# Serial numbers and lot tracking

> Follow an individual unit or a batch from receipt to customer, with expiry dates and full recall traceability.

Section: Inventory · Canonical: https://intubu.intuitivecapital-dai.com/docs/serial-lot-tracking

Inventory → Tracking.

Set an item to track by **serial number** (each unit individually) or by **lot** (a batch sharing a number and often an expiry date).

**On receipt** you record the serials or lot; **on sale** you pick which one goes out. The system will not let you ship a serial that is not in stock or a lot that has expired.

**Traceability runs both ways** — this is the point of it:
- *Forward:* from a lot to every customer who received any of it. This is a recall.
- *Backward:* from a customer complaint to the lot, and from the lot to the vendor and receipt that brought it in.

**Expiry:** lots nearing expiry appear on the Expiring Stock report, and FEFO (first expired, first out) picking can be enforced instead of plain FIFO.