Record the year-end physical inventory in SamBooks

How to count actual year-end stock in SamBooks, compare it against the system balance, and automatically generate the accounting entry for the change in inventory.

What it's for

The physical inventory is the periodic count — typically at year end — of the stock actually sitting in the warehouse, item by item and location by location. Unlike manual warehouse movements, the physical inventory doesn't add a movement: it overwrites the system balance with the counted figures, calculates the difference, and — if a difference exists — automatically generates a single journal entry that brings the change in inventory into the balance sheet.

Before you start

• Only the Manager and Staff roles can record a physical inventory. The "Physical inventory" menu item also shows up for the Logistics role, because it's part of the Logistics block, but a Logistics user who tries to record one gets a permission error: that role can browse the history, not write here.
• You can only record one inventory per year per company: it's an automatic check, no need to verify it by hand before starting.
• You'll need the list of what you actually counted: item, warehouse, quantity and — if you want the value to be accurate — the unit value for each line.

Step by step

1. Open Physical inventory

From the left-hand menu, open Physical inventory. The page shows two ways to record the counted data and, below, the inventory history.

2. Record it by hand, line by line

In the "Record inventory by hand" card (or from the "Record inventory" button at the top) the "Record physical inventory" form opens:

• Year: the year the count refers to (defaults to the current year);
• repeatable rows, one per item/warehouse combination counted: Item, Warehouse, Counted quantity, Unit value (optional: if omitted it's treated as zero);
• "Add row" to add more; the remove icon deletes a row (at least one is required).

Press "Record": if you haven't filled in any valid row you'll see "Add at least one row to record the inventory."; if an item or warehouse is missing on a row, "Select an item for every row." or "Select a warehouse for every row.".

3. Upload the rows with Sam (CSV/xlsx)

As an alternative to the manual form, in the "Upload counted rows" card drag a CSV or xlsx file directly into Sam's chat: Sam reads the codice_articolo (item code, text), quantità_contata (counted quantity, decimal number) and, if present, valore_unitario (unit value, decimal, optional) columns, and proposes the recording. It's the same engine as the manual form: the same per-year idempotency, the same difference calculation.

4. What happens after you press "Record"

For each row, the system calculates the difference between what you counted and the previous accounting balance, and overwrites the item's stock level and average cost on that location with the values you entered: the physical inventory becomes the source of truth, it doesn't just add a movement on top. If the sum of the differences results in a change, a single multi-line journal entry is generated: a positive difference (you counted more than the system showed) is posted as a debit to Inventory and a credit to Change in inventory; a negative difference does the reverse. If there's no difference at all, no entry is generated.

5. Check the history

In the "Inventory history" section you'll find, for every recorded year: the inventory date, the number of items involved, the total value and the status ("Recorded"). If you haven't recorded anything yet you'll see "No inventory recorded".

6. Trying the same year again

If you try to record a second inventory for the same year, the system won't redo it: it replies "An inventory for year {year} already exists." and doesn't touch the balances again. If you made a mistake in the first recording, there's currently no command to reopen or cancel it from the page: work out with your accountant how to handle the journal entry that was generated, or ask Sam to reverse the operation.

What you won't find on this page yet

• No PDF or CSV export of a recorded inventory's detail: unlike the rest of the Warehouse module (which exports both CSV and PDF), the history here only shows year totals, not the individual counted rows or the calculated differences.
• No direct link to the journal entry generated: to see it, go to the journal and look for the entry for that year (reason code "INV-FIS").
• The physical inventory is a separate path from the year-end adjustments generator (accruals, deferrals, depreciation): inventory changes don't go through that engine, only through this page.

Ask Sam

You can ask Sam to record the inventory for you — for example "record the 2026 physical inventory with these rows: …" — attaching a CSV/xlsx file directly in chat, or ask for the history: "show me the recorded physical inventories" or "what's the detail of the 2025 inventory?". It's the same feature as the form, with the same per-year idempotency.

If something goes wrong

• "Add at least one row to record the inventory.": the form has no rows filled in.
• "Select an item for every row." / "Select a warehouse for every row.": one of the two required fields is missing on at least one row.
• "An inventory for year {year} already exists.": that year has already been recorded, so no duplicate is created.
• "We can't record the inventory. Please try again.": a generic save error; retry, and contact support if it persists.
• A Logistics-role user can't record the inventory: that's expected — today only Manager and Staff can, even though the menu item is visible to the Logistics role too.

Frequently asked questions

Does the physical inventory create entries in the warehouse journal? No. Unlike inbound movements, outbound movements, adjustments and transfers, the physical inventory doesn't write rows to the movement journal: it overwrites the balance directly and only generates a journal entry if there's a difference.

Can I record the inventory for a past year I never did? Yes, the Year field accepts any year; the only constraint is that you can't record the same year twice.

If I forget the unit value on a row, what happens to that item's average cost? The unit value is treated as zero if you omit it: the stock level still aligns to the counted quantity, but that item's average cost can drop to zero or fall sharply. If the value matters to you, always enter it.

Can I correct an inventory that's already been recorded? Not from the page: there's no button to reopen or edit it. Work out with your accountant, or ask Sam, how to handle the accounting entry that was generated.

Where do I see the accounting effect of the inventory? In the journal, looking for the entry for that year with reason code "INV-FIS": there's no direct link from the Physical inventory page.

Can a Viewer-role user see the inventory history? Yes, reading the history is open to every role; only recording is restricted to Manager and Staff.

Related guides

• Record warehouse stock movements — day-to-day inbound, outbound, adjustments and transfers, different from the year-end count.
• Record a manual double-entry journal entry — where to find the entry generated by the inventory.
• Read the CEE balance sheet — where inventory lands on the balance sheet (current assets C.I.4 and income statement B.11).