Bin card is the statement of all the receipts and issue of the stock from the store department. It is also called stock card or bin tag. It is the responsibility of the store keeper to write every in and out of stock from the store. The physical stock count and the stock quantity reported according to the bin card should be equal; otherwise internal audit department will have the right to investigate the matter with management.
Bin card only contain quantity column for both and receipts and at the close of each transaction, the stock level is calculated to make sure that at every point of time, it can be reconciled with the physical count.
Inventory management is not an easy task. That is why, it is crucial to control the flow of the inventory using some effective tools. One of the best tool to exercise tight control over the inventory is the Bin Card. Not just it helps in controlling the inventory very well, it also helps in maintaning an effective working capital. By knowing the pattern of the stock movement, an entity can easily determine how much capital, it should invest in the purchasing of t he inventory and for how much quantity. As a result, better working capital policies can be developed that will improve the liquidity of the company.
Advantages of Bin Card
As bin card is maintained for each item of inventory, the store keeper is well aware about the stock position. On each bin card, he or she can write the minimum stock and maximum stock level so that in case, any item of inventory is touching minimum level, he or she can create a purchase requisition for the fresh supply of the stock. Bin card is an important inventory control technique and is used in various formats. There is no specific format for the bin card as organization can design their own stock card according to their requirements and reporting analysis.
Bin Card can be maintained in the Excel or can be taken as hard copy print out format that store incharge can use. For your comfort, we are including the Bin Card in the following format:
Bin Card Format in Excel | Bin Card Format Pdf
ABC Company
Specimen Bin Card Format
| Bin card #: Code #: Material name: Location:Stores ledger folio: | Maximum stock level: Minimum stock level: Recorder level: In charge: |
| Date | Receipts | Issues | Balance | Checked & Verified By | ||||
| G.R.N | Qty | Requisition # | Qty | Qty | Date | Name | Initial | |
Difference between Bin Card and Stores Ledger
| Bin Card | Stores Ledger |
| 1. It is used only to record receipts and issues of quantity and the balance therein. 2. It is maintained by the store in-charge or store keeper. 3. It is kept inside the store department. 4. It is updated as and when receipts and issues are made in the store department. 5. Transactions are updated individually because at every point of time, store keeper needs to be aware of the actual position of the stock. | 1. Stores ledger is used to record both quantity and the amount of receipts and issues. 2. It is maintained by the costing accounting department of the entity. 3. It is kept outside the store department ort at a place where store keeper has no a access. 4. It is updated when the costing department gets the proper documents from the relevant department normally from store department. 5. It is normally updated after a certain period and one entry is posted for similar items. |
Example
Aqua logi in involved in the manufacturing of shoes for males and females. It stores department receives numerous items of raw materials from vendors; details of them are as under:
| Date | Raw Material Name | Particulars | Document # | Quantity |
| 1st Jan 2017 | Air Mesh | Receipts | 5674 | 5,000 |
| 4th Jan 2017 | C4 Cartons | Receipts | 3245 | 10,000 |
| 7th Jan 2017 | C2 Cartons | Receipts | 1234 | 12,000 |
| 15th Jan 2017 | C4 Cartons | Issues | 1111 | 4,000 |
| 20th Jan 2017 | Air Mesh | Issues | 1112 | 1,000 |
| 23rd Jan 2017 | C2 Cartons | Issues | 1113 | 8,000 |
| 27th Jan 2017 | Air Mesh | Issues | 1114 | 2,100 |
Required:
Prepare a bin card for the above inventory of raw materials.
Solution
There are three types of raw materials, that is, Air mesh, C4 and C2 cartons. We will have to make separate bin card for each of them.
Air Mesh Bin Card
| Bin card #:001Code #: AR-001Material name: Air MeshLocation: Store Location 01Stores ledger folio: 01 | Maximum stock level: 15,000Minimum stock level: 1,000Recorder level: 2,000In charge: Mr. Alan |
| Date | Receipts | Issues | Balance | Checked & Verified By | ||||
| G.R.N | Qty | Requisition # | Qty | Qty | Date | Name | Initial | |
| 1.1.17 | 5674 | 5,000 | – | – | 5,000 | 1.1.17 | Samuel | Sam |
| 20.1.17 | – | – | 1112 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 20.1.17 | Samuel | Sam |
| 27.1.17 | – | – | 1114 | 2,100 | 1,900 | 27.1.17 | Samuel | Sam |
As the level of inventory has reduced to 1,900 units which is less than the reorder level, Aqua logi must need to place a new order to the supplier/ vendor f or fresh delivery of the goods as soon as possible.
C4 Carton Bin Card
| Bin card #:002Code #: Car-001Material name: C4 CartonLocation: Store Location 04Stores ledger folio: 04 | Maximum stock level: 20,000Minimum stock level: 3,000Recorder level: 4,000In charge: Mrs. Susanne |
| Date | Receipts | Issues | Balance | Checked & Verified By | ||||
| G.R.N | Qty | Requisition # | Qty | Qty | Date | Name | Initial | |
| 4.1.17 | 3245 | 10,000 | – | – | 10,000 | 4.1.17 | Peter | Pet |
| 15.1.17 | – | – | 1111 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 15.1.17 | Peter | Pet |
C2 Carton Bin Card
| Bin card #:003 Code #: Car-002 Material name: C2 Carton Location: Store Location 05 Stores ledger folio: 05 | Maximum stock level: 25,000 Minimum stock level: 5,000 Recorder level: 7,000 In charge: Mrs. Susanne |
| Date | Receipts | Issues | Balance | Checked & Verified By | ||||
| G.R.N | Qty | Requisition # | Qty | Qty | Date | Name | Initial | |
| 7.1.17 | 1234 | 12,000 | – | – | 12,000 | 7.1.17 | Peter | Pet |
| 23.1.17 | – | – | 1113 | 8,000 | 4,000 | 23.1.17 | Peter | Pet |
The inventory level has fallen below the level of minimum stock level. It requires Aqua to place a fresh urgent order of this raw material as soon as possible. This also highlights the bas planning of raw materials because the inventory level should not fall below the minimum stock level. Suppliers take some time to produce the goods. Bin Card works as a great tool in exercising an effective control over the inventory management.
Stock Damage or Lost – It is quite common thing in manufacturing concern. From time to time, stock or inventory items may get damaged. So, there is a dire need to investigate the matter. If the nature of loss is normal, then a written approval for the write off the i nventory is necessary. Store Keeper has to make an entry for the specific item of inventory in order to make sure the physcial count matches with the bin card records. In this case, the f ormat of Bin Card will have to be updated with the loss/ damage column. Proper signing is necessary to do such updation in the bin card.
Bin Card Format for Lost/ Damaged Inventory
| Bin card #:Code #:Material name:Location:Stores ledger folio: | Maximum stock level:Minimum stock level:Recorder level:In charge: |
| Date | Receipts | Issues/ Losses | Balance | Checked & Verified By | ||||
| G.R.N | Qty | Requisition # | Qty | Qty | Date | Name | Initial | |
Bin card system in pharmacy
Though, stock card is used by store keeper for bulk receiving and issuing of goods from the store, it does not mean that it is cannot be used for small items. In Pharmacies, where movement of medicines and other surgical items are issued to various department within the hospital and even to outdoor patients, Bin Card plays a key role. Either an spreadsheet file can be maintained or a manual sheet can be used to record receiving of stocks from the store department. Likewise, any sale and transfer to other department is entered on the issue/ sale column of the card. Now-a-days, computerized systems are available to scan the product/ medicine QR code to avoid the hassle of manual data entry. This makes the entire process easy and error free. It helps greatly in avoiding Accounting errors.