Batches and expiry dates - earliest expiry first

For items that go off (milk, curd, bread, meat), AirQR can keep track of batches with expiry dates. Stock is then used earliest-expiry first (FEFO), and you are warned before it expires.

Batches and expiry are part of Inventory & recipe costing, included in the Growth plan and above, and in the free trial.

Turn it on for an item

1. Open Inventory → Stock and add or edit a stock item (owners and managers).
2. Switch on Track expiry dates.
3. Save.

Stock the item already had, from before tracking was switched on, has no date.

Record dates on stock-in

On Inventory → Buying → Stock-in, a tracked item asks for an expiry date on each line. It is required. You can also enter a lot number. Voiding a stock-in takes its batch back. See Receiving stock (Stock-in).

How stock is used

• Sales, wastage, prep batches and transfers out draw down the earliest-expiring batch first.
• Stock without a date (counted in, returned, or on the shelf before tracking began) is used last.
• A stock count that comes out lower takes the shortage from the earliest-expiring batches. A count that comes out higher adds undated stock.
• Transfers between outlets carry the expiry dates to the receiving outlet.
• Selling more than the batches hold never blocks a sale.

Expiry alerts

Owners and managers (people who can manage inventory) get alerts on the bell, inside the dashboard only:

• {item} expires soon when stock expires within a set number of days.
• {item} has expired once it is past its date.

There is one alert per item per outlet. It moves from "soon" to "expired" and clears when nothing is near expiry any more. Alerts are checked right after a stock-in and once a day.

Set the warning time in Inventory → Settings under Warn this many days before…. The default is 3 days.

Items you make (prep)

For a prep item that tracks expiry, set Shelf life of a batch (days) on the stock item. Each batch you make is dated that many days after the day it is made, and the date travels with the stock if you send it to another outlet.

If you void a sale, the stock goes back into the batches it came from, with their original dates.

See and write off expired stock

On the Stock tab, tap Expiring soon to list the batches that are expired or about to be. Managers also get Write off expired, which records wastage with the reason Expired for everything past its date and takes it off the shelf. See Recording wastage.

Troubleshooting expiry

• Stock-in won't save: a tracked item needs an expiry date on its line.
• Stock has no date: it came in before tracking was on, was counted in, or was returned. It is used after dated stock.
• No expiry alerts: they go to people who can manage inventory, and only for items with tracking on.