form stays open and shows the reason instead of quietly putting the old number back.
Recording Waste in Bulk
Step 6
From the Product list, select multiple items, then bulk-edit their Stock field.
Step 7
The same Reason and Notes fields appear here too — always visible, not just when a count changes like in the single-item form — applying to every row you selected. Choose "Waste," add a note, and save.
Recording Waste from the Register
Step 8
On the terminal, scan or search for the items you need to adjust and set their quantity just like building a regular sale, then tap "Adjust Inventory" in the cart action panel (whether this needs a manager's PIN first depends on your store's settings). Choose "Waste" as the reason, add an optional note, and tap "Confirm."
Reviewing Waste History
Step 9
Go to Stock management → Adjustments to see every recorded change, including its quantity, unit cost, and the resulting change in on-hand value.
Step 10
Filter by change type to isolate "Waste" entries specifically.
Step 11
To correct an entry you got wrong, click the actions (⋮) menu at the end of its row and choose "Edit." Adjust the units changed or the cost per unit, then click "Update" — you're returned to the list with "Adjustment updated."
Step 12
To remove an entry entirely, choose "Delete" from the same menu and confirm. The adjustment is removed, stock is recalculated, and the item's cost figures refresh. Only manual adjustments can be deleted — an "Initial Import" entry can be edited but not deleted.
What It Looks Like
Each row in Adjustments shows the change type, quantity change, unit cost, and starting/ending "Value on hand" — so a Waste entry shows exactly how much inventory value it wrote off.
A note attached to an adjustment shows on hover over its row.
The Adjustments page lives under "Stock management" in the nav, though its breadcrumb trail reads "Stock history" — same page, just inconsistent wording in the app.
Troubleshooting
Don't see the "Reason for stock change" panel: it only appears when the number you type is actually different from what's currently on hand — re-entering the same number won't show it.
An adjustment shows no reason attached: the Reason field is optional — if it's left blank, the adjustment is recorded as a generic manual adjustment instead of "Waste."
Can't get to the Stock field to record one: recording an adjustment requires "Product List" edit access specifically, even though the button itself shows based on Inventory or Prices access.
Want to see cost impact, not just quantity: check "Unit Cost" and the "Value on hand" columns on the Adjustments page — every entry shows both.