Lot and serial numbers in Business Central

Start with the item tracking code

Tracking is controlled by an Item Tracking Code, which you attach to the item card. The code decides whether the item is tracked by serial number, lot number or package number, and whether the tracking is specific. Tracking cannot be used until the code is set on the item, so plan the setup before any inventory transactions have been posted.

Remember also the number series for lot and serial numbers on the item card, if BC is to suggest numbers itself. If you only need to record numbers on receipt, you can enter them without turning on specific tracking. Microsoft Learn does warn, however, that this may not work well with warehouse management based on warehouse documents if you only fill in some of the tracking fields.

Assign numbers on purchases

It is most common to assign numbers when the item comes in. Open the purchase order, select the line, and open Item Tracking Lines from the Line menu. Here you can:

• choose Assign Serial No. or Assign Lot No. to take numbers from the number series
• use Create Customized Serial No. to start from, for example, S/N-Lev0001 with an increment you choose
• enter the vendor's own numbers manually
• gather the new serial numbers under a new lot number with the Create New Lot No. check box

Select numbers on sales

On outbound documents you normally choose among numbers that are already in stock. You can look up in the Lot No. or Serial No. field, or use Select Entries, which shows all numbers with their availability. If the item is only tracked on sales, you can instead assign new numbers from the number series.

The quantities at the top of the page must match the line quantity. The Undefined field must show 0 before you can post. Availability is updated when you open the page, not while it stays open. Use Refresh Availability if you work on the page for a long time and many others use the same items.

Transfers, quality and changes

On transfer orders, shipment and receipt share the same tracking page. The numbers must be received unchanged, and you cannot edit them along the way. If a lot number or an expiration date must change, you use an Item Reclassification Journal. Here you can also combine several lots into one. All lots that are combined must get the same new expiration date.

For quality information you can create an information card for a serial number or lot number. Here you can write a short description and select Blocked, so the number is excluded from all transactions.

Checklist before you go live

• Is the item tracking code set on all items that must be tracked?
• Are the number series created, and does everyone know who may use them?
• Has the opening balance been created with numbers? Use an item journal with Item Tracking on Lines turned on, or Edit in Excel.
• Do you know who changes lot and expiration date, and how it is documented?
• Have you tested a full flow from purchase to sale in a sandbox environment?

Traceability for complaints

Tracking pays off when something goes wrong. With numbers on inbound and outbound entries, you can find out which customers received a particular lot and which vendor it came from. Use the Item Tracing page to follow a number forwards and backwards through the entries.

Test it before you need it. Pick a lot number from an old receipt and see whether you can find all the sales lines that used it. If you cannot, the setup or the discipline when entering numbers is not in place.

Next steps

Addverk builds its own apps for Business Central, but they are not on Microsoft AppSource yet. On the apps page you can see what we are working on. If you want help with the setup in standard BC, you will find the services and the open prices on the prices page.