Catalog

Set Manufacturing and Expiry Dates on an Item

Date-sensitive items need accurate item-master dates before staff rely on expiry reports or sale-screen filtering. Posnic stores both dates on the Details tab and requires expiry to follow manufacturing date.

Menu path
Inventory -> Items -> New or Edit -> Details
Verified from
Posnic demo and current POS source reviewed on 2026-09-08
Technical source evidence

Live demo Inventory -> Items -> New -> Details audited and captured 2026-09-05, frontend/modules/items_write.html items_mfg_date and items_expiry_date, frontend/static/script/js/modules/js/items.js create edit date pickers and validation, frontend/static/script/js/modules/js/sales.js expiry filtering in catalog and search, api/src/models/item.model.js stored date fields

Item date fieldsLive Posnic demo captured 2026-09-05. Manufacturing and expiry dates are optional fields on the item Details tab.
Expiry review destinationThe saved expiry date feeds the Expired Product report for stock review by date range.

When to Use These Dates

StockRecordReason
Food, medicine or cosmetics with a use-by dateExpiry dateLets the till hide expired items and gives managers an expiry report.
A batch where production date mattersManufacturing and expiry datesPreserves both dates and validates their order.
Product with no meaningful expiryLeave both blankThe fields are optional; do not invent dates.
Different batches with different datesSeparate item or batch process approved by the ownerThe audited item record has one manufacturing date and one expiry date, not a demonstrated multi-batch ledger.

Enter the Dates

  1. Open Inventory -> Items and create a Standard item, or edit the correct existing item.
  2. Complete the normal item identity, price, stock, SKU or barcode and tax fields.
  3. Open Details.
  4. Select Items MFG Date using the date picker, or enter it as YYYY-MM-DD.
  5. Select Items Expiry Date in the same format.
  6. Confirm expiry is later than manufacturing date and is today or later.
  7. Save, reopen the item and confirm both dates were retained.
  8. Open the item details view and verify Items MFG Date and Items Expiry Date show the intended values.

Validation Rules

  • Both date fields may be left blank.
  • Entered dates must use YYYY-MM-DD.
  • Expiry must be later than manufacturing date when both are present.
  • The item form accepts today as an expiry date and rejects a past expiry date during normal entry.
  • Do not bypass a rejected date by changing the device clock; correct the item evidence instead.

Prove the Sale Boundary

  1. Save a controlled test item with a future expiry date and confirm it can be found in New Sale.
  2. After the approved test, use a non-production record to test an expired date through the supported data path available to your deployment.
  3. Confirm the expired item is absent from both item cards and typed sale suggestions.
  4. Do not treat absence from one view as disposal evidence; inspect stock and the Expired Product report.
  5. Record the item name, SKU or barcode, dates, branch, tester and observed result.

Important Boundary

The audited record stores one pair of dates per item. It does not prove FEFO allocation, lot-level quantities, recall tracing or several expiry batches under one SKU. Businesses needing those controls must validate a separate-item convention or another approved batch process before rollout.

Common Problems

ProblemLikely causeCorrection
Use the date formatDate was typed in another formatUse the picker or enter YYYY-MM-DD.
Expiry must be greater than manufacturing dateDates are equal or reversedCheck the source label and correct both dates.
Expiry must be today or in the futureA past date was entered on the formDo not sell it; record it through the approved expired-stock procedure.
Item disappeared from New SaleIts saved expiry date has passedVerify the item and report, isolate remaining stock and follow owner policy.
Two batches need different datesOne item record cannot represent both accuratelyUse an approved separate-item or batch-control process.

Acceptance Record

  • Item name, SKU or barcode and branch.
  • Manufacturing and expiry source evidence.
  • Saved values after reopening the item.
  • Future-date sale-search test and expired-item exclusion test.
  • Remaining-stock handling owner and review date.

Related Manual Pages

Catalog Create Item Use the full Add Item form when the product must be searchable, scannable, stocked, reported and controlled correctly. Reports Expired Product Review The Expired Product tab is a stock-control worklist, not a disposal record. It reports items whose expiry date falls in the selected range and whose available quantity is still above zero. Inventory Stock Control Stock control starts when items are created and continues through every sale, return, purchase, adjustment and low-stock review. Sales Find, Scan and Add Items The item box is the cashier's first control: it accepts item names, SKU values and barcode scans, and it can fall back to quick sale only when that is the right business choice. Catalog Barcode Label Printing Barcode labels should be printed only after the item has a trusted Barcode or Same as SKU value and one sample label scans back into New Sale.