Tracing and recalling a lot

Applies to: All tiers  ·  Last reviewed: 2026-08-26

What this is

How to find every unit of a lot: what is still on your shelves, what is committed to orders that have not gone out, and who has already received it. This is the report you open when a supplier issues a recall, or when you find a problem with a batch yourself.

Before you start

Lot Recall can only find what was recorded. Lot numbers are entered per line when stock is received, so a lot that was never recorded cannot be traced. See Receiving inventory with a receipt.

Run a trace

1. Go to Reports > Lot Recall.
2. Enter the Lot # as it was recorded at receiving.
3. Optionally narrow to a single Client.
4. Click Search.

What comes back

• Matched lot. Confirms the SKU, lot number, expiry date and client, so you can check you are looking at the right batch before you act on it.
• On Hand. Every warehouse and location still holding the lot, with quantities. This is your pull list.
• Open Allocations. Orders that have claimed the lot but have not shipped yet. This is what you can still intercept.
• Shipped (recipients). Every order the lot has already gone out on, with client, ship-to name, carrier, tracking number, quantity and ship date. Export Shipped (CSV) downloads this list.

Working a recall

The three panels map onto the three things a recall asks of you.

1. Quarantine what is still on hand. Move the stock to a location with Sellable turned off, so it can never be allocated to an order. Turning off Pickable is not enough on its own, because a person can still allocate a non-pickable location by hand. See Setting up locations and bins.
2. Stop what is in flight. Work the Open Allocations list. Those orders have the lot committed but have not shipped, so they can still be pulled before they leave the building.
3. Contact who already received it. Export the shipped list. It carries the carrier and tracking number for each parcel, which is what you need to trace a delivery and notify the recipient.

What can go wrong

• The search returns nothing. Check the lot number against what was recorded at receiving, including any prefix. Receiving is where the value is set, so that is where to confirm it.
• On Hand shows less than you expected. Some of the lot may already be allocated or shipped. Read all three panels together rather than the first one alone.
• A lot you expected is not there at all. Lot numbers are optional at receiving. Stock taken in without one cannot be traced by lot afterwards, which is the argument for recording them on every lot-controlled product from the start.