Batch Tracking enables you to trace products from the moment they enter your inventory through to final sale. This powerful feature gives you complete visibility over specific batches of products, including optional expiry date tracking for warranty periods or product lifespans.
Why use Batch Tracking?
Batch Tracking is essential for businesses that need to:
Ensure product safety and compliance: Quickly identify and recall compromised batches, particularly critical for food safety and regulated industries.
Maintain full traceability: Track products through all stages from manufacturing and processing through to distribution and retail.
Contact affected parties: Easily identify which customers and suppliers received specific batches.
Monitor product lifecycles: Track expiry dates and prioritize older stock for sale.
Meet regulatory requirements: Maintain complete documentation of product movement.
Tutorial Videos
Lot and batch tracking in Unleashed
Enabling Batch Tracking
Account setup
Before using Batch Tracking on any products, you must enable it in your account settings:
Navigate to Settings > Company > Configuration.
Toggle Batch Tracking to ON.
Click Save.
Important: Once enabled and applied to products, Batch Tracking cannot be completely disabled in your account. However, you can disable it for individual products (see below for requirements).
Product-level setup
After enabling Batch Tracking in system settings, you can activate it for specific products as needed:
Open the product record you want to track.
In the Details tab, locate the Type section.
Toggle Batch Tracked to ON.
Click Save.
Products with existing stock on hand
If the product being enabled for batch-tracking has current inventory, you'll see a pop-up window where you must:
Allocate Batch Numbers to existing stock for each warehouse.
Add optional Expiry Dates.
Ensure all stock has a Batch Number before saving.
Key Restrictions
Batch Tracking cannot be enabled for products on open transactions; complete or remove the product from transactions first.
You cannot enable both Serial Tracking and Batch Tracking on the same product.
To disable Batch Tracking on a product, it must have zero Stock on Hand and not appear on any open transactions or Bills of Materials.
Batch Tracking Across Transactions
Once enabled, Batch Tracking integrates into multiple transaction types throughout Unleashed.
Purchase Orders
When receipting stock, you can allocate new or existing Batch Numbers to incoming quantities. This is your opportunity to record batch information from suppliers as products enter your inventory.
Supplier Returns
When returning products to suppliers, use the Batch column to assign the Batch Number being returned.
📌 Note: You can only return Batch Numbers originally receipted on that Purchase Order.
Sales Orders
Sales Orders allow soft-allocation of Batch Numbers. In the Order Lines tab, select the Batch column to use the following assignment functions:
Click "Select Oldest" to automatically allocate the oldest batches.
Click "Select None" to clear all batch allocations.
Manually enter specific Batch Numbers in the text field at the bottom.
Important Behaviour: Batch Numbers allocated to Sales Orders automatically flow to their subsequent Shipments and Invoices. However, if you change batch allocation on the Sales Order after creating Shipments or Invoices, those documents won't automatically update; you'll need to adjust them manually.
Shipments
Shipments provide flexible batch allocation options. In a Shipment Lines, select the Batch column to view batches "Selected on Order" (only batches from the Sales Order) or "All Available Batches" (everything available in the warehouse).
Use the following assignment functions per view to assign batches to the shipment:
Click "Select Oldest" to automatically allocate the oldest batches.
Click "Select None" to clear all batch allocations.
Important Behaviour:
Batches are not hard-allocated until shipment dispatch.
Warning icons appear in the batch allocations window if a batch becomes over-allocated to multiple shipments.
Batch Numbers can be reassigned if another shipment dispatches first.
Invoices
While Batch Numbers aren't required to complete an Invoice, the document will automatically update to show the Batch Numbers once stock is dispatched from the related Shipment.
In Invoice Lines, select the Batch column to view and use the following assignment functions:
Click "Select Oldest" to automatically allocate the oldest batches.
Click "Select None" to clear all batch allocations.
Manually enter specific Batch Numbers in the text field at the bottom.
Credit Notes
When batch-tracked stock is being returned via Credit Notes, select the Batch column in the Credit Lines tab to allocate Batch Numbers being returned to stock.
Important Behaviour: You can only return Batch Numbers originally dispatched on the Sales Order. If you need to return a different batch, create a Free Credit instead, which allows you to return any Batch Number.
Warehouse Transfers
When transferring stock between warehouses, click on the Batch column to allocate Batch Numbers from the source warehouse. Only batches available in the source warehouse will appear in the selection list.
When the Warehouse Transfer is completed, the allocated Batch Numbers transfer with the stock to the destination warehouse.
Stock Counts
When a Stock Count is at the "In Progress" status, download a list of the Batch Numbers which should be present in the selected warehouse by selecting Print > Print with Batch Numbers.
Click on the Batch column in an "In Progress" Stock Count to use the following assignment functions:
Click "Select Oldest" to automatically allocate the oldest batches.
Click "Select None" to clear all batch allocations.
Manually enter specific Batch Numbers in the text field at the bottom.
📌 Note: The Stock Count's "Count Quantity" must match the total batch quantity assigned.
Stock Adjustments
Use Stock Adjustments to manage batch-tracked inventory by either assigning new or existing Batch Numbers to stock being added or specifying the Batch Numbers of stock being removed.
Click on the Batch column in a Stock Adjustment to use the following assignment functions:
Click "Select Oldest" to automatically allocate the oldest batches.
Click "Select None" to clear all batch allocations.
Manually enter specific Batch Numbers in the text field at the bottom.
Assemblies
The Production module supports comprehensive batch tracking for both assembled and component products:
Assemble new batches.
Track batch components throughout production.
Maintain continuous monitoring from component receipt through to customer delivery.
Record batch numbers for all ingredients and trace them through the entire assembly process.
Efficiently managing Batch Numbers
Unleashed prioritizes older batch-tracked stock to optimize inventory rotation. The system defines "oldest" as:
The batch with the oldest Expiry Date, if expiry dates are used.
The batch that has existed longest in the system, if no expiry dates.
📌Note: The original date a batch was added determines its age, even if stock depletes to zero and is later replenished.
Single transaction Oldest Batch assignment
Within individual transactions:
Locate the Action Cog in the Batch column header.
Hover over it and select "Assign Oldest Batch Numbers"
All batch-tracked products on that transaction will receive the oldest available batches
Bulk assign Oldest Batch across multiple transactions
To update several transactions simultaneously:
Navigate to the transaction view page, e.g., View Sales Orders.
Use checkboxes to select transactions, or click "Select All" in the Header Action Cog.
Hover over the Header Action Cog.
Select "Assign Oldest Batch Numbers".
This bulk feature dramatically improves efficiency when processing multiple orders while ensuring proper stock rotation.
Monitoring and Reporting
Batch Expiry Tracking
Your Dashboard includes a dedicated Batch Expiry tile showing batches approaching expiration:
Go to your Dashboard.
Select Show in the Batch Expiry tab (bottom of page).
Review the tile displaying:
Expires: Days until expiration
Batch Number: The expiring batch
Product: Product code and description
Value: Total value of expiring stock
Quantity: Units on hand
A red banner highlights any batches that have already expired.
Batch Numbers Enquiry
The Batch Numbers Enquiry is a comprehensive reporting tool in Unleashed that provides real-time visibility into batch-tracked inventory throughout its entire lifecycle, from receipt to final sale or disposal.
The enquiry uses powerful filtering options to focus on specific information, including warehouse location, product codes, batch numbers, expiry dates, and batch status (available, unavailable, or deleted). Results display in a sortable grid showing batch numbers, expiry dates, warehouse locations, and stock quantities.
Key Capabilities:
Displays current stock status (available, unavailable, or deleted) for each batch across warehouses.
Shows original quantities versus remaining stock levels.
Tracks complete transactional history for every batch number.
Manages expiry dates directly within the system.
The system also allows you to export comprehensive CSV files with full transactional breakdowns, making it invaluable for businesses with strict traceability requirements or recall procedures.
Batch Recall Process
If you need to recall a batch, Unleashed provides comprehensive tracking:
Navigate to Reports > Inventory > Batch Numbers Enquiry.
Filter by relevant details (Batch Number, Product Code, etc.).
Set the Batch Number Status dropdown to blank.
Click Run.
Verify the displayed batch details.
Select the Export dropdown.
Click Export Batch Information.
The exported CSV includes complete transaction history (Purchases, Shipments, Assemblies) with customer details and all transactions associated with that batch. Use this information to contact affected parties.
Best Practices
To maintain system performance and ensure smooth transaction processing:
Limit each batch to approximately 1,000 transactions. Batches used on more transactions take longer to load and process. Consider closing out batches and creating new ones for long-running products.
Keep batch-tracked product lines to 100 or fewer per Sales Shipment. Avoid listing the same product on multiple lines of a single Sales Order, as this can cause processing delays.
Utilize the "Assign Oldest Batch Numbers" feature regularly to ensure proper inventory management and minimize expired stock.
When using expiry dates, maintain consistent date formats and always enter them when receipting new batches. This ensures accurate oldest-batch calculation and expiry monitoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I disable Batch Tracking for a product?
Why can't I disable Batch Tracking for a product?
To disable Batch Tracking on a product, you must ensure:
The product has zero Stock on Hand (use a Stock Adjustment to remove it)
The product isn't included in any open transactions (check the product's References tab)
The product isn't listed as a component on any Bills of Materials, including obsolete BOMs (check the Production tab)
Once these conditions are met, you can disable Batch Tracking, then use another Stock Adjustment to restore inventory without batch tracking.
How does Unleashed determine the "oldest batch"?
How does Unleashed determine the "oldest batch"?
The oldest batch is determined by:
The date the batch was first added to your product's Stock on Hand
Not by the Expiry Date
If a batch's stock depletes to zero and is later replenished, the original added date still determines its age for "oldest batch" calculations.
What happens if I change batch allocation on a Sales Order after creating a Shipment?
What happens if I change batch allocation on a Sales Order after creating a Shipment?
The Shipment will not automatically update to reflect the new allocation. You'll need to manually update the Batch Numbers on the Shipment to match the Sales Order's new allocation.