Sample Stock Retention
Sample stock refers to a small retained quantity of inventory kept aside from a batch of items for future analysis, quality verification, or compliance requirements.
These samples can belong to raw materials, packaging materials, or finished goods. The purpose is to maintain a reference sample that can be tested later if any quality or regulatory check is required.
1. Prerequisites
Before using sample retention in ERPNext, the following master data should be configured properly to ensure traceability and correct stock movement.
- Item must be created in the system.
- Batch tracking must be enabled for the Item (Has Batch No should be checked).
- Warehouse must be created, including a dedicated warehouse for sample storage.
2. Sample Retention Warehouse Setup
It is recommended to create a separate warehouse specifically for storing retained samples. This ensures that sample stock is not mixed with production or saleable inventory.
Always maintain a dedicated Sample Retention Warehouse to improve traceability and avoid confusion with regular inventory stock.
3. Enable Retain Sample in Item Master
Sample retention works only for batch-managed items. Therefore, batch tracking must be enabled first in the Item Master.
- Enable Has Batch No in the Item Master.
- Enable Retain Sample option for the item.
- Define the Maximum Allowed Samples per Batch.
This configuration ensures that only a limited number of samples can be retained for each batch, maintaining controlled sampling practices.
4. Creating Sample Stock through Stock Entry
Sample retention is handled during stock receipt transactions when inventory is first received into the system.
- Create a Stock Entry with purpose set to Material Receipt.
- Select the Item and assign the relevant Batch Number.
- Enter the Sample Quantity to be retained from the batch.
The sample quantity cannot exceed the maximum limit defined in the Item Master settings.
5. Transferring Sample Stock
After submission of the Material Receipt, ERPNext provides an option to transfer the retained sample stock to a dedicated warehouse.
- Click on “Make Retention Stock Entry” from the submitted Stock Entry.
- The system creates a new Stock Entry of type Material Transfer.
- This entry transfers sample stock from the source warehouse to the Sample Retention Warehouse.
- Review and submit the transaction to complete the process.
Sample stock is separated from regular inventory to ensure it is preserved for testing or compliance purposes without affecting usable stock levels.
6. Business Benefits
- Supports quality assurance and compliance testing.
- Maintains traceability of production batches.
- Ensures controlled usage of sample inventory.
- Helps in audits and product verification processes.
7. Related Topics
- Batch Management
- Warehouse Management
- Stock Entry
- Quality Inspection
