The quick answer
Open the sales order and read the back-ordered line's Committed, Back Ordered and Available values. If the unit is on the shelf but NetSuite shows nothing available at the line's location, go to Transactions > Inventory > Adjust Inventory and add it at that same location. Save, reopen the order to confirm the line is now committed, then click Fulfill for the remaining line. If the unit came from a vendor, enter an Item Receipt instead, and if NetSuite shows it at another location, enter an Inventory Transfer.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own records and values when following the steps.
Before you start
This example is a OneWorld account with Multi-Location Inventory. Sales order SO2210 has two lens boxes at Harbor Street Clinic. The first shipped, so the order is Partially Fulfilled. The second, CL-350, is back ordered because the item has nothing available at the clinic, although the unit is on the shelf and was never received into NetSuite. Make sure the unit is physically there, that no vendor receipt or transfer is waiting to be entered, and that the item is an inventory item whose stock is genuinely missing from NetSuite. If the stock sits in a damaged or quarantine status, a bin, a lot or a serial number, correct that record instead of adding a second positive adjustment. Harbor Street Clinic has to belong to the subsidiary, the date has to be in an open posting period, and the adjustment account has to be active for the subsidiary. Your role needs permission to create inventory adjustments and item fulfillments. Menu paths and the columns you see depend on your role and release.
01. Read the order line
Open sales order SO2210 from global search or the sales order list. The status is Partially Fulfilled. On the Items subtab, compare each line's Fulfilled, Committed, Back Ordered and Available. The first lens box shows Fulfilled 1. The CL-350 line shows Committed 0, Back Ordered 1 and Available 0 at Harbor Street Clinic. Back Ordered is the quantity ordered but not committed because no qualifying stock is available under the line's commitment rules, so Back Ordered 1 with Available 0 indicates that nothing is currently available for this line at that location.
02. Open Adjust Inventory
Go to Transactions > Inventory > Adjust Inventory. Set Subsidiary to Brightwater US and Adjustment Account to 6500 Inventory Adjustments. Use the account your accounting policy designates for count corrections. Set Adjustment Location to Harbor Street Clinic, the location on the order line, and type a Memo that says why the unit is being added. Here the memo is Unit on the shelf, never received.
03. Add the item line and save
On the Adjustments subtab, choose CL-350 Daily Lens Box, -3.50 as the item. Location shows Harbor Street Clinic from the header, so choose it yourself if your form leaves it blank. Qty. On Hand shows 0 and Est. Unit Cost shows 21.50. Enter 1 in Adjust Qty. By, which makes New Quantity 1, and click Add. When the item or location requires inventory detail, such as bins, lots, serial numbers or inventory statuses, enter it before you add the line.
Est. Unit Cost values the added quantity, so check it against the item's cost before you save. Click Save. NetSuite confirms the save with Transaction successfully Saved and opens the adjustment, 6217 here, and Estimated Total Value shows 21.50. Your number and value will differ, and the posted value can differ from the estimate under your costing setup. If a workflow or approval applies, the adjustment may not post until it is approved. Open GL Impact to see the posting. A positive adjustment generally debits the item's inventory asset account and credits the adjustment account, though the accounts depend on the item's costing and your account setup.
04. Check the order again
Go back to sales order SO2210, open the Items subtab and check whether the CL-350 line is committed. In this example it shows Committed 1 and Back Ordered 0, so the unit you added is committed to this order. If it still shows Back Ordered 1, your account's commitment settings did not commit it. Run the commitment process your account uses, for example Transactions > Order Management > Reallocate Items where your role has it, check again, and look for reservations, allocation rules or another order with a higher priority before you fulfill.
05. Fulfill the remaining line
Click Fulfill. Here the Item Fulfillment lists the CL-350 line with On Hand 1, Remaining 1, Committed 1 and Quantity 1, and your form's columns depend on your release and form. An existing fulfillment normally stays in place, and the remaining quantity is fulfilled on a second fulfillment for the same order. Keep Status as Shipped, which this example assumes your process allows. With Pick, Pack and Ship, the fulfillment moves through Picked and Packed first. Click Save.
Open the order from Created From on the saved fulfillment. When every fulfillable line is done and no billing or approval step intervenes, the order commonly moves to Pending Billing.
Check the result
- The adjustment, 6217 here, shows the CL-350 line with Adjust Qty. By 1 at Harbor Street Clinic and, in this example, an Estimated Total Value of 21.50.
- GL Impact on the adjustment posts to the accounts your policy expects.
- You confirmed the actual Committed and Back Ordered values on the CL-350 line before you fulfilled it. In this example they were 1 and 0.
- The saved fulfillment shows Status Shipped, and SO2210 shows Pending Billing.
Common questions
Why does my sales order show Back Ordered when the item is on the shelf?
Back Ordered is the quantity ordered but not committed because no qualifying stock is available under the line's commitment rules. NetSuite commits stock it has recorded at the line's location. If the unit was never received, or it is recorded at a different location, nothing is available and the line stays back ordered. Inventory status, bins, lots and serial numbers can also keep stock from counting.
Should I use an inventory adjustment, an item receipt or an inventory transfer?
Use an inventory adjustment when the unit exists and nothing in NetSuite recorded it. Use an item receipt when it arrived from a vendor or purchase order, and an inventory transfer when NetSuite already shows it at another location. A one-step inventory transfer suits locations in the same subsidiary, a transfer order suits movements that need in-transit tracking, and moves between subsidiaries need your intercompany process. An adjustment does not recreate the purchase, receipt or transfer history, so it needs a reason, an account your policy allows and approval if your process requires it.
Which location should the adjustment use?
Record the adjustment at the location where the physical unit is found, and that location has to match the location the order line ships from. More stock at another location does not make this line fulfillable. If the unit is somewhere else, transfer it first or fulfill from the right location according to your process, and don't change the order line only to match the adjustment.
Will a positive adjustment commit the back-ordered line by itself?
It depends on your account's commitment and allocation settings, such as the commitment preference, Reserve Items, Order Reservation and Supply Allocation. These are different controls and may not all be turned on, so use only the ones your account has. Reopen the order and read Committed and Back Ordered before you fulfill. If the line is still back ordered, use your account's commitment process.
Do I have to delete the first fulfillment before fulfilling the rest?
No. An existing fulfillment normally stays in place, and the remaining quantity can normally be fulfilled on another fulfillment for the same order. The order moves on when every fulfillable line is done.
What do On Hand, Remaining and Committed mean on the Item Fulfillment?
On Hand is the stock at the fulfillment location. Remaining is the quantity still open on the order line. Committed is the quantity allocated to the line. The quantity you can enter depends on your fulfillment preferences and commitment rules, and some accounts allow fulfilling uncommitted quantity. Quantity is what this fulfillment ships. Your form's columns can differ by release and form.
Why choose the adjustment account carefully?
A positive adjustment generally debits the item's inventory asset account and credits the adjustment account, and the quantity is valued at Est. Unit Cost. Use the account your accounting policy designates for count corrections, put the reason in the memo, and review GL Impact on the saved adjustment.