Transfer orders let you move inventory from one location to another while maintaining traceability. When you ship from a warehouse in Oslo and receive at a store in Bergen, Business Central tracks the goods as in-transit until the receipt is posted. This keeps your inventory counts accurate at both ends throughout the process.
Prerequisites
Before creating a transfer order, make sure the following are in place:
- At least two locations exist in Locations setup
- If using standard (two-step) transfers, an In-Transit location must exist, this is a special location with the Use As In-Transit field enabled
- Transfer routes between locations are configured in Transfer Routes, or you are using direct transfers (which bypass the in-transit requirement)
- Items are stocked at the source location
Creating a Transfer Order
- Search for Transfer Orders using
Alt + Q. - Select New to open a blank transfer order.
- In the Transfer-from Code field, select the location you are shipping from.
- In the Transfer-to Code field, select the destination location.
- In the In-Transit Code field, select your in-transit location. This field is required for standard transfers.
- Set the Shipment Date and Receipt Date as needed.
- On the Lines tab, enter the items to transfer:
- Select the Item No.
- Enter the Quantity
- If the item has variants, specify the Variant Code
- Save the order.
Posting the Shipment
Posting the shipment reduces inventory at the source location and moves the goods to the in-transit location.
- Open the transfer order.
- Select Post from the action bar.
- In the dialog, choose Ship and confirm.
After posting the shipment, the Quantity Shipped column updates on the lines. The items are now recorded at the in-transit location and no longer appear in the source location’s available inventory.
Posting the Receipt
When the goods arrive at the destination, post the receipt to move inventory from in-transit to the destination location.
- Open the same transfer order.
- Select Post from the action bar.
- Choose Receive and confirm.
After posting, the Quantity Received column fills in and the order closes. The items now appear in inventory at the destination location.
Using Direct Transfers
Direct transfers are a simpler alternative when you do not need to track goods as in-transit. The shipment and receipt are posted as a single step, and no in-transit location is required.
To enable direct transfers on a transfer order:
- Open or create a transfer order.
- Enable the Direct Transfer toggle on the order header.
- The In-Transit Code field will be cleared and disabled.
- Add your item lines as normal.
- Select Post, then choose Ship and Receive to complete the transfer in one step.
Direct transfers work well for internal moves between bins at the same site, or when physical transit time is not meaningful for your reporting.
In-Transit Locations
An in-transit location is a non-physical location used solely to hold inventory between shipment and receipt. To set one up:
- Search for Locations using
Alt + Q. - Select New or open an existing location.
- Enable the Use As In-Transit toggle.
- Save.
Once created, assign this location as the In-Transit Code on your transfer routes or directly on transfer orders. You cannot post inventory transactions directly to an in-transit location, it is only populated through transfer order postings.
Checking Inventory Across Locations
After transfers, you can view item availability by location from several places:
- Open the Item Card and go to Navigate > Entries > Availability by Location
- Use the Inventory report filtered by location
- On any sales or purchase line, use the Available Quantity DrillDown to see per-location stock
For items with variants, you can filter both by variant and location at the same time.
If you need to track bin-level movements within a location, see How to Use Warehouse Management (WMS) in Business Central.