# Make an Adjustment

Choose the mode, pick the depot, the account and the reason, then enter the difference.

An adjustment is quick to raise and permanent once applied, so the care goes into the reason and the number rather than the mechanics.

> **Before you start:**
>
> A tracked item, a warehouse, and a count you trust.

## Raise one

- **Go to Stock Adjustments and select Adjustment**

  Or use **Adjust Stock** on the item itself, which fills the item in for you.

  ![The New Adjustment form. Adjustment Details holds a required Mode of Adjustment toggle set to Quantity over Value, a required Date, a required Account picker, a required Reason picker reading Select a reason, a required Warehouse set to Rotherham Central Warehouse, a Reference Number field and a Description box. A Line Items table below has columns Item Details, Variant, Quantity Available, Net Quantity on Hand and Quantity Adjusted, the last showing the placeholder Eg, plus 10, minus 10. The footer carries Attachments, Cancel, Save as Draft and Adjust Inventory.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/inventory/stock-adjustments/new-adjustment.png)
- **Choose the Mode of Adjustment**

  **Quantity** changes the count; **Value** changes what the units are worth without moving any of them. It applies to the whole document, not to a line.
- **Pick the account, the reason and the warehouse**

  All three are required. The account is where the write-off posts, the reason is what makes the total explainable later, and stock is held per depot so an adjustment needs one.
- **Enter the difference, not the new total**

  The **Quantity Adjusted** column takes a signed change: `+10` for ten found, `-10` for ten missing. **Quantity Available** and **Net Quantity on Hand** beside it show you what the system currently thinks, so you can work out the difference on screen.
- **Select Adjust Inventory**

  **Save as Draft** keeps it as a form and moves nothing. **Adjust Inventory** applies it.

> **Warning:**
>
> **The quantity column is a difference, not a count**
>
> This is the mistake worth avoiding. Typing your counted total into **Quantity Adjusted** adds that many units on top of what you already hold. If the shelf says 38 and the system says 40, the number to enter is `-2`.

## Choosing the reason

The reason list is fixed, and picking the honest one is what makes the monthly write-off readable.

| What happened | Reason |
| --- | --- |
| A stocktake or cycle count disagreed | Physical Count Discrepancy |
| A formal audit found a variance | Audit Adjustment |
| Goods broke, or were water damaged | Damaged goods |
| Stock passed its shelf life | Expired Items |
| Units turned up that were never recorded | Found Items |
| Stock written off as unsellable | Stock Written off |
| The starting balance on go-live | Initial Stock Setup |

> **Tip:**
>
> **One adjustment per event, not one per month**
>
> Batching a month of small differences into one document makes the total right and the cause unfindable. A reason code is only useful at the granularity the incident happened at, and the Reference Number field is there for the stocktake sheet it came from.