// The Most Important Points at a Glance
What You'll Take Away from This Article
- Two key settings per product: Delivered Quantities (invoice only after goods receipt) vs. Ordered Quantities (can be invoiced at any time) – crucial for goods in transit and international supply chains.
- A practical example of a Far East delivery shows two options (with/without a transit warehouse) and their risks, including P&L distortion from a missing inventory effect.
- Solution: Ordered Quantities combined with the syscoon Accrual app automatically simulates the missing inventory entry – especially advantageous for intercompany postings.
In Odoo, there are two key settings for invoice posting: the Control Policy for vendor bills and the Invoice Policy for customer invoices. Both are defined per product and determine whether an invoice is created based on delivered quantities or ordered quantities.
Delivered Quantities: The invoice can only be posted after delivery or goods receipt.
Ordered Quantities: The invoice can be posted at any time.
So which setting is right for which situation, and what should you watch out for?
The Challenge in a Multi-Company Setup
Especially in a multi-company environment and with international supply relationships, the time between invoicing and physical goods receipt can vary considerably.
While a delivery within Germany is usually unproblematic, shipments from China to Europe or the US are a different story.
Our experience shows that the Control Policy for vendor bills is usually set so that a goods receipt is a prerequisite for posting. For customer invoices, the Invoice Policy plays a smaller role, since companies control the delivery and invoicing process themselves.
Practical Example: Goods from the Far East
Two Posting Options
- With a transit warehouse
The supplier sends the shipping documents and invoice on January 25.
The goods receipt is posted immediately (transfer of ownership has already occurred).
The goods appear in the inventory valuation but remain unavailable.
Physical arrival in March triggers a warehouse transfer. - Without a transit warehouse
The goods receipt is only posted upon physical delivery.
The vendor bill still needs to be recorded beforehand.
Risk of P&L distortion due to the missing inventory effect.
Note: "Not posting" the goods in transit at all is not an option. That would be incorrect from an accounting standpoint.
Solution with Ordered Quantities & Accrual Postings
Control Policy = Ordered Quantities allows the vendor bill to be posted early (e.g. on January 25). This results in a corresponding posting under Continental Accounting: Cost of Materials to Accounts Payable
The syscoon Accrual app can simulate the missing inventory entry: Goods in Transit to Change in Inventory (Accrual)
We recommend using a separate account, since standard inventory accounts are intended only for automatic postings.
Advantages in Intercompany Transactions
When goods are shipped between two group companies, the receiving company can already post the vendor bill without having to wait for the physical goods receipt.
The syscoon Accrual app ensures that the inventory increase is posted automatically at month-end and reversed the following day.
Edge Case: Delivery at Month-End
If goods are shipped and invoiced on January 31, the vendor bill and customer invoice must also be posted as of January 31.
Without an accrual and with Control Policy = Delivered Quantities, it must be ensured that the subsidiary posts the goods receipt into a virtual warehouse on the same day.
Due to time zone differences, however, this is often not practical.
Conclusion
Companies with goods in transit or in a multi-company setup should adjust the Control Policy deliberately.
Delivered Quantities is a good fit when physical goods receipt is a prerequisite for posting the invoice.
Ordered Quantities is optimal for international supply chains and intercompany postings.
The right combination of Control Policy and accruals prevents distortions in financial accounting and ensures a more precise inventory valuation.
The syscoon Accrual App is part of our Accounting Features + package. Get in touch now, no obligation!