Use this page when a real quantity leaves the stock you are tracking, and you need to explain what happened to it. A use records something taken for a purpose; a loss records something physically lost, dead, spoiled or discarded.
This is different from correcting a mistaken starting count or weight. It is also different from material already recorded as consumed in production: enter that consumption on Produce or harvest so it stays connected to its output.
Record a use or a loss
Begin in Current Stock to identify the stock and read its unit. Copy its Stock number, then click Record use or loss near the top of that sheet. The link opens the next unused Use or loss row. Click its Stock number box and choose Edit → Paste special → Values only, or choose the number from the list. The quantity changes only after you submit the completed event on Post entries and its result says Accepted.
If you are already on Use or loss, click Start next entry to reach the same unused row. Earlier records and unfinished rows stay in place. To finish an event you already started, return to its original row. These links only move you; they do not fill or submit an entry. If the link says Entry page full — stop, keep the existing rows and do not replace them.
Use the next empty Use or loss row. Give the event a new entry number, choose the stock number and enter the actual date.
Choose Use or Loss, enter the positive amount removed in the displayed unit, and explain its reason or purpose. Add a time and recorder name when useful.
Read Entry check. Once the row is complete, choose that record on the next empty Post entries line and look for Accepted.
Click the Current Stock tab to return and check the remaining amount. Your search and filters stay as you left them. Use & loss history should now explain the accepted removal.
There are 200 entry rows in the development preview. Keep one person in charge of entry at a time. Before posting, make sure the same material has not already been recorded as source consumption on a production activity.
If you have several removals to record, you can prepare their rows together. See Record several uses or losses for copying shared details without copying the amounts or posting them as a batch.
Record several uses or losses
If you have several separate removals from the same stock to enter, you can copy their genuinely shared details instead of choosing that stock repeatedly. Keep one row for each actual use or loss, with its own Entry number, amount and explanation.
The optional Time happened and Recorded by columns, J and K, are normally folded away to leave more room for the everyday fields. Click the small + above the columns to show them when needed. Entry check in I and Current on hand in L remain available for review.
Bring over the stock number once. Copy the Stock number from Current Stock and use Record use or loss to reach an unused row. In its Stock number cell in column C, choose Edit → Paste special → Values only. If you already started the work, return to those original rows instead of creating it again. Leave earlier entries and unfinished drafts in place.
Label every separate event. In column B, type a different unused Entry number for each row and keep it unchanged. Do not fill the same number down the rows: each use or loss needs its own number even when it came from the same stock.
Copy only the shared stock and date. Enter the actual Happened on date in D on the first row. If both C and D are the same for every event, select those two columns from the completed first row through the last row you are preparing, including the first row. Press ⌘D on Mac or Ctrl+D on Windows to copy the first row down. If the dates differ, fill C alone and enter each date separately. If the stock differs, choose the correct number on each row rather than filling it from the first.
Enter what happened on each row. Choose Use or Loss in E, enter that event’s Quantity removed in F, and explain its Reason or purpose in H. These details belong to the individual removal, so review them separately rather than filling them from the row above. Expand J and K if you want to enter a known time or recorder name; leave an unknown time blank.
Read the checks without overwriting them. Check the Unit in G and Entry check in I for every row. Do not fill or type over those fields, Current on hand in L or Posted in A. Leave an unfinished row in place while you complete the others. Ready means a draft passes its entry checks; it does not mean the removal is recorded in stock.
Submit the entries one at a time. Follow the Post entries link and post each prepared entry separately. Check for Accepted after each one. Before choosing another, click Next posting line → on that page and open its current dropdown afresh. Do not copy several previously displayed choices into posting rows.
Google Sheets saves the drafts you type, but a draft does not reserve stock. Current on hand shows what remains now after accepted work, not a predicted balance after each draft. Several drafts can each look ready even when their combined amounts are more than what remains. Check each posting result as you go: an earlier Accepted entry stays recorded if a later entry is Rejected.
When the removals you intended to finish are Accepted, return to Current Stock to check the remaining amount and Use & loss history to read their reasons. Keep unfinished drafts for later. Have one person enter and post this work at a time.
Posted
The Posted box is calculated from the accepted posting; you do not tick it. Complete the draft, read Entry check, then select the completed use or loss on the next empty Post entries line. Only a result of Accepted removes the amount from stock.
If you close the workbook or lose the confirmation, return to this same draft and check Post entries before submitting again. An accepted entry has already changed the quantity. A rejected submission changes nothing: correct that existing draft and select its updated completed record on a new Post entries line, leaving the rejected posting in place. You do not need another event reference to retry the same work.
Entry number
Give each use or loss a number or short label that has not already been used for another event. Type it directly into the cell and keep it unchanged. It labels this particular removal, while Stock number labels the item or lot it came from. You can use a suggested number as a guide when choosing it.
Entry check warns you about a repeated number. If you accidentally submit the same completed event twice, the second submission is rejected and the earlier Accepted result stays in place. Have one person enter work at a time to keep the numbers and posting order clear.
Stock number
Choose the existing item or lot the quantity came from. Its own entry on Add Stock or Produce or harvest must already have an Accepted result. Use the same number even when only part of its quantity was removed, so the remainder keeps its notes and earlier history.
This action records a smaller physical amount. It does not create new stock, move what remains or make a separate decision about its stage or readiness.
Happened on
Enter when the use or loss actually happened, using the date picker or typing the date. It cannot be before the stock existed or in the future. Use the actual event date even when catching up with older work.
The preview checks the total quantity recorded, but does not recreate the amount on hand at every earlier date. You can use the event dates to understand what happened when; you cannot use this page to establish an inventory amount or value for any chosen past date.
Use or loss
Choose Use when stock was actually taken for a purpose. Choose Loss when it was physically lost, died, spoiled or was discarded. Both take a positive quantity from the tracked stock; the choice explains why the amount left.
When material becomes a separately tracked output, record its consumption on Produce or harvest instead of removing it here as well. When an original amount was simply typed or counted incorrectly, use Correct quantity. A mistaken record is not evidence that anything was physically lost.
Quantity removed
Enter the amount actually removed as a number greater than zero, in the displayed Unit. Use only the decimal places allowed for that unit. If the whole lot was removed, enter what was actually left at that time rather than its original starting quantity.
The sheet checks the removal against what remains. Work already marked Accepted is kept ahead of later submissions. If this later amount is too large, the whole submission is Rejected and nothing is removed. Correct the existing draft before choosing it on a new Post entries line.
Unit
The sheet fills in the unit from the stock you selected. Read it before entering the amount, because a number alone does not tell you whether you mean a count, weight or volume. Leave this label unchanged and enter a quantity measured in that unit; no conversion is made here.
Reason or purpose
Explain why the quantity left stock in a sentence that someone else could understand later. This is required because the amount alone does not tell a useful story. Name the real purpose of a use, or describe what caused the loss.
For an observation that has not itself removed anything, use Stock notes. For example, noticing heat exposure can be important even while the whole amount remains present. If part of it is later discarded, record that actual amount as a separate loss when the disposal happens.
Entry check
Read the words as well as the colour in column I: Posted, shown in green, means the entry has been Accepted. Ready, shown on a pale background, is still a draft. A red message explains a problem to correct before posting.
Read the message the sheet fills in before submitting the entry. It points to missing information, a repeated event number, a date or stock number that needs attention, or a quantity that exceeds what remains. Correct the entry boxes and leave the shaded results as they are.
Ready can still be accompanied by a caution about the stock’s current readiness. Recording a use that happened does not release a hold or approve that use. The quantity changes only when the result on Post entries says Accepted.
When the draft is ready, click Post entries near the top of this sheet. The link takes you straight to the next unused posting line, so you do not need to scroll through earlier work. Choose this completed entry from the list and check that Result says Accepted before treating it as recorded.
Time happened — optional
Enter the actual time when you know it, choosing a suggestion or typing a more exact time. Leave it blank if only the date is known; an invented time would give a later reader false confidence about the sequence. Read the date and time in the workbook’s timezone.
The optional time column is normally folded away. Click the + above the columns to show J and K.
Recorded by — optional
Choose the person or team recording the event, or type another name. General settings and People or teams supply the suggestions. This gives colleagues someone to ask about the removal; you need to enter the name yourself rather than expecting Google sign-in to fill it.
The optional recorder column is normally folded away. Click the + above the columns to show J and K.
Current on hand
The sheet shows how much remains now after amounts used in production, other uses, losses and quantity corrections. Held or unready stock is still included because it remains physically present. Current Stock shows readiness separately.
This is today’s quantity, not the amount immediately after the event on this row. It can change as more work is recorded against the same stock.
Preparing several drafts does not reduce or reserve this amount. It is not a prediction of what will be left after the draft on this row, and it can update after another entry is Accepted.