An inventory transfer form records stock moving from one of your own places to another: from the kitchen to the shop, the warehouse to a market stall, the farm to a co-packer. Nothing is sold, so no invoice, but the stock leaves one count and joins another, and the form is what keeps both counts right. It lists each item and lot, how many were sent and how many arrived, and it's signed at both ends, so a difference is caught at the door instead of at month end. In the example below, a bakery sends 160 items from its kitchen to its café, 158 arrive, and the two crushed croissants are written down with a reason before anyone signs. Below is what goes on the form, a worked example, transfers in transit, differences, and a free template.
The short version
- One form per trip: number, from, to, sent date, received date.
- Each line: item, lot, quantity sent, quantity received, difference, note.
- Count at both ends; sign for what actually arrived.
- A difference gets its reason before signing: damaged, miscounted, left behind.
- Anything sent but not yet received is in transit; it's in neither count until it arrives.
- Keep a log of transfers, and chase any still in transit.
- TaroStack records transfers between sites, with stock shown in transit. More below.
What goes on the form
| Part | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer number | TR-0388 | Each trip has one record |
| From and to | Kitchen to café | Which counts it leaves and joins |
| Sent and received dates | Both October 14 | Shows when it was in transit |
| Item and lot | Croissant, lot B-1013 | The lot travels with the stock |
| Sent and received | 60 and 58 | Counted at both ends |
| Difference and note | −2, crushed in the van, thrown out | The reason, written at the door |
| Signatures | Sent by, received by | Who counted |
The lot matters even for a short trip: if a batch is recalled, the record has to show it went to the café as well as which customers bought it there. How lot records work is in lot tracking spreadsheet.
A worked example
Flint Hills Bakery, a made-up wholesale bakery in Topeka, Kansas, I use in these examples, bakes in its kitchen and sends the café's stock every morning:
| Item | Lot | Sent | Received | Difference | Cost each | Value received | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sourdough loaf | B-1012 | 40 | 40 | 0 | $4.10 | $164.00 | |
| Croissant | B-1013 | 60 | 58 | −2 | $0.95 | $55.10 | 2 crushed in the van, thrown out |
| Cinnamon roll | B-1014 | 36 | 36 | 0 | $1.20 | $43.20 | |
| Morning glory muffin | B-1015 | 24 | 24 | 0 | $0.85 | $20.40 | |
| Total | 160 | 158 | −2 | $282.70 |
The two croissants leave the kitchen's count with the transfer and are written off as damaged; the café's count goes up by 158, not 160. Valuing the transfer at cost lets each site's stock be valued, and shows what's lost on the road.
Transfers in transit
Stock that has left one site and not reached the other belongs to neither count. The log shows it:
| Transfer | From | To | Sent | Received | Sent | Received | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TR-0386 | Kitchen | Café | Oct 12 | Oct 12 | 150 | 150 | Received |
| TR-0387 | Kitchen | Farmers market | Oct 13 | Oct 13 | 120 | 118 | Received |
| TR-0388 | Kitchen | Café | Oct 14 | Oct 14 | 160 | 158 | Received |
| TR-0389 | Kitchen | Hotel account | Oct 14 | 80 | In transit |
Same-day trips clear the same day; a transfer still in transit after a day means a form wasn't signed, or stock went somewhere it shouldn't have. Running more than one site well is covered in multi-location inventory for a small business.
When the numbers differ
A difference at the receiving end is one of four things: damage on the road, a miscount at either end, stock left behind, or stock sent to the wrong place. The note says which, while the driver is still there. Damage becomes a write-off with its reason, recorded the same way as anything thrown out, with a waste log template; a miscount gets recounted before signing.
Get the template
Download the inventory transfer form. Two sheets: a printable transfer with the number, from, to and dates, and a line for each item and lot with the quantity sent and received and the cost each, working out the difference and the value received, with signature lines; and a log of transfers that marks any still in transit. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A kitchen, a café and a market stall, transfers every morning and every Saturday, a hotel account delivered from the kitchen, and month-end counts at all three. Paper transfers have to be typed into two counts, and one missing form leaves both wrong.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack records transfers between sites, with stock shown in transit.
Sites and transfers. The kitchen, the café, the warehouse, the market stall and a co-packer's premises are sites. A transfer takes stock off one site's count when it's sent and onto the other's when it's received, lot by lot, with stock shown in transit in between.
Counted at both ends. Counting works on a phone with no signal, at the café or the market, and a difference is recorded with its reason, such as damaged, so it's reported by reason, item and site.
And each site's value. Stock is valued by site at what it cost, so each place's stock, and what goes missing between them, shows up.
| The job | Paper | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen to café, lot by lot | A form typed into two counts | One transfer, both counts |
| What's on the road right now | Ask the driver | Stock shown in transit |
| Two crushed croissants | A note on the form | An adjustment with its reason |
| What each site holds | Count each one | Stock and value by site |
Counting and lots are on every plan, from $49 a month; more than one site, and so transfers between them, is on Standard at $99, for up to three sites. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.