Every owner with more than one branch knows the scene: a stock count at the end of the month, one branch missing a set and another with an extra piece, and a difference in scrap gold that nobody can date. Usually the cause is not theft but a transfer between branches that was never controlled. This guide explains where weight discrepancies come from and how to build a transfer cycle that prevents them, whether you use software or a ledger book.
Where do weight discrepancies between branches come from?
- Movement without a document: an employee takes two pieces “for display” at the other branch and promises to record them later. This is where most discrepancies begin.
- A piece in transit counted twice, or not at all: the sender has taken it off its balance and the receiver has not yet added it. Or the reverse: the receiver has added it and it is still on the sender's balance.
- Two different scales: a small difference between two uncalibrated scales builds up with every scrap shipment.
- An undocumented partial receipt: nine of ten arrived, and the receiver signed for ten, “we will check later”.
- Mixed karats: scrap sent as one total weight, so it is written down as 21K at the sender and read as 18K at the receiver.
- A cancellation the other side never hears about: the sender cancelled the transfer, and the receiver is still waiting for goods that will not come.
A controlled transfer cycle: not a gram moves without a document
- The document before the movement: no piece and no scrap leaves the branch without a numbered permit stating both branches and the pieces, or the karats and weights.
- Goods in transit stay with the sender: until the receiver confirms, they remain on the sending branch's balance and under its responsibility. So they are neither counted twice nor lost.
- The receiver counts, then approves: they match the pieces by barcode, weigh the scrap on their own scale, then approve. At the moment of approval the goods leave the sender and enter the receiver in one step.
- What has not arrived is not approved: a missing piece is removed from the permit before approval, so it stays on the sender's balance, and a wrong permit is rejected with a written reason.
- The difference is recorded, not swallowed: a weight shortfall is written down with its amount and reason, not “corrected” by a silent balance adjustment. And receiving more than was sent is not accepted; a surplus has another channel.
- Every event reaches the other side: creation, approval, rejection and cancellation.
- A paper with two signatures: a printed permit travels with the goods, signed by the sender and the receiver.
Moving pieces and moving scrap: two kinds not to be mixed
Barcoded pieces move by count: each line is a barcode and a quantity, and the weight and karat are kept on the barcode itself. Ideally the piece keeps the same code at the new branch, so its tag is not reprinted and its record does not change. The code is explained in detail in Barcodes in a gold shop: from reserving the code to printing the tag and selling by scan.
Scrap and raw gold move by weight: one line per karat, with each line converted to its 24K equivalent. Two things matter here: the branch must not send more of a karat than it actually holds, even if the total would cover it; and the scrap must be received at the weight measured at the destination, not the weight written on the paper. This scrap usually comes from buying gold from customers, as in Buying used (scrap) gold in the shop: how to document it and price it.
The scale: practical tips before a difference appears
- Calibrate the branches' scales regularly, and make the scale at the branch receiving the scrap the reference.
- Weigh each karat on its own; do not settle for weighing the whole bag.
- Agree in advance on what counts as an acceptable scale difference, and what calls for re-weighing and investigation.
- Record a shortfall with its reason as soon as it appears: a scale difference, gold dust, or a missing piece. A shortfall written down today is understood; one that turns up in a stock count a month later is not.
A worked example: moving scrap in two karats
The first branch sent the second branch 120.000 grams of 21K and 40.000 grams of 18K. Each line's 24K equivalent is calculated:
24K weight = weight × karat ÷ 24
120.000 × 21 ÷ 24 = 105.000 · 40.000 × 18 ÷ 24 = 30.000 · total = 135.000 grams
When weighed at the second branch, the 21K came to 119.920 grams, which is 104.930 in 24K:
| Item | 24K (grams) |
|---|---|
| Sent, as on the voucher | 135.000 |
| Received, as weighed at the destination | 134.930 |
| Shortfall | 0.070 |
| Value of the shortfall at the price on the day of receipt (35.000 per gram — example) | 2.450 |
The right treatment here: the first branch is debited with everything that left it (135.000), the second branch is credited only with what it weighed (134.930), and the shortfall (0.070) is recorded with its reason and value. So no branch carries gold it does not own.
With barcoded pieces, control is by count. Moving ten pieces weighing 69.210 grams reduces the sender's balance by ten and increases the receiver's by ten in one step, and the company total stays the same. And a transfer between branches of the same company is not a sale, so it carries no revenue and no profit.
And the stock count catches what was missed
If a piece is found in one branch while it is registered to another, a good stock count does not move it silently: it shows it as a separate difference and refers it to the inter-branch transfer channel. The counting steps are in How to run a gold shop stock count with barcodes and RFID.
Questions to ask any vendor
- Do goods stay on the sender's balance until the receiver approves, and do they move in one step?
- Who approves the transfer: the branch itself or the other side? And is stock re-checked at the moment of approval?
- Can a piece that did not arrive be removed before approval, without cancelling the whole permit?
- Is the other side notified if the transfer is cancelled?
- Is scrap moved with its karats kept separate, and is sending a karat the branch does not hold blocked?
- Is scrap received at its actual weight, and how is a shortfall recorded?
- Does a piece keep the same barcode after the transfer, and what happens to its RFID tag?
How ZMZMGold handles gold transfers between branches
| Area | In ZMZMGold |
|---|---|
| Goods transfer permit | A numbered permit created in one of two ways: a “send order” from the sending branch, or a “receive request” from the branch that needs the goods. Items are added by scanning the barcode, and the quantity cannot exceed the barcode's stock. |
| Approval | It is approved by the manager of the other branch, not by its creator. Stock does not move before approval; at that moment stock is re-checked, then the pieces leave the sender and enter the receiver in one step. |
| Partial receipt and rejection | The approver can remove items from the permit before approving it, or reject it with a written reason. |
| Notifications | Creation, approval, rejection and cancellation reach the other branch. The cancellation notice names the reason and confirms that no stock moved. |
| Barcode and RFID | A piece keeps its barcode at the new branch. If a barcode's whole stock is moved, its RFID tags move with it; a partial transfer does not move them. |
| Scrap transfer | A voucher with several karats, each line calculated in 24K. No karat is accepted beyond what the branch actually holds of it, both when the voucher is created and when it is approved. The destination is another branch or the company's gold treasury. |
| Separation of duties for scrap | The branch manager creates the voucher, and the finance department approves or rejects it. Finance is notified of every request, and the sending branch is notified of the decision. |
| Actual weight | When scrap is approved, the received weight is entered. The sender is debited with what was sent, the destination is credited with what was weighed, and the shortfall is recorded with its reason and its value at the day's price. Receiving more than was sent is not accepted. |
| The printed paper | The transfer permit and the scrap voucher print with the branch's header and footer, with signature boxes for the sender, the receiver and the approver. |
| Follow-up | Transfer permits appear in the shift report, and the gold weight statement shows each branch's movements with a running balance. |
Details on the gold and jewellery shop management software page. Managing stock by weight and karat is covered in How to manage gold inventory by weight and karat in your shop, and tags for pieces in RFID for gold shops: how to pair tags with pieces and identify them in seconds.
In short
Weight discrepancies between branches mostly come from movement without a document, a piece in transit that nobody can place on a balance, or a shortfall that was not recorded on the day it appeared. The remedy is a clear cycle: a permit before the movement, goods that stay with the sender until the receiver approves, scrap sent by karat and received at its actual weight, and a shortfall written down with its reason. That way the stock count matches the books.