V9 - Item movement report
Use case
The Item movement report (Operations > Reports > Inventory > Item movement) provides details about the movement of items on transactions: the quantity received, returned to vendors, shipped, adjusted, etc., as well as the total quantity in and out. This report helps identify any reorder point modifications you need to make.
While the basics for running any report in SOS Inventory are covered in Reporting introduction and Running a report, the filters, options, and columns specific to the Item movement report are explained below.
Filters
From date and To date.
- Relative/Absolute toggle. Used for customized and scheduled reports.
- Relative automatically recalculates the date whenever the report is reopened or run. It must be used in tandem with the Quick date selector, which assigns a general time frame (e.g., Today, Yesterday, Start of last week, End of last month, etc.) instead of a specific date.
- Absolute, the default, keeps the exact date.
- The system automatically populates the current date in the date field by default. You can change specific dates manually according to the Date format established in your User settings (either MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY), or by using the Calendar (event).
- Even if you are not creating or running a customized or scheduled report, you may find it more convenient to use the Quick date selector, which assigns a general time frame (e.g., Today, Yesterday, Start of last week, End of last month, etc.) instead of a specific date.
Location. Select All or an individual location. If All is selected, the report will combine the quantities for each item across all locations.
Categories. Select All or individual categories. All is the default. Multiple categories can be selected. To use this filter, categories must be defined in SOS Inventory.
Vendor. Select one from the dropdown. The vendors listed are the preferred vendors from item definitions.
Item name contains. Type all or part of an item name to display matching items.
Options
Hide rows with all zeros. If you have items with no quantities and no value, check this option to prevent them from being displayed in the report.
Include archived items. SOS Inventory does not include archived items in reports by default. Check this option if you want archived items to be included when you run the report.
Show "from" and "to" dates. If checked, shows a date range at the top of the report, based on your From date and To date filters. The date range appears when Display is selected under Retrieve your report. If the report is retrieved by Email or Download, the date range will appear only if you print your spreadsheet. If a header is also entered for the report, the date range will be displayed below the header.
Group by. A set of options that allows you to group data on the report. The options include None, Category, or Vendor. The default is None, which displays items in alphabetical order. If your Group by option is set to Category, any item that has not been assigned to a category will be included in the first grouping displayed on the report, under the heading <no category>. The same principle applies when the Group by option is set to Vendor. Items with no preferred vendor defined will be listed first on the report, under the heading <no vendor>.
Header. Enter header text for the report, if desired. The header appears when Display is selected under Retrieve your report. If the report is retrieved by Email or Download, the header will appear only if you print your spreadsheet.
Footer. Enter footer text for the report, if desired. The footer appears when Display is selected under Retrieve your report. If the report is retrieved by Email or Download, the footer will appear only if you print your spreadsheet and will display above the system-generated text, Report Generated [date] [timestamp].
Columns
The default columns for the Item movement report are Name and Description. A name links to the item record on the Items list. Fifteen additional SOS column options are available, as well as any custom fields you have defined for items.
Sample Item movement report
This sample Item movement report, filtered for a date range of January 1, 2026, through June 30, 2026, shows the movement at all locations. No options were enabled. The columns selected for display included Name, Reorder Point, and Max Stock.
Ten columns are built into the report permanently: Received, Returned to Vendor, Built, Used to Build, Shipped, Returned, Adjustments, Total In, Total Out, and Net.
Net quantity = Total In quantity - Total Out quantity.
Notes
A negative value in the Net column means that you are selling more than you are purchasing. A positive number means you are not selling as much as you planned.
The goal is to keep the numbers in the Net column low. If your Net is zero, you are breaking even on your selling and purchasing. If the Net value is high (either positive or negative), you may need to adjust your reorder point.