Inventory Value Summary — Complete User Guide — Two Accounts Web

Comprehensive guide for the Inventory Value Summary report — enabling it, creating the report, reading every column, and validating each figure against the General Ledger and accounting regulations

Table of Contents

1. What Is the Inventory Value Summary Report?
2. Prerequisites — Enabling via the Customize Menu
3. Navigating to the Report
4. The Report List
5. Creating the Report — Field-by-Field
   • 5.1 From Date and To Date
   • 5.2 Description
   • 5.3 Exclude Items With No Movement
6. Report Output Columns
7. How the Report Is Calculated
   • 7.1 Source of the Data
   • 7.2 Opening Balance
   • 7.3 Purchases
   • 7.4 Production Orders
   • 7.5 Cost of Sales
   • 7.6 Adjustments
   • 7.7 Closing Balance
   • 7.8 Reconciliation
8. Related Settings and Configuration
9. Sample Data and Report Output
   • 9.1 Sample Setup
   • 9.2 Creating the Report
   • 9.3 Report Output
   • 9.4 Calculation Verification
10. General Ledger Verification
11. Reporting and Accounting Impact
12. Accounting Regulation Validation
13. Common Issues and Best Practices

1. What Is the Inventory Value Summary Report?

The Inventory Value Summary report shows, for every inventory item, how the value of its stock moved through a period. For each item it shows the opening value (stock value at the start), the value that came in (purchases, production) and went out (cost of sales, adjustments), and the closing value (stock value at the end).

It answers the classic stock-valuation questions:

• How much money is tied up in each item's stock at period end?
• Where did the value come from — purchases or production?
• Why did the value change — sales, write-offs, or adjustments?

The report reads the actual General Ledger inventory on-hand amounts, so every figure is auditable and reconciles to the Balance Sheet inventory account.

Like most reports here, it is a saved report: choose a period once, save it, and reopen it any time. The output is printable, emailable, and exportable.

2. Prerequisites — Enabling via the Customize Menu

The report appears under Reports only when the Inventory Items tab is enabled for the business. Inventory Items is not enabled by default.

How to Enable

1. Open the Customize Menu from the navigation bar.
2. Find the Inventory Items toggle and turn it on.
3. Click Update / Save to apply.

Once enabled, the report is available under Reports → Inventory Items → Inventory Value Summary.

3. Navigating to the Report

From the main navigation bar:

1. Open Reports.
2. Go to the Inventory Items category.
3. Click Inventory Value Summary.

This opens the report list — every saved Value Summary report for the business appears here, sorted by its From Date.

4. The Report List

The list shows one row per saved report, with three columns:

Each row is clickable:

• Click the row to open the report output (the per-item value reconciliation table).
• Edit opens the report form to change the period, description, or the no-movement setting.

A New Report button at the top creates a fresh report.

5. Creating the Report — Field-by-Field

Click New Report to open the report form. It contains four fields:

5.1 From Date and To Date

5.2 Description

5.3 Exclude Items With No Movement

6. Report Output Columns

The report opens with a subtitle:

For the period from {From Date} to {To Date}

The table reads one row per inventory item, listed alphabetically by the item's Code - Name. The columns are:

Opening + Purchases + Production − Cost of sales + Adjustments = Closing

7. How the Report Is Calculated

7.1 Source of the Data

The report is built from the business's General Ledger. It selects every ledger line posted to an inventory on-hand account, runs them through the system's cost-of-goods-sold calculation (so the values reflect your costing method), and groups them by inventory item.

7.2 Opening Balance

Opening balance (per item) = sum of the item's inventory on-hand amounts
   posted before the From Date,
   plus any opening-inventory entry for the item (regardless of its date).

7.3 Purchases

Purchases = sum of the item's inventory on-hand amounts in the period
   from purchases (purchase invoices), expense claims, payments, and import LCs.

• Import LCs are included — when an LC reaches Documents Presented, its capitalised landed cost (CIF + duties + freight) posts to inventory on-hand and appears here.

7.4 Production Orders

Production Orders = sum of the item's inventory on-hand amounts in the period
   from production order documents.

7.5 Cost of Sales

Cost of sales = sum of the item's inventory on-hand amounts in the period
   from receipts and sales invoices.

This is the value of the inventory consumed by sales in the period. Because these postings reduce inventory on hand, the sum is negative.

7.6 Adjustments

Adjustments = sum of the item's inventory on-hand amounts in the period
   from write-offs, journal entries, credit notes and debit notes
   (excluding opening-inventory entries).

• Write-offs reduce value (negative); credit-note returns add value back (positive); journal entries and debit notes adjust per their entries.
• Opening-inventory entries are excluded here — they are counted only in the Opening balance.

7.7 Closing Balance

Closing balance = sum of ALL the item's inventory on-hand amounts up to the To Date
                 (including the opening balance and every period movement).

Because the report is built from on-hand lines, the Closing balance is simply the item's inventory value at the To Date — the figure that appears under Inventory on the Balance Sheet.

7.8 Reconciliation

Closing = Opening + Purchases + Production Orders + Cost of sales + Adjustments

The report is a roll-forward: every item's closing equals its opening plus the period's movements. This makes it a reliable period-end check against the physical stock-take value and against the Balance Sheet.

8. Related Settings and Configuration

9. Sample Data and Report Output

9.1 Sample Setup

Business settings

Transactions

Inventory items

Value movements in the period

9.2 Creating the Report

From Reports → Inventory Items → Inventory Value Summary, click New Report and enter:

9.3 Report Output

For the period from {From Date} to {To Date}

9.4 Calculation Verification

Widget-X (FIFO / Perpetual):

Opening balance = 0
Purchases       = 100@10 + 100@12 + 50@14 = 1,000 + 1,200 + 700  =  2,900
Cost of sales   = −(100@10+50@12) T7 −(30@12) T11 = −(1,600 + 360) = −1,960
Adjustments     = −60 (T14 write-off) + 120 (T17 return)         =     60
Closing balance = 0 + 2,900 + 0 − 1,960 + 60                     =  1,000  ✓

Gadget-Y (Moving Average / Perpetual):

Opening balance = 0
Purchases       = 100@20 + 100@22 = 2,000 + 2,200                =  4,200
Cost of sales   = −(50×21) T8 −(60×21) T12 = −(1,050 + 1,260)    = −2,310
Adjustments     = 0  (the tributary transfer to Location B has no value effect)
Closing balance = 0 + 4,200 + 0 − 2,310 + 0                      =  1,890  ✓

Component-Z (LIFO / Periodic):

Opening balance = 0
Purchases       = 100@30 + 100@32 + 50@34 = 3,000 + 3,200 + 1,700 =  7,900
Cost of sales   = 0  (perpetual sales not booked — periodic COGS at period end)
Adjustments     = −4,900 (T18 period-end LIFO COGS journal: 50×34 + 100×32)
Closing balance = 0 + 7,900 + 0 + 0 − 4,900                      =  3,000  ✓

Total row:

Purchases      = 2,900 + 4,200 + 7,900 = 15,000    ✓
Cost of sales  = −1,960 + −2,310 + 0   = −4,270    ✓
Adjustments    = 60 + 0 + (−4,900)     = −4,840    ✓
Closing balance= 1,000 + 1,890 + 3,000 = 5,890     ✓

10. General Ledger Verification

Every figure in the report is a sum of General Ledger inventory on-hand posting. For example, the Widget-X ledger shows:

Dr InventoryOnHand (Widget-X)   100 @ 10 = 1,000   (T1)
Dr InventoryOnHand (Widget-X)   100 @ 12 = 1,200   (T4)
Dr InventoryOnHand (Widget-X)    50 @ 14 =   700   (T10)
  Cr  AccountsPayable                                           2,900   (balancing)

COGS / adjustments (reduce InventoryOnHand):
  Cr  InventoryOnHand  T7  = −1,600
  Cr  InventoryOnHand  T11 = −360
  Cr  InventoryOnHand  T14 = −60   (write-off)
  Dr  InventoryOnHand  T17 = +120  (credit-note return)
                                ─────────
Closing InventoryOnHand = 1,000   (75 units on hand)

How each report column maps to the GL:

Cross-check with the walkthrough's Trial Balance / Balance Sheet (closing inventory portion):

InventoryOnHand (Widget-X)      1,000
InventoryOnHand (Gadget-Y)      1,890
InventoryOnHand (Component-Z)   3,000
                            ────────────
Total InventoryOnHand           5,890   ✓

11. Reporting and Accounting Impact

• Balance Sheet: The Closing balance per item is the inventory value carried on the Balance Sheet. The grand total (5,890 in the sample) equals the inventory asset at the period end.
• Profit & Loss: The Cost of sales column shows the value that flowed to COGS in the period; the write-off/impairment portion flows through the Adjustments column into P&L.
• Stock control and audit: The report is a full money roll-forward (Opening → movements → Closing), making it the natural reconciliation against a stock-take value.
• Movement analysis: Splitting the movement into Purchases, Production, Cost of sales and Adjustments shows where value came from and went — useful for management and lenders.
• Perpetual/periodic clarity: The same closing value is reached whether COGS is booked at each sale (perpetual) or at period end (periodic); the report shows the timing difference clearly.

12. Accounting Regulation Validation

13. Common Issues and Best Practices

13.1 The Report Does Not Appear

Cause: The Inventory Items tab is not enabled, or the user lacks report permission.

Solution: Enable Inventory Items in the Customize Menu, or ask the administrator to grant report access.

13.2 An Item Is Missing From the Report

Cause: With "Exclude Items With No Movement" on, items with no purchases, production, sales, or adjustments in the period are hidden.

Solution: Turn "Exclude Items With No Movement" off to show all items, or widen the date range.

13.3 The Closing Balance Does Not Equal the Physical Stock Value

Cause: Unrecorded movements, posting errors, or items whose opening balances were not set on the item form.

Solution: Confirm each item's opening quantity/cost, and verify the movement columns against the underlying documents.

13.4 Cost of Sales Looks "Missing" for an Item

Cause: For periodic items (e.g. Component-Z), COGS is not booked at each sale — it is recognised at period end through a journal entry, so it appears in the Adjustments column, not Cost of sales.

Solution: This is expected. Check the item's inventory system (Perpetual vs Periodic) to know where its COGS will sit.

13.5 The Opening Balance Includes An Entry Dated Inside the Period

Cause: Opening-inventory entries are counted in the Opening balance regardless of their date, so a carried-forward opening always appears as the starting figure.

Solution: This is by design.

13.6 Production Orders Show 0 for All Items

Cause: No production orders were recorded in the period (the walkthrough has none).

Solution: This is correct for a purchases-and-sales-only sample. The column appears regardless; it simply shows 0.

Best Practices

• Run one report per period (e.g. monthly) with a clear Description — the saved list makes valuation trend analysis easy.
• Reconcile the Closing balance total to the Balance Sheet inventory account for the same date.
• Pair this report with the Inventory Quantity Summary to verify quantity first, then value.
• Keep "Exclude Items With No Movement" on for a focused working report, and off for a full listing.
• Remember the perpetual/periodic split when reading the Cost of sales vs Adjustments columns.
• Confirm opening balances are set on each item before relying on a period-start value.

End of Inventory Value Summary Guide