Modules

Warehouse module

Manage inbound receiving, outbound picking, warehouse zones, bin locations, and stocktakes with real-time inventory visibility.

The Warehouse module is your complete warehouse management system (WMS) for coordinating receiving, storage, picking, and inventory control. Organise your warehouse with hierarchical zones, track stock by physical bin location, manage inbound and outbound workflows, and conduct accurate stocktakes with mobile scanning support.

Overview

The Warehouse module helps you:

  • Organise your warehouse — Create hierarchical zones to mirror your physical layout (areas, aisles, racks, shelves)
  • Receive goods efficiently — Process inbound tasks from purchase orders or unnotified deliveries
  • Manage physical locations — Organise stock across bins assigned to zones
  • Pick and pack accurately — Execute outbound tasks with verification and barcode scanning
  • Maintain stock accuracy — Conduct periodic stocktakes and reconcile variances
  • Audit all activity — Track every stock movement with full activity logs

Unlike basic inventory tracking, the Warehouse module manages physical movement of stock — from receiving dock to storage bins to shipping area.

Key features

Task-based workflows

All warehouse operations are organised as tasks — structured work units that guide staff through multi-step processes:

  • Inbound tasks — Receive incoming goods, verify quantities, and allocate to bins
  • Outbound tasks — Pick items from bins, verify, pack, and mark as shipped
  • Transfer tasks — Move stock between bins or warehouse locations
  • Stock tasks — View real-time stock holdings by bin or SKU

Zone and bin management

Organise your warehouse with a two-level system:

Zones — Hierarchical areas that mirror your warehouse layout:

  • Create zones for areas, aisles, racks, bays, shelves, and levels
  • Nest zones to build a hierarchy (Area > Aisle > Shelf)
  • Print zone labels with QR codes for scanning
  • Filter and navigate by zone

Bins — The smallest addressable storage unit within zones:

  • Create bins with descriptive names (e.g., “A1-3-5” for Aisle 1, Bay 3, Shelf 5)
  • Assign bins to zones for structured organisation
  • Set bin types: standard, pallet, oversized, cold-storage, hazmat, high-value
  • Track storage types: normal, pallet, shelf, floor
  • Activate/deactivate bins to control storage capacity
  • Import bins in bulk via CSV (with optional zone assignment)
  • Print bin labels with barcodes for scanning

Mobile-friendly workflows

Optimised for warehouse floor operations:

  • Barcode scanning — Scan items, bins, and reference numbers
  • Quick receive — Fast inbound processing for simple deliveries
  • Pick verification — Confirm picks with scan-to-verify
  • Touch-friendly UI — Large tap targets for gloved hands
  • Offline-tolerant — Draft tasks sync when connection restored

Stocktake & reconciliation

Conduct physical inventory counts with precision:

  • Create stocktake sessions with criteria (all bins, specific range, SKU filter)
  • Count by bin or by SKU
  • Discover unexpected items during count
  • Compare counted vs system quantities
  • Categorise variances: minor, major, critical
  • Finalize counts to update system stock levels
  • Export stocktake reports (PDF, CSV)

Working with warehouse tasks

Inbound workflow

Receiving goods into the warehouse follows a three-stage process:

1. Receive items

  • Open inbound task from task list
  • Verify items against reference (purchase order, delivery note)
  • Scan or enter received quantities
  • Note discrepancies (over/under delivery, damaged goods)
  • Mark task as “Received”

2. Verify items

  • Review received quantities
  • Add photos for damaged or incorrect items
  • Adjust quantities if needed
  • Mark task as “Verified”

3. Store items (allocate to bins)

  • Select items to allocate
  • Scan or select destination bin
  • Enter quantity to store in each bin
  • Repeat for all items
  • Commit task to update system stock

Inbound task lifecycle

StatusDescriptionActions available
PendingTask created, not yet startedStart receiving
ReceivedItems physically receivedVerify quantities
VerifiedQuantities confirmedAllocate to bins
StoredItems allocated to binsCommit to stock
CommittedStock updated, task completeView only (archived)

Outbound workflow

Shipping goods from the warehouse follows a three-stage process:

1. Collect items (pick)

  • Open outbound task from task list
  • View items to pick with suggested bin locations
  • Scan bin barcode to confirm location
  • Scan item barcode to confirm SKU
  • Enter picked quantity
  • Mark task as “Picked”

2. Verify picks

  • Review picked quantities against order
  • Add photos for discrepancies
  • Adjust quantities if needed
  • Mark task as “Packed”

3. Complete shipment

  • Generate shipping labels (if integrated)
  • Enter tracking information
  • Mark task as “Shipped”
  • Commit task to reduce system stock

Outbound task lifecycle

StatusDescriptionActions available
PendingTask created, awaiting pickStart picking
PickedItems collected from binsVerify picks
PackedItems verified and readyMark shipped
ShippedItems dispatchedCommit to stock
CommittedStock updated, task completeView only (archived)

Creating unnotified receives

For deliveries without a purchase order:

  1. Click Create Receive Task in sidebar
  2. Enter supplier details
  3. Enter reference number (delivery note, invoice)
  4. Add items manually or scan barcodes
  5. Save task and proceed with receive workflow

Bin manager

Organise your physical warehouse space with the Bin Manager.

Creating bins

Single bin:

  1. Open Bin Manager from sidebar
  2. Click Create Bin
  3. Enter bin ID (e.g., “A1-3-5”)
  4. Enter location description (e.g., “Aisle A, Bay 1, Shelf 3”)
  5. Select bin type and storage type
  6. Save bin

Bulk import:

  1. Click Import Bins in sidebar
  2. Download CSV template
  3. Fill in bin details (bin ID, location, type)
  4. Upload CSV file
  5. Review import summary and confirm

Bin types and storage types

Bin types enforce constraints on what can be stored:

  • Standard — General purpose storage
  • Pallet — Pallet-sized items
  • Oversized — Large or bulky items
  • Cold Storage — Temperature-controlled
  • Hazmat — Hazardous materials
  • High Value — Secure storage

Storage types describe physical structure:

  • Normal — Standard shelving
  • Pallet — Pallet racking
  • Shelf — Multi-tier shelving
  • Floor — Floor-level storage

Managing bins

Search and filter:

  • Search by bin ID or location
  • Filter by zone: All Zones, Unzoned, or specific zone
  • Filter by status: Active, Inactive, In Use, Empty
  • Filter by bin type or storage type

Bulk actions:

  • Select multiple bins
  • Activate/deactivate selected bins
  • Move bins to a different zone
  • Archive selected bins
  • Export bin list to CSV

Bin labels:

  • Print bin labels with barcodes
  • Scan labels during receive/pick operations

Warehouse zones

Warehouse zones provide a hierarchical way to organise your physical storage space. Instead of relying solely on bin location descriptions, zones let you group bins into logical areas that mirror your warehouse layout.

What are zones?

A zone represents a physical area in your warehouse — from large sections down to individual shelving levels. Zones can be nested to create a hierarchy that matches your actual warehouse structure:

Warehouse
└── Area A (zone)
    └── Aisle 1 (zone)
        └── Bay 1 (zone)
            └── Shelf 1 (zone)
                ├── BIN-001
                ├── BIN-002
                └── BIN-003

This hierarchy makes it easier to:

  • Locate items by narrowing down from area to specific shelf
  • Filter bins to see only those in a specific section
  • Assign pick routes that follow logical warehouse paths
  • Generate reports by zone for inventory audits

Zone types

Each zone has a type that describes its role in the hierarchy:

Zone typeIconDescriptionExample
AreaSquare footLarge warehouse section”North Wing”, “Cold Storage”
AisleStraightenRow of storage units”Aisle A”, “Aisle 12”
RackGridVertical storage frame”Rack A1”, “Pallet Rack 5”
BaySquareSection of a rack”Bay 1”, “Bay A”
ShelfColumnsHorizontal storage surface”Shelf 1”, “Top Shelf”
LevelLayersVertical position”Level 1”, “Ground Level”

You can mix zone types freely — use the combination that best describes your warehouse. A simple warehouse might only use Areas and Aisles, while a complex facility might use all six levels.

Creating zones

  1. Navigate to Zone Manager in the Warehouse sidebar
  2. Click Create Zone
  3. Fill in zone details:
    • Zone ID — Unique identifier (e.g., “ZONE-A1”, “AISLE-01”)
    • Zone Name — Display name (e.g., “Aisle A”, “Cold Storage”)
    • Zone Type — Select from: Area, Aisle, Rack, Bay, Shelf, or Level
    • Parent Zone — Optional parent zone to create hierarchy
    • Description — Optional notes about this zone
  4. Click Create

Tip: Create zones from top to bottom. First create your Areas, then Aisles within those areas, and so on. This ensures parent zones exist when you create child zones.

Nesting zones

To create a nested hierarchy:

  1. Create the parent zone first (e.g., “Aisle A” as an Aisle type)
  2. When creating child zones, select the parent in the Parent Zone dropdown
  3. Child zones appear indented under their parent in the Zone Manager

The Zone Manager displays nested zones with visual indentation, making the hierarchy easy to understand at a glance.

Assigning bins to zones

You can assign bins to zones in several ways:

When creating a new bin:

  1. In the Create Bin dialog, select a zone from the Zone dropdown
  2. The bin will be associated with that zone when created

When editing an existing bin:

  1. Click a bin in the Bin Manager to open the edit dialog
  2. Change the zone selection
  3. Save changes — the bin count updates automatically for both old and new zones

Bulk import with zones: When importing bins via CSV, include zone information in columns 5 and 6:

binId, location, binType, storageType, zoneId, zoneName
BIN-001, Shelf 1, standard, normal, ZONE-A1, Aisle A
BIN-002, Shelf 2, pallet, pallet, ZONE-A1, Aisle A
BIN-003, Floor, standard, floor, ZONE-B1, Aisle B

Zone and bin location relationship

Zones represent the hierarchical structure of your warehouse (Area > Aisle > Shelf).

Bin Location is a free-text description of where within a zone the bin is physically located.

Use them together for precise addressing:

  • Zone: “Aisle A, Shelf 1” (structured, filterable)
  • Bin Location: “Position 3, Left Side” (detailed, descriptive)

This gives you both structured organisation (zones) and flexible detail (locations).

Filtering bins by zone

In the Bin Manager, use the zone filter dropdown to view:

  • All Zones — Show all bins regardless of zone assignment
  • Unzoned — Show only bins without a zone assigned
  • [Specific Zone] — Show only bins in that zone

This is helpful when:

  • Conducting zone-specific stocktakes
  • Assigning pick tasks to specific areas
  • Auditing bin organisation

Viewing zone bins

From the Zone Manager, you can quickly see all bins in a zone:

  1. Find the zone in the list
  2. Click the bin count number, or
  3. Click the zone menu (⋮) and select View Bins

This opens the Bin Manager filtered to that zone.

Zone QR codes and labels

Each zone has a unique Zone ID that can be encoded in a QR code. This enables:

Printing zone labels:

  1. In Zone Manager, select zones to print
  2. Click Print Labels in the sidebar
  3. Choose label format (small, medium, large)
  4. Print and affix labels to physical zone markers

Scanning zone codes:

  1. In Bin Manager, click Scan Bin/Zone in the sidebar
  2. Scan a zone QR code
  3. The bin list automatically filters to show only bins in that zone

Zone QR format: ZONE:{zoneId} (e.g., ZONE:AISLE-A1)

Managing zones

Edit a zone:

  1. Click the zone in Zone Manager
  2. Click Edit from the menu
  3. Modify zone details
  4. Save changes

Deactivate a zone:

  1. Click the zone menu (⋮)
  2. Select Deactivate
  3. Confirm — the zone is hidden but bins remain assigned

Deactivated zones can be reactivated later. Bins assigned to deactivated zones retain their zone assignment.

Note: You cannot delete a zone that has bins assigned. First reassign or remove bins from the zone.

Stocktake sessions

Conduct physical inventory counts to maintain stock accuracy.

Creating a stocktake

  1. Navigate to Stocktake in sidebar
  2. Click New Stocktake Session
  3. Configure selection criteria:
    • All bins — Count entire warehouse
    • Bin range — Count specific aisle/zone (e.g., “A1” to “A10”)
    • SKU filter — Count specific products
  4. Enter optional note describing stocktake purpose
  5. Create session

Counting stock

Count by bin:

  1. Select bin from list or scan bin barcode
  2. View items expected in that bin
  3. Scan item barcodes or enter counts manually
  4. Record discrepancies (missing items, extra items)
  5. Mark bin as verified
  6. Move to next bin

Count by SKU:

  1. Select SKU from list or scan item barcode
  2. View bins where item should exist
  3. Count quantity in each bin
  4. Record any bin transfers discovered
  5. Mark SKU as verified

Discovering unexpected items:

  • During count, record items not in system
  • Add via “Discover Item” dialog
  • Enter SKU, bin, and quantity
  • Discoveries tracked separately for review

Reconciliation

After counting, review variances before finalizing:

Variance categories

Variance typeConditionAction required
MatchCounted = SystemNone, auto-approved
MinorDifference ≤ threshold (default: 5 units)Review and approve
MajorDifference > thresholdInvestigation required
CriticalCount = 0 but system shows stockUrgent investigation

Reconciliation tabs

  • All — View all items counted
  • Variances — Items with differences only
  • Matches — Items that match system
  • Discoveries — Unexpected items found

Finalizing stocktake

  1. Review all variances
  2. Adjust counts if needed (recalculate)
  3. Approve variances
  4. Click Finalize Stocktake
  5. System updates stock levels to match counts
  6. Session marked as Complete

Warning: Finalization cannot be undone. Stock levels will be adjusted to counted quantities.

Stock visibility

Stock on hand view

Real-time view of all stock in warehouse:

  • By SKU — Group by product, see total quantity
  • By Bin — Group by location, see all items in bin
  • Filters — Status (in stock, low stock, out of stock)

Stock by bin

View contents of any bin:

  1. Search for bin ID
  2. Click bin to open detail view
  3. View all items stored in bin with quantities
  4. Perform bin transfers (move stock to another bin)

Stock by SKU

View all locations for a product:

  1. Search for SKU or product name
  2. Click item to open detail view
  3. View all bins holding this SKU
  4. See available, reserved, and on-hand quantities

Activity audit log

Track all warehouse operations with comprehensive audit trail.

Audit view

Navigate to Audit Log in sidebar to view:

  • Activity type — Receive, ship, transfer, adjustment, stocktake
  • Timestamp — When activity occurred
  • User — Who performed the action
  • Item details — SKU, quantity, bin locations
  • Reference — Task number or stocktake session

Filtering activity

Filter by:

  • Date range — Last 7 days, last 30 days, custom range
  • Activity type — Inbound, outbound, transfers, adjustments
  • SKU — View all activity for specific product
  • Bin — View all activity for specific location
  • User — View activity by staff member

Exporting audit logs

Export filtered audit data:

  • CSV — Raw data for analysis
  • PDF — Formatted report for review

Warehouse settings

Configure warehouse behavior via Settings:

Variance threshold

Set the unit threshold for stocktake variance classification:

  • Default: 5 units
  • Items with variances ≤ threshold = Minor
  • Items with variances > threshold = Major

This setting affects reconciliation workflow and approval requirements.

Best practices

Zone organization

  1. Plan your hierarchy first — Sketch your warehouse layout before creating zones
  2. Start with areas — Create top-level zones for major warehouse sections
  3. Use consistent zone types — If you use “Aisle” for row A, use it for all rows
  4. Keep it simple — Use only as many hierarchy levels as you need (2-3 is usually enough)
  5. Label zones physically — Print and affix QR code labels to zone markers
  6. Review zone structure periodically — Adjust as your warehouse layout evolves

Bin organization

  1. Assign bins to zones — Use zones for structure, bin locations for detail
  2. Use consistent naming — Establish format (Aisle-Bay-Shelf) and stick to it
  3. Label physically — Print and affix barcode labels to all bins
  4. Assign bin types — Enforce constraints for special storage (hazmat, cold)
  5. Deactivate unused bins — Prevent accidental allocations to out-of-service locations

Receiving operations

  1. Verify on dock — Check quantities before allocating to bins
  2. Photograph discrepancies — Document damaged or incorrect items
  3. Allocate immediately — Don’t leave tasks in “Verified” status indefinitely
  4. Scan to confirm — Use barcode scanning to reduce errors

Picking operations

  1. Follow suggested bins — System suggests based on FIFO or configured rules
  2. Scan to verify — Confirm bin and item before picking
  3. Report discrepancies — Use photo verification for short-picks
  4. Commit completed picks — Update stock levels promptly

Stocktake planning

  1. Schedule regular counts — Quarterly full counts, monthly cycle counts
  2. Count by zone — Smaller sessions are easier to manage
  3. Freeze stock movements — Pause inbound/outbound during count
  4. Investigate variances — Understand root causes before approval
  5. Train counters — Ensure staff understand scan-to-count workflows

Stock accuracy

  1. Commit tasks promptly — Don’t leave tasks uncommitted overnight
  2. Investigate discrepancies — Review audit logs for unexpected movements
  3. Reconcile regularly — Monthly stocktakes for high-turnover items
  4. Monitor variance trends — Track accuracy over time

Reports and exports

Generate reports from the Warehouse sidebar:

Task summaries

  • Inbound Summary — PDF/CSV of all inbound tasks for date range
  • Outbound Summary — PDF/CSV of all outbound tasks for date range

Stock reports

  • Stock on Hand Report — Current bin holdings (PDF/CSV)
  • Stock by SKU — Inventory levels by product (CSV)
  • Stock by Bin — Contents of all bins (CSV)

Stocktake reports

  • Stocktake Count Sheet — Pre-count worksheet (PDF)
  • Stocktake Results — Variances and final counts (PDF/CSV)
  • Variance Report — Discrepancies only (PDF)

Archive and recycle bin

Archiving tasks

Committed (completed) tasks are automatically moved to Archive:

  • View archived tasks via Archive in sidebar
  • Search archived tasks by reference, date, or party
  • Archived tasks are read-only
  • Export archived data for compliance

Recycle bin

Deleted tasks are moved to Recycle Bin (soft delete):

  • View deleted tasks via Recycle Bin in sidebar
  • Restore deleted tasks if removed by mistake
  • Permanently delete tasks after review period
  • Track who deleted and when

Integration with other modules

The Warehouse module integrates tightly with other EQUOS features:

  • Inventory — Stock levels update after committing warehouse tasks
  • Order Manager — Purchase and sales orders generate warehouse tasks
  • Contacts — Supplier and customer details populate task headers
  • Freight — Outbound tasks link to shipping labels and tracking
  • Inventory — Manage product catalog and stock levels
  • Order Manager — Create purchase and sales orders
  • Freight — Book shipments and track deliveries