Master data setup
Customers, vendors, warehouses, products and variants, drivers, vehicles, expense categories and bank accounts — created once, reused everywhere.
The setup order
Do these in order. Each step depends on the one above it. You are ready for daily operations once steps 1 to 4 are done.
| # | Step | Manual | Menu |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Finance prerequisites | CH 02 | — |
| 1 | Customers | CH 06 | Sales → Customers |
| 2 | Vendors | CH 05 | Procurement → Vendors |
| 3 | Warehouses | CH 04 | Inventory & Spares → Warehouses |
| 4 | Products, variants, categories | CH 04 | Inventory & Spares → Products |
| 5 | Drivers and vehicles (optional) | CH 08 | Operations → Drivers / Vehicles |
| 6 | Expense categories (optional) | CH 12 | Administration → Expense Categories |
| 7 | Bank accounts | CH 09 | Finance → Cashbook |
| 8 | Opening balances (optional) | CH 02 | Accounting → Double-Entry Journal |
The supporting chapters (fleet, cashbook, approvals, analytics, administration) extend the workspace rather than gate it. Adopt them once the core flow is running.
Customers
Create each customer you invoice once. Customers are used by sales orders, invoicing, containers, port operations and demurrage.
Sales → Customers → New CustomerVendors
Create each supplier you buy from once. Vendors are used by purchase orders and payables. Payment collection details belong in the finance module, not on the vendor record.
Procurement → Vendors → New VendorWarehouses
You need at least one active warehouse. The system picks the alphabetically-first active warehouse as the default for sales-order approval and fulfilment, so create and rename deliberately if you run multiple depots.
- A warehouse with active stock (on hand, allocated or on order) cannot be deleted — clear it first.
- Deactivate a depot you have stopped using rather than deleting it.
Inventory & Spares → Warehouses → New WarehouseProducts and variants
Rule
Stock is tracked at the variant
A product without a variant cannot be bought, sold or stocked. The SKU is what appears in every stock, order and movement dropdown.
- 01
Categories (optional)
Group products for reporting and filtering. Categories can nest via a parent and carry a sort order. No ledger impact.
Inventory & Spares → Products → Manage Categories - 02
Product
Name, description, category and unit of measure (pcs, kg, L, box, m).
Inventory & Spares → Products → New Product - 03
Variant
The stock unit: product, SKU, optional barcode (8–13 digits), optional attributes (size, colour) and an optional price override for order lines.
Inventory & Spares → Products → New Variant
Drivers and vehicles
Drivers and vehicles are required on every trip and on a port gate pass. Expense categories group trip expenses in analytics.
| Entity | Key fields | Menu |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Full name, licence number, phone, advance limit (cumulative across unsettled advances), active | Operations → Drivers |
| Vehicle | Plate number (unique per workspace), type, make and model, fuel type, owned or rented, active | Operations → Vehicles |
| Expense category | Name only — for example Fuel, Tolls, Parking | Administration → Expense Categories |
Note
The advance limit is cumulative
A driver's advance limit applies to the total of all their unsettled advances, not to a single trip. Set it accordingly — full detail in CH 08.
Bank accounts
Create the bank accounts you move money through. Each account can be linked to its own GL account; unlinked accounts post to the default Bank account 1010.
Finance → Cashbook → Add Bank AccountMaster data checklist
- At least one active warehouse exists.
- Every stocked item has a product and a variant (SKU).
- Customers and vendors you trade with exist.
- Drivers and vehicles exist if you run trips.
- Expense categories exist if you want trip costs grouped in reports.
- A bank account exists before you record the first receipt or payment.