Introduction to Batch Tracking

Batch Tracking is an application accessory available on the Diamond and Premier Product levels. It adds batch tracking facilities to the stock, invoicing, order processing and job costing applications, keeping a note of all batches and serial numbers for those stock items designated to have this level of attention.

Batch tracking is implemented in the Datafile Software system by adding a batch and a batch transaction file. The batch file holds a record of each batch and of each serial number recorded in the stock system. The batch file is a detail file to the stock master file, but is itself prime-indexed to ensure unique numbers for both batch and serial numbers. The batch transaction file records the movements of serial numbered items and of items in batches. This file structure is illustrated below.

Stock items can be marked as either tracked by batch, serial or not at all. Where a stock item is batch tracked then the batch or serial number used can be pre-formatted like a stock code and each stock item can set its batch codes to be in an individual format. The batch/serial number for stock items can be automatically generated by the system for stock items where you assign the number (as opposed to set batch/serial item for goods from a supplier). This is controlled by a flag on the stock record.

Every time a physical quantity of a flagged stock item is moved the system asks for the batch/serial code and generates the appropriate transactions.

Batch Tracking is supported for stock transactions generated in the following applications:

Stock Control

Invoicer (excluding Matrix / Template Items)

Job Costing (excluding Matrix / Template Items)

Sales Order Processing

Purchase Order Processing

Bill of Materials

It is not supported for stock transactions generated directly through the sales/purchase ledgers or via stock batch update.

The application of Batch Tracking to Stock Control has been discussed were appropriate in the previous chapters, this is covered again here for completeness before going on to cover the Batch Tracking enquiry and reporting options and the implications for other applications such as Order Processing (although batch processing also covered in these application manuals as well were appropriate).