Inventory Management

Core Concepts

Position Types

# Simple Position (No Cost)
Assets:Bank:Checking      100.00 USD

# Position with Cost Basis
Assets:Invest:VTSAX      10 VTSAX {100.00 USD, "lot-1"}

Inventory Operations

1. Augmentations (Adding to inventory):

2024-01-15 * "Buy shares"
  Assets:Invest:STOCK     50 STOCK {25.00 USD, "lot-1"}
  Assets:Bank:Checking   -1250.00 USD

2. Reductions (Removing from inventory):

2024-01-20 * "Sell shares"
  Assets:Invest:STOCK    -25 STOCK {25.00 USD}
  Assets:Bank:Checking    625.00 USD

Booking Methods

1. STRICT (Default)

2024-01-01 open Assets:Invest:STOCK "STRICT"

• Requires exact lot match
• Errors on ambiguous matches
• Exception: Total matches allowed

2. FIFO

2024-01-01 open Assets:Invest:STOCK "FIFO"

• Selects oldest matching lots
• Automatically resolves ambiguity
• Matches chronologically

3. LIFO

2024-01-01 open Assets:Invest:STOCK "LIFO"

• Selects newest matching lots
• Reverse chronological order
• Best for tax optimization

4. NONE

2024-01-01 open Assets:Invest:STOCK "NONE"

• No lot matching
• Allows mixed signs
• Similar to Ledger's behavior

Lot Specification

Full Specification

Assets:Invest:STOCK  10 STOCK {
    100.00 USD,           # Cost basis
    2024-01-15,          # Acquisition date
    "lot-identifier"      # Label
}

Matching Methods

# Match by cost
Assets:Invest:STOCK  -5 STOCK {100.00 USD}

# Match by date
Assets:Invest:STOCK  -5 STOCK {2024-01-15}

# Match by label
Assets:Invest:STOCK  -5 STOCK {"lot-identifier"}

# Match any lot
Assets:Invest:STOCK  -5 STOCK {}

Price Handling

Price vs Cost

# Price annotation (conversion)
Assets:Forex     1000 USD @ 0.85 EUR

# Cost basis (acquisition)
Assets:Invest    10 STOCK {100.00 USD}

# Both (sale with price record)
Assets:Invest    -10 STOCK {100.00 USD} @ 105.00 USD

Price Usage Rules

1. Price annotations don't affect booking
2. Used only for:
   • Currency conversions
   • Market value recording
   • Capital gains calculations

Configuration

Global Booking Method

option "booking_method" "STRICT"

Per-Account Override

2024-01-01 open Assets:Retirement:401K "FIFO"
2024-01-01 open Assets:Taxable:Stock  "STRICT"

Best Practices

1. Inventory Organization

# Separate accounts by commodity
Assets:Invest:VTSAX    # Only VTSAX
Assets:Invest:VFIAX    # Only VFIAX

2. Lot Management

# Use meaningful lot labels
Assets:Invest:STOCK  10 STOCK {100.00 USD, "tax-loss-harvest-2024"}

# Document trades
Assets:Invest:STOCK  -10 STOCK {100.00 USD} @ 110.00 USD ; Gain: 10%

3. Debugging

# Examine inventory state
bean-doctor context ledger.beancount LINENO

# Verify lot matching
bean-check ledger.beancount

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of Beancount's inventory system while maintaining technical accuracy and avoiding any personal opinions.