Moving a warehouse to another branch
How to reassign a warehouse to a different branch or clear it to no branch, what happens to its stock, and what can block it.
Reassigning a warehouse changes the branch it belongs to, or clears it to no branch at all. Its stock travels with it: it stops being visible where the warehouse was and becomes visible where it lands. Before you confirm, Mosce ERP shows you exactly what is blocking it (if anything is) and what will happen, with exact counts.
Reading time: ~5 min
When to use this
- You closed a branch and its warehouses were left without a branch assigned.
- You need a warehouse to belong to a different branch than the one it has now.
- You want to understand why a branchless warehouse can't sell, and how to bring it back into service.
Before you start
- You need the
warehouses:reassign-branchpermission. It is not included in any role by default - an administrator has to grant it manually from Settings → Roles and permissions. The business owner always has it. - See Warehouses if you're not sure what a shared warehouse between branches is.
- See Inventory is also per branch for context on what each branch sees.
What this is for
When you delete a branch, its warehouses that weren't the default one are left without a branch. A branchless warehouse still receives purchases and can be used for transfers, but it cannot sell - it never shows up as a possible source in an order or at the point of sale, for any branch. Reassigning it to another branch is how you bring it back into service.
You can also use this action to move a warehouse that already has a branch to a different one, without passing through "no branch" along the way.
Stock travels with the warehouse
This is the most important part of this action: stock does not move to a different section or change quantity - it stays exactly where it was inside the warehouse. What changes is where it can be seen and sold from, because that depends on the warehouse's branch. There are three cases:
From one branch to another
The warehouse's stock stops being available in the current branch and becomes available only in the destination branch.
From a branch to no branch
The stock becomes visible from every branch, but it cannot be sold from any of them until the warehouse is assigned to a branch again. It remains a valid warehouse for receiving purchases and for transfers in the meantime.
From no branch to a branch
Today, a branchless warehouse is visible from every branch. Once you assign it to one, its stock becomes visible only from that branch, and that's where it can be sold.
What can block it
Before letting you confirm, Mosce ERP checks three things. If any of them apply, the reassignment is blocked and the dialog tells you exactly which one and by how much.
The warehouse is its branch's default
If the warehouse is the one its branch has marked as default, you cannot move it: that branch would be left without any warehouse to fall back on when a sale doesn't specify one, and it would lose the ability to sell.
How to fix it: go to that branch's page, under Settings → Branches, and mark another active warehouse as its default. Then you'll be able to reassign the one you wanted to move.
There are open orders pointing at the warehouse
If a still-open order has a line that expects to deduct stock from this warehouse, the reassignment is blocked. Moving the warehouse to another branch while that order is still pending would deduct stock from a warehouse that now belongs to a different branch.
How to fix it: close or void those orders before reassigning, or wait until they're invoiced.
There are purchases still pending receipt against the warehouse
If a purchase is still waiting to be received into this warehouse, and the destination you chose is a different branch than that purchase's own, the reassignment is blocked: once moved, that warehouse could no longer receive that purchase.
How to fix it: receive or cancel that purchase before moving the warehouse to another branch. This block does not apply if what you're doing is reassigning the warehouse to "no branch" instead of another branch - a branchless warehouse can receive purchases from any branch, so that destination never leaves a purchase stranded.
Before you confirm, you see the exact counts
The reassignment dialog shows you, before you confirm anything:
- What is blocking it, if anything, with the exact count (how many open orders, how many pending purchases).
- What will happen, whenever the warehouse has stock: how many items with stock travel with it and where they become available.
If you change the destination branch in the picker, this check runs again for the new destination - some blockers, like the pending-purchases one, depend on where you're moving the warehouse to, not just on its current state.
Step by step
- Go to Inventory → Warehouses.
- On the row of the warehouse you want to move, choose the Reassign branch action.
- In the destination branch picker, choose the branch you want it to belong to, or choose No branch.
- Review what the dialog shows. If anything is blocking it, resolve that first (see the previous section) and try again.
- Confirm. The warehouse is assigned to the new branch (or to none) immediately.
Common mistakes
| Symptom | Likely cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| I don't see the "Reassign branch" action | Your role doesn't have the warehouses:reassign-branch permission | Ask an administrator to grant it from Roles and permissions |
| The confirm button is disabled with no visible blockers | The check is still running or failed to load | Wait for it to finish, or try again if the dialog says it couldn't verify |
| "This is its branch's default warehouse" | It's that branch's default | Mark another warehouse as that branch's default first |
| "There are purchases still pending receipt against this warehouse" | An incoming purchase expects to be received here and the destination is another branch | Receive or cancel it first, or reassign the warehouse to "no branch" instead |
| "There are open orders with lines pointing at this warehouse" | A not-yet-invoiced order deducts from this warehouse | Close, void, or invoice those orders before reassigning |
Frequently asked questions
Does the inventory physically move when I reassign the warehouse?
No. The stock stays in exactly the same section of the same warehouse. The only thing that changes is which branch (or all branches) can see and sell it.
Can a branchless warehouse sell?
No. A branchless warehouse receives purchases and can be used for transfers, but it never shows up as a possible source for a sale until it's assigned to a branch.
Can I move a branch's default warehouse?
Not directly. You first have to mark another warehouse as that branch's default; only then is the one you want to move free to reassign.
Does the pending-purchases block apply if I clear the warehouse to no branch?
No. A branchless warehouse can receive purchases from any branch, so moving a warehouse to "no branch" never leaves a pending purchase unable to be received.
Who can grant me the permission to reassign warehouses?
Any user with access to Settings → Roles and permissions, typically the business owner or an administrator. The permission isn't included in any role by default, so it has to be granted explicitly.
Related
- Warehouses
- Inventory is also per branch
- Why a sale can ask you to set up a warehouse before you can charge
- Users, roles and permissions
Last updated: 2026-09-09