V9 - Purchase variances report

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Use case

The Purchase variances report (Operations > Reports > Purchasing > Purchase variances) shows the difference between standard purchase price and actual purchasing cost.

 

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 Purchase variances 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. All is the default.

 

Vendor. Choose the desired vendor from the dropdown.

 

Item name contains. Type all or part of an item name to display matching items.

 

Options

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 header 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, Item, or Vendor. The default is None, which orders transactions by date, from oldest to newest. If your Group by option is set to Item, the report shows an item, followed by all item receipts for that item, and finally, a Total line for that item. If your Group by option is set to Vendor, the item receipt for each item on the transaction is displayed under the vendor name, followed by a Total line for that 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 show above the system-generated text, Report Generated [date] [timestamp].

 

Columns

The default columns for the Purchase variances report are Receipt #, Receipt Date, Vendor, and Item. Eight additional SOS columns are available, as well as any custom fields you have created for item receipts.

 

Sample Purchase variances report

The screenshot below of a sample Purchase variances report is at the location Main Warehouse, for the vendor Anderson Supply Co, and the date range of June 1-30, 2026. The Group by option is set to Item. The default columns are displayed, along with six others that are built into the report: Quantity, UOM, Standard Cost, Actual Cost, Variance, and Percent (%). The monetary values in the Standard Cost, Actual Cost, and Variance columns are displayed in the home currency. The transaction reference numbers in the Receipt # column are clickable links that take you to the corresponding item receipt on the Item receipts list. A Totals line at the bottom of the report shows the total quantity of items, as well as the total standard cost, actual cost, and variance in the home currency.

 

A low value in the Percent (%) column is desirable. A high value indicates that your actual cost for the item, from that vendor, is significantly more than expected.

 

 

Note

A highly recommended use of this report is to set the Group by option to Vendor, then download the report. In Excel, do a pivot table based on vendor and a secondary pivot based on item. This allows you to see the particular price increases or decreases that vendors are making on items that they sell.