Lot numbers, expiry dates and serial numbers: track them without a spreadsheet
For a lot of businesses, the count on the shelf is the easy part. The detail that actually keeps you out of trouble is which units they are: what lot they came from, when they expire, and which serial walked out the door. Get that wrong and you’re facing failed audits, blind recalls and warranty disputes. Here’s how to track it cleanly with custom fields (item-level and unit-level) instead of a side spreadsheet that nobody updates.
Lot and batch numbers: traceability
A lot number ties a group of units back to a production run. When a supplier issues a recall on lot “L-22841,” you want to answer one question in seconds: do we have any, and where? Store the lot as a unit-level custom field on the stock line, and a search instantly tells you what to pull. When you hold multiple lots of the same product, each line keeps its own lot without inventing separate items. No lot field, and a recall becomes a shelf-by-shelf hunt.
- Record the lot as stock is received, while the box is still in your hand.
- Prefer unit-level fields when you regularly hold more than one lot of the same SKU.
- Keep the format consistent so a search for a partial lot still finds matches.
Expiry dates: rotate first-expiry-first
Expiry dates only help if you capture them. Put “Expiry” on the unit (or stock line) as a custom field, show it where you need it, and rotate first-expiry-first. That is FEFO (first-expiry-first-out), and it’s the difference between selling through stock and writing it off. When several lots share one item, each unit can expire on a different date.
Serial numbers: individual accountability
Some items aren’t interchangeable. A power tool, a laptop, a piece of medical equipment: each has a serial number, a warranty window and a history. For those, a serial-number custom field turns “we have 12 drills” into “drill SN-4471 is out with the north crew, warranty through 2027.” That’s the line between inventory tracking and asset tracking.
Why a custom field beats a spreadsheet
A side spreadsheet drifts out of date the moment stock moves, and it isn’t there when someone’s standing at the shelf with a phone. Custom fields live on the item or the unit, so they travel with the stock: scan the QR code, see the lot and expiry, update on the spot. Catalog facts stay on the item; lot and expiry stay on the unit when lots differ. Everything stays searchable, sortable and consistent, and every change is logged.
Stay audit-ready
- Decide which details are mandatory for your business and capture them at receiving, every time.
- Promote the ones an auditor or a recall would ask for (lot, expiry) to columns so they’re visible at a glance.
- Pair it with snapshots for a dated, frozen record you can reconcile against.