Custody and ownership control
Consigned units may sit inside a retailer warehouse without being ordinary retailer-owned stock. Reconciliation fails when physical custody, available-to-sell status, ownership, sale, return and payment are collapsed into one quantity.
Direct answer
Reconcile consignment inventory by starting with the written agreement and an exact cutoff. Record consignor, consignee, locations, products, ownership or control boundary, event that triggers sale or payment, return rights, loss and damage treatment, pricing, fees and statement cadence. Build opening stock from the previously agreed closing balance. Add confirmed receipts and authorized transfers; subtract reported sales or consumption, approved returns to consignor, write-offs and other controlled movements. Keep customer returns, quarantine, damage, display units, reserved stock, in-transit units and expired or aged items in separate statuses. Match product identity by SKU, variant, lot or serial and use one unit of measure. Compare calculated closing quantity with the consignee inventory report and a physical count at the same cutoff. Investigate timing, unreported sale, wrong location, duplicate receipt, unit conversion, return, theft, damage or title-status differences before adjustment. Reconcile financial events separately: units triggering invoice, gross sales, discounts, consignee commission or fee, taxes, refunds, consignor payable, prior payments and unapplied balances. Obtain both parties' approval for quantity, ownership and settlement corrections. Close the period with a signed inventory and financial statement, then carry forward only identified exceptions.
Use this before requesting a quotation
Identify parties, locations, covered SKUs, custody, control or title terms, risk of loss, insurance, sale or consumption trigger, price, commission, deposit, return rights, aging, recall support and termination. Do not infer accounting ownership from physical location. Have legal and accounting specialists interpret the actual arrangement and applicable standards.
Record statement period, exact cutoff, currency, unit and location scope. Start from the prior agreed closing quantity and open exception list. Define whether goods in transit, customer returns, display use and transfers are included. Both parties must compare events through the same moment; late sales and receipts should not appear on only one side.
By SKU and status, add receipts and incoming transfers, then subtract reported sales or consumption, returns to consignor, authorized transfers, disposals and other movements. Link dispatch, receipt, sale, return and adjustment references. The calculated closing balance should explain every unit since opening rather than relying on the current stock screen alone.
Report available, reserved, sold-not-dispatched, customer-returned, quarantined, damaged, missing, display, in-transit, aged and pending-return units separately. Record lot, serial or package identity where needed. Units present but not sellable should not inflate available quantity, and damaged units should not disappear before responsibility and disposition are decided.
Count consigned stock through controlled location, identity, unit and cutoff procedures. Keep it distinguishable from owned inventory. Recount material differences and review movements, duplicate receipts, unreported consumption, wrong bins, pack conversions and returns before adjustment. Preserve first count, recount, book balance and authorized correction.
Map the agreement trigger to invoiceable units. Reconcile gross sale or consumption, authorized discounts, customer refunds, consignee fees or commission, tax treatment, consignor proceeds, invoices, credits, deposits and payments. Quantity reconciliation and cash reconciliation should link but remain visible; one agreed unit count does not prove the financial calculation is correct.
Review slow, obsolete, damaged and expiring units under agreed rules. Assign evidence and responsibility for loss or damage without assuming custody equals liability. On transfer or termination, freeze movements, count, settle sold units, authorize returns or disposition, recover property and close both inventory and financial ledgers. Carry open disputes by ID, owner and date.
Reusable buyer brief
Consignor, consignee, agreement and covered locations: Ownership/control terms and sale/payment trigger: Period, cutoff, currency, SKU and unit of measure: Prior agreed closing and current opening quantity: Receipts, transfers in and supporting references: Sales/consumption, returns out, transfers and disposals: Available, reserved, return, hold, damage and in-transit status: Calculated closing, reported closing, physical count and recount: Quantity variance, cause, evidence and approved adjustment: Invoiceable units, gross sales/usage, discounts and refunds: Commission/fees, tax, credits, proceeds and payment status: Aging, loss, return/exit action and final joint approval:
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Before you send the request
It is stock placed with another party under an arrangement where physical custody may transfer before control, title, sale or unconditional payment obligation does. The agreement and applicable rules define the boundary.
Start with agreed opening stock, add receipts and transfers, subtract sales, consumption, returns and other authorized movements, then compare calculated closing stock with reports and physical count.
Use the event defined by the agreement and applicable accounting and legal review, such as reported sale or consumption. Physical delivery alone may not be the trigger.
Responsibility depends on contract, custody facts, cause, insurance and law. Record condition and evidence, preserve the units and obtain authorized disposition before settlement.
Keep the request specific
Control, title, revenue recognition, tax, loss, insurance and consignee obligations depend on the agreement, facts, jurisdiction and accounting framework. IFRS 15 below is an accounting source, not legal advice or a universal rule for every business. Use qualified legal, tax and accounting review.
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MINJI separates physical custody, inventory state, control or ownership, sale trigger and settlement. UNECE sources support partner inventory and consumed-goods invoicing; IFRS 15 provides current accounting indicators requiring case-specific professional application.
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Send the product reference, estimated quantity and destination so the conversation starts with useful context.
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