A transfer moves stock between any two places you hold stock — outlet to outlet, central kitchen to outlet, or outlet back to a warehouse. Stock leaves the source when it is sent and arrives at the destination when it is received, so what is on the road is never counted twice.
Starting a transfer
There are two ways to start, depending on which end is asking:
Request stock — the receiving end asks for it. Use Incoming → Request stock.
Send stock — the sending end pushes it without being asked. Use Outgoing → Send stock.
The Incoming and Outgoing tabs show the same transfers from each side, and the count on the tab is how many need someone to act.
What the statuses mean
Draft | Started but not submitted yet |
Requested | Waiting for the source to fulfil |
In transit | Stock has left the source |
Partially received | Some arrived, the rest is still in transit |
Completed | Finished |
Rejected | The source declined the request |
Fulfilling a request
The source opens the transfer and decides what it can actually send. You can lower a quantity, Drop a line you cannot supply, or Reject the whole request with a reason the requester will see.
You cannot add lines to someone else's request — the requester decides what was asked for. Confirm & send takes the stock out of the source straight away and puts the transfer in transit.
Receiving
Enter what actually arrived, not what was sent. Partial receives are fine — the remainder stays in transit until it turns up or the transfer is closed. Each receive adds stock at the destination and carries the source's cost with it, so your food cost stays right.
Closing a transfer that never fully arrived
When the rest is not coming, open the transfer and choose Close transfer. Papaya asks what should happen to the remainder:
Return to source — the remainder goes back into the sending location's stock. Use this when the source short-shipped and still has the goods.
Write off as transit loss — the remainder is recorded as wastage at the source, with a reason. Use this when goods were lost or damaged on the way.
‼️ The difference matters for your numbers. Return to source puts the stock back so it can be sent again. Write off keeps it off your shelves and puts it in your wastage reporting, where it can be investigated.
The paper trail
Every transfer writes to the movements ledger at both ends — Transfer out at the source and Transfer in at the destination — and each entry links back to the transfer it came from.
Print transfer note produces a note for whoever is carrying the stock, with a blank Received column to fill in by hand on arrival.
If you send more than you have
The transfer still goes through, and Papaya warns you: “Sent, but some lines exceeded the stock on hand — stock has gone negative.” Nothing is blocked, because the goods have physically left — refusing the transfer would only make the records less true.
Treat a negative balance as a signal that something upstream was never recorded: a delivery not received, production not logged, or a count that is overdue. Correct it with a goods receipt or a stock count rather than editing the number, so the ledger still explains how it got there.
Changing a request after you have sent it
A submitted request cannot be edited. Cancel it and raise a new one — the requester can cancel while it is still waiting, and nothing has moved at that point.
Often you do not need to. The source can lower quantities or drop lines while fulfilling, so small corrections are handled on the way through.
If two people receive at the same time
Only the first one lands. The second gets an error and needs to reopen the transfer to see where it actually stands. Stock is applied once and only once, so two people confirming the same delivery cannot double your stock.
Who can do what
Every action on a transfer — requesting, sending, fulfilling, receiving, rejecting, cancelling and closing — needs the Manage inventory transfers permission. Without it the Transfers pages are read-only: your team can see what is coming and going, but not act on it.