# Receive a Transfer

Close the second half, and treat a difference between sent and received as a real finding.

Stock in transit belongs to no depot until this step. Receiving is what makes it sellable again.

## Receive it

- **Open the transfer at the destination**

  It appears at the receiving depot as expected stock, with the status still **In Transit**.

  ![A transfer order record showing its source and destination warehouses, its reason, its status and the item lines and quantities being moved.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/inventory/stock-transfers/transfer-detail.png)
- **Count what actually arrived**

  Against what was sent. This is the same discipline a purchase receive asks for, and for the same reason.
- **Receive it**

  The units land at the destination and become available there. The status moves to **Received**.

> **Warning:**
>
> **Sent minus received is stock that has gone missing internally**
>
> It is the most awkward discrepancy to investigate because there is no vendor and no customer to ask. Record the receive short, then adjust the difference out with a reason, so the number exists rather than being quietly absorbed.

## The in-transit state

| Figure | At the source | In transit | At the destination |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Counted in your total | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Available to sell | Yes | No | Yes |
| Physically present | Yes | No | Yes |

In transit is the row worth understanding: the stock is still yours and still valued, and nobody can sell it.

> **Tip:**
>
> **A transfer older than the journey is a prompt to look**
>
> Filter the list to In Transit. Anything sent weeks ago and never received is either a van that never arrived or a receive nobody did, and both are worth five minutes.