Van sales is selling from stock on the vehicle: the dispatcher loads the van in the morning, the executive sells and invoices from it through the day, and the evening settles both sides of the ledger — stock back into the depot and cash against what the invoices say should be there. In xMatix the whole run lives on one Field Sales load document, and every stock movement it triggers is a real inventory transfer, so van stock is never an off-books guess.
The van-run lifecycle
| Status | Who acts | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Dispatcher | The load is being built: planned quantity per item |
| Released | Dispatcher | Stock moves out of the depot onto the van; the run appears on the executive's mobile |
| Taken in | Executive | The executive confirms what physically arrived on the van — received, damaged, short, excess |
| Reconciled | Dispatcher | Day end: stock checked back into the depot, cash counted against expected, discrepancies reasoned |
The van itself is a mobile storage location with its own stock, and the run links to a Van Sales visit plan so the selling day is a normal plan on the mobile app.
Prerequisites
- A van defined as a mobile storage location (with declared weight/volume capacity, if you use the capacity check).
- A Field Sales load document for the run, with the depot as source and the van as destination.
- For capacity checks: unit weight/volume on the item master — items without them count as zero load.
Procedure
Step 1 — Build the load
The dispatcher creates the Field Sales load with the correct depot, van, executive and operating date, then adds one planned quantity per item. Compare available depot stock, item units, weight and volume with the physical picking sheet; zero-weight master data can hide overloads. Create or link a Visit Plan whose type is Van Sales, route and executive match the load, and date covers the selling day. Verify totals and links before release because later postings use this header.
Step 2 — Release the load
When the physical pick is ready, choose Release once and review the capacity result. In Warn mode, document an approved overload before continuing; in Block mode, reduce or split the load until it fits. Release posts the depot outward transfer, so open that transfer and reconcile item, quantity, source and van destination. Confirm depot available stock falls as expected, load status becomes Released and the correct run appears on the executive's mobile—do not retry because synchronization is slow.
Step 3 — Take in the stock
Before the first visit, the executive counts physical stock and records received, damaged, short and excess quantities line by line on the mobile van-run card. Reconcile each line equation before confirming and photograph or note material discrepancies under policy. Confirmation posts the van inward transfer and unlocks the day. If offline, verify the action is queued, avoid a second confirmation, and wait for synchronization; once online, check van inventory and run status against the physical count.
Step 4 — Sell on route
At each outlet, open the visit from the van plan, confirm customer and price context, and create the invoice linked to this run. Verify quantities do not exceed van availability, capture the actual payment method, and issue the customer document before leaving. After synchronization, sold quantities and invoiced totals should roll into the load and cash expected. Compare the mobile running summary—loaded, sold, van balance and cash—to physical stock and collections periodically, especially after offline sales.
Step 5 — Settle and reconcile
At day end, synchronize all mobile transactions before counting. The dispatcher records returned, damaged, short and excess quantities per line and compares them with expected closing stock; investigate differences before posting the depot inward transfer. Count cash independently, enter cash received, and require a specific discrepancy reason whenever it differs from cash expected. Confirm reconciliation once, then verify depot receipt, van balance, cash variance, journal/payment evidence and run status Reconciled all agree with the signed physical handover.
Expected result
The released load moves planned stock from depot to van once, take-in reconciles physical quantities before selling, and each mobile sale reduces van stock and records the expected cash or receivable. Day-end reconciliation returns residual stock, balances cash and records every shortage, excess or damage with a reason.
Common problems
If a release is refused, the load exceeds the van's declared capacity and the check is in Block mode — trim the load or use a bigger van. If the capacity numbers look implausibly comfortable, check the item master: items without unit weight or volume contribute zero, making the load look lighter than it is. If the run does not appear on the executive's phone, it has probably not been released yet — Draft loads are invisible to the field.
Common questions
Where does "cash expected" come from?
From the run's own invoices — it is the rolled-up collected value of what was sold from the van, not a manually entered target. That is what makes the evening comparison meaningful: expected is what the paperwork says, received is what is in the bag, and the difference must be reasoned.
What happens to damaged stock?
It is recorded per line at both handovers — damage found at take-in and damage found at day-end check-in — and posted with the corresponding transfer, so the depot's books reflect it rather than absorbing it silently.
Can the executive work the run offline?
The stock take-in, the visit flow and day-tracking all work offline and replay from the device outbox. See how offline-first mobile works for the mechanics.