If you keep stock in more than one place, the question that matters is simple: which warehouse is nearly full, and which one is quietly short? The Warehouses screen in Aicountly Inventory answers it by letting you set a warehouse capacity (a maximum stock quantity) and showing how full each one is against it.
Why a warehouse capacity limit is worth setting
Most small businesses know their stock total but not where it sits. A godown that is almost full forces a rushed transfer or an expensive extra rental. A shop-floor store that is empty means a customer waits while stock lies elsewhere. Putting a ceiling on each warehouse turns a vague feeling into a percentage you can act on.
The ceiling is a count of units, not a legal or accounting figure. It is your own planning number, so choose one you can defend: the quantity your racks and floor space can realistically hold.
Step 1: Open the Warehouses master
In Inventory, go to Masters → Warehouses. You will see a table with these columns: Warehouse, Code, Type, Location, Capacity, Current stock, Utilisation, Negative stock, Status and Updated. You need read access to the warehouses master to see the screen, and write access to change anything.
Above the table, tabs switch between All warehouses, By location, Capacity view and Map view. You can also search by name, code or location, and filter by status (active or inactive) and by type.
Step 2: Set the maximum stock units
Open a warehouse to edit it. In the capacity section, the field is called Maximum stock units. Enter the most units that warehouse can hold. The field's own help text says to leave it empty if the warehouse has no set ceiling; the screen then reports capacity as Not configured instead of guessing. You can also record the Area and its unit alongside it.
While you are there, pick the warehouse Type. The options are standard, transit, damaged, quarantine, consignment, job worker and virtual. Setting a damaged or quarantine store apart from your standard stock keeps unsellable goods out of the numbers you plan around.
Step 3: Read utilisation and the colour bands
Once a capacity is saved, the Utilisation column shows current stock as a percentage of that ceiling. Stock quantity comes from the warehouse-stock report, which the screen reads once for the whole company rather than warehouse by warehouse.
- Up to 70% reads as Within capacity.
- Above 70% and up to 90% reads as Filling up.
- Above 90% reads as Over 90% full.
- A warehouse with no capacity set reads as Capacity not configured.
The percentage is printed beside the bar, so the status never depends on colour alone. The figure is also not capped at 100: a warehouse holding more than its stated ceiling shows its real percentage, which is exactly the row you want to notice. A negative balance is shown as 0% on the bar, with the quantity column carrying the minus sign.
Step 4: Decide what to do about negative stock
Each warehouse has a Negative stock setting with three outcomes: Allow, Block, or Follow company policy. In the table these show as Allowed, Blocked and Company policy. If you want hard discipline in a particular store, set it to Block so issues beyond what has been received are refused there. If you leave it on company policy, the company-wide rule applies.
Whatever you choose, the page tells you when it has happened anyway. The Quick insights card flags warehouses that hold negative stock, with a link to the stock balances register so you can review them.
Step 5: Use Quick insights and the Capacity view
The Quick insights card is computed from your own warehouses, not written in advance. It can tell you how many warehouses are over 90% full or above 80%, how many have no capacity set, and whether any warehouse is marked as the company default. When one warehouse is over 90%, it names that warehouse and its percentage. Every insight links to the screen where you can act on it.
Open the Capacity view tab when you want to compare warehouses side by side. The Stock by warehouse card shows quantity on hand; value appears on hover only if your profile is allowed to read cost figures. If it is not, the page says so rather than showing a misleading zero.
Step 6: Move stock before a warehouse overflows
When one warehouse is filling up and another has room, create a Stock transfer in Inventory. It moves stock between two warehouses. Check the Utilisation column afterwards to confirm both places now sit in a healthier band.
It also helps to mark one warehouse as the Default warehouse. Documents that do not name a warehouse use it, so make sure the default is one with spare capacity. You can set it from the row's actions menu, and the same menu offers Duplicate, Activate or Deactivate, and Delete.
A simple routine for small businesses
- Set a maximum for every active warehouse, even a rough one.
- Once a week, open the Capacity view and look for anything above 70%.
- Before a big purchase, check whether the receiving warehouse can take it.
- Review negative-stock warnings the same day they appear.
- Pair this with a reorder point so you buy on time and store on time. Our guide on reorder point and safety stock in Inventory covers the buying side.
Key takeaways
- Set Maximum stock units per warehouse; leave it empty if there is no real ceiling.
- Utilisation bands are up to 70%, 71 to 90%, and above 90%.
- Choose Allow, Block or company policy for negative stock per warehouse.
- Use Quick insights and Stock transfer to act before a store overflows.
If you hold stock in more than one place, Aicountly Inventory gives you one Warehouses screen to see where it sits and how full each place is. It pairs well with reserving stock for orders and physical stock verification, so what you plan, hold and count stay consistent.
