Batches and expiry
Why the same product can hold several batches, and how the oldest is billed first.
You will see this in your account when your goods carry batch or lot numbers and your goods carry expiry dates. TracEasy turns modules on to match your trade, so a screen described here may not appear for every business.
A product is a name and a code. A batch is actual goods on a shelf: a quantity, what it cost, what it sells for, and when it expires. One product can hold many batches, and this is the single most important idea in the stock module.
Why the same product splits into batches
You buy the same item twice, three months apart. The second lot cost more, carries a different lot number and expires a year later. Treating both as "50 units of product X" throws away everything you need to price it, trace it and clear it before it expires.
So TracEasy stocks them separately:
| Lot A | Lot B | |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Same | Same |
| Lot number | A-2201 | B-2208 |
| Quantity | 20 | 30 |
| Cost to you | ₹ 82 | ₹ 89 |
| Expiry | Mar 2027 | Dec 2027 |
Your catalogue still shows one product. Your stock shows two batches under it, and every invoice line points at exactly one of them.
Choosing a batch while billing
- 1
On the billing screen, search for the product as usual.
- 2
Use the lot picker on the item card to choose which batch to sell from.
Each lot shows its own stock, expiry, MRP and price, so you can see what you are picking.
- 3
Add the line. Only that batch’s quantity goes down.
Batches that have run out are not offered at all — there is nothing to sell from them.
Sell the oldest first
The picker shows each lot’s expiry date next to its stock. Billing the earliest-expiring lot first is how you stop stock ageing out on the shelf — the app shows you the dates, the habit is yours.
The expiry date on an invoice line
The expiry printed on an invoice is the date recorded at the moment of billing. If you correct it on the line — because the carton says something different from what was typed at goods-in — the correction is saved back to the batch as well, so the next person to sell from that lot sees the right date.
Note
The same snapshot rule applies to MRP. An invoice always shows the MRP that applied when it was raised, even if you change the product’s MRP afterwards. Old bills stay correct.
Where batches come from
- A purchase bill — the normal route. Each line of a supplier bill creates or tops up a batch at the cost on that bill. See Record a purchase bill.
- Add Stock — for opening stock, or goods that never had a bill. See Add a product.
- An edited or deleted invoice — returns the units to the batch they came out of.
Related articles
Last checked against the app on 20 September 2026. Screens change as the product does — if something here does not match what you see, tell us and we will fix the page.