Inventory is tied to the date the inventory change is entered, not the date items were purchased. If your on‑hand inventory is set to zero, ASBWorks will not retroactively count past sales once you add inventory later.
The adjustment date should always be the current date, because the system records the change as of the day you update it.
Cost Account helps you track the true cost of your items and how they affect profit/loss.
- Off Books
The cost account doesn’t track anything.
No financial activity hits that account.
- On Books
The item’s cost is tracked.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is applied and will show in profit/loss reports.
- On Hand – how many items you physically have available
- Reserved – items that were purchased through the webstore but not yet picked up
Here’s how different actions affect the two:
The system will not let you sell more than:
On Hand – Reserved
| On Hand | Reserved | |
| Sale | -1 | No Change |
| Order (Webstore) | No Change | +1 |
| Pick Up | -1 | -1 |
Example
On Hand: 10
Reserved: 3
This means 3 items have been paid for online, and 7 are still available to sell.
When a customer picks up an item:
- On Hand decreases by 1
- Reserved decreases by 1
Backdating Example (Why Timing Matters)
3/1/2021 – On Hand = 0
3/1–3/5/2021 – 10 items sold
3/6/2021 – You enter inventory and set On Hand = 20
Because you added inventory after the 10 sales happened, ASBWorks does not include those earlier sales in your new on‑hand total. You must adjust manually:
On Hand you entered: 20
Already sold before inventory was added: 10
20 – 10 = 10 true On Hand