Deviation (SAP Business One)

Any difference between the actual Quantity of a stock item and the quantity shown in the stock records.

A deviation in SAP Business One refers to the difference between the actual physical Stock of an item and the quantity recorded in the software. These discrepancies can have a variety of causes, including human error, system-related delays or shrinkage, and have an impact on warehouse management, stock valuations and financial accounting.

Causes for deviations:

Incorrect manual interventions: Inaccurate or incomplete entries for stock movements.
Non-timely bookings: Delays in the recording of incoming or outgoing goods.
Shrinkage and damage: Loss of stock due to theft, spoilage or other damage.
Incorrect inventory counts: Incorrect or incorrectly documented inventory results.
Direct deliveries: Deliveries to customers that have not been booked in the system in advance can lead to negative inventories.

Functions for managing deviations:

Automatic revaluation:
- Stock levels are automatically adjusted with each booking on the basis of individual prices or price lists.
- Deviations due to differences between purchase and goods receipt prices are automatically corrected.
- Inventory reconciliation accounts are updated every time the inventory changes.
Inventory monitoring and notification:
- Warnings when stock levels fall below minimum levels or target/actual deviations.
- Possibility to count stock directly at goods receipt/issue.
Negative stocks:
- SAP Business One allows negative stocks to be blocked at warehouse or company level.
Reporting functions:
- Inventory posting report: Shows stock movements (receipts and issues).
- Inventory audit report: Allows detailed analyses and containment of stock deviations.
Continuous inventory management:
- Changes in inventory are integrated into the general ledger as financial transactions, which ensures seamless tracking.

Effects of deviations:

Complexity of accounting: Additional Adjustment postings increase the administrative burden.
Traceability: Frequent deviations can impair the transparency of booking processes.

Best practices for minimising deviations:

Regular inventories: Carrying out accurate inventory counts to avoid differences.
Prompt booking: Immediate recording of stock movements in the system.
Staff training: Minimisation of errors through training in the use of SAP Business One.

Application example:
During stocktaking, a company notices that 10 items of a product are missing, although 50 items are shown in the system. The cause is attributed to incorrect postings at goods receipt. SAP Business One compensates for this discrepancy by automatically revaluing the stock value and the warehouse team receives a notification to prevent future errors.

SAP B1 blog