Updated: July 15, 2026 9:27am

Prism Administration Console Guide
Node Preferences - Purchasing - General

In Node Preferences > Purchasing > General, you set the costing method to use when items are received at a Voucher Cost that is different from the current Inventory Cost. Voucher Cost is an important value because of its potential impact on Inventory Cost and ultimately on the inventory valuations that are entered on financial reports.
There are two primary questions that need to be answered regarding Voucher Cost:
1.    How is the Voucher Cost field populated? This is answered by the "Cost to use for POs and Vouchers" preference
2.    What happens if I receive items into Inventory at a Voucher Cost different from current Inventory Cost? This is answered by the Inventory Costing Method preference.
Cost to Use for POs and Vouchers
The Cost field in the item's Inventory record is the main field for tracking cost. However, there is also an Order Cost field in the item record. The Order Cost field provides an additional field for tracking cost and is used with the Trade Discounts and Foreign Currency Orders features.
So which field will be used to populate PO Cost when a user creates a PO (or Voucher Cost when a user creates a voucher)? That will be determined by the "Cost to Use for POs and Vouchers" preference. The default setting for the preference is to use Order Cost on POs and Vouchers. However, the default value for Order Cost field is 0.00; therefore, unless you are doing something special with the Order Cost field, like using Trade Discounts or Foreign Currency Orders, the Order Cost field will be actually be populated from the Cost field.
The preferences in this area can apply to either purchase orders or vouchers.

Preference Description
Cost to use for POs and Vouchers

Order Cost: The item's Order Cost in Inventory is used to populate the PO Cost field for items.
Inventory Cost: The item's current Cost in Inventory is used to populate the PO Cost field.
Trade Discount (future release): If selected, the Trade Discount % entered in the vendor's record is applied to the Vendor List Cost to determine the Order Cost and PO Cost for items.
If the item is not listed on a PO (either because a PO was not referenced or the item was not on the original PO), then the setting from this preference determines how the Voucher Cost field is populated. [Note: You can also set a Cost Difference Threshold preference in Node Preferences > Merchandise > Inventory > General. When New Cost Differs From Old Cost by more than the specified percentage, a warning will be issued. You will still be allowed to complete and update the voucher.]

Inventory Costing Method

Whether the Voucher Cost is populated by Order Cost or Inventory Cost, what happens when the voucher is updated the Voucher Cost differs from the Inventory Cost? That question is answered by the "Inventory Costing Method" preference. By default, the quantities received at the new cost are averaged in with the quantities at the existing cost.
The following table lists the available options for the "Inventory Costing Method" preference.
Average: This is the default setting. If items are received at a Voucher Cost that is different than the current cost in inventory, the new quantities at the new cost are averaged in with the existing quantities at the old cost.
Leave: If selected, inventory Cost is always left unchanged.
Overwrite: If selected, the Voucher Cost becomes the new Cost in Inventory.

Calculation for Inventory Costing Method ‘Average'
The basic calculation is: InvnC$ = [(invnC$ * InvnQty) + (VouC$ * VouQty)] / [InvnQty + VouQty]
Example: Inventory Item 555 has a qty of 5 and a current inventory price of $5. On a new voucher, we are receiving a qty of 10 with a new cost of $4.75. Our new Inventory cost (InvnC$) for item 555 will be:
[($5 * 5) + ($4.75 * 10)] / [5 + 10] => [$25 + $47.50] \ 15 => 72.50 / 15 = $4.83
Had the Inventory Costing Method in the above example been ‘Overwrite', the new Cost$ would simply have been $4.75

Intercompany Transfer Costing Method The "Intercompany Transfer Costing Method" preference lets merchants set the costing method used when receiving intercompany transfer items.
Previously, the "Inventory Costing Method" preference governed both receiving vouchers and transfer vouchers. This caused problems when the subsidiaries involved in an intercompany transfer had different settings for that preference. A dedicated preference for intercompany transfers gives merchants more flexibility in this situation.
  • Average (default): Calculates a weighted average cost based on the receiving subsidiary's current cost/quantity and the received cost/quantity.
  • Overwrite: The voucher cost replaces the receiving subsidiary's existing inventory cost.
  • Leave: The receiving subsidiary's inventory cost is not updated.
Note: This preference is independent of the existing "Inventory Costing Method" preference.
Restrict to one vendor per PO/voucher When enabled, only items which match the document Vendor can be added to a PO or Voucher. This preference only applies to receiving vouchers; it does not apply to transfer vouchers.

Node Preferences > Purchasing > General
Purchasing > General preferences

 

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