Overview
When you receive goods into Luminous, the system creates a cost layer for each receipt. A cost layer records the landed cost per unit — meaning the purchase price plus each item's proportional share of any extra costs (freight, duties, handling fees, etc.) — and this per-unit value drives both inventory valuation and the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) on future sales.
Understanding what happens when you change costs after receiving is important, because the timing of a change determines what gets updated automatically and what requires additional action.
How costs are captured at receiving time
When a Receiving Report is finalized:
- Extra costs attached to the Purchase Order flow through to the linked shipment and then to the Receiving Report.
- The system spreads those extra costs proportionally across the items on the report (by quantity, value, weight, or volume — depending on the allocation method set on each cost).
- The resulting landed cost per unit (purchase price + allocated extras) is recorded in a cost layer for that receipt.
From that point forward, inventory is valued at the landed cost, and any future sales draw COGS from those cost layers using FIFO or Weighted Average costing.
Updating costs on a Receiving Report after receiving
If you edit item prices or extra costs directly on an already-processed Receiving Report:
- Remaining (unsold) stock — the cost layer for that receipt is recalculated. Your inventory valuation is updated to reflect the corrected landed cost.
- Already-sold or shipped stock — COGS recorded on Sales Orders that consumed stock before the update is not changed automatically. The cost at the time of sale remains as originally recorded.
Correcting COGS on historical sales
If a significant cost correction is needed (for example, a large freight charge was missed and added later), the costs recorded on past sales may no longer be accurate. Correcting historical COGS requires a separate reconciliation process performed by Luminous support — it is not something you can trigger from the standard UI. Contact support if you need past sales costs realigned with updated cost layers.
Adding or changing costs on a Purchase Order after goods are received
Extra costs on a PO are treated as estimates until receiving happens. They flow automatically:
PO extra costs → Shipment → Receiving Report → landed cost per unit
This flow occurs at the time the Receiving Report is created. If you add new extra costs to a PO (or change existing ones) after the related goods have already been received and the Receiving Reports are finalized, those PO-level changes do not retroactively update the cost layers or inventory valuation.
To apply corrected or late-arriving costs to already-received stock, you need to update the Receiving Report itself (not just the PO). Editing the RR will trigger a recalculation for any remaining on-hand units from that receipt.
Quick reference
| Scenario | Remaining stock updated? | Historical COGS updated? |
|---|---|---|
| Edit costs on a Receiving Report | ✅ Yes — cost layer recalculated | ❌ No — requires support action |
| Add/change extra costs on a PO after receiving | ❌ No — must edit the RR directly | ❌ No — requires support action |
| Add costs to PO before receiving | ✅ Yes — flows into RR at receive time | N/A |
Tips
- Add extra costs early. Attach freight, duty, and handling charges to the PO or shipment before receiving to ensure the landed cost is accurate from day one.
- Use Cost Rules to automatically apply recurring charges (e.g., standard freight rates by supplier) so they are never missed.
- Check the Costs tab on any SKU to review all historical cost layers and confirm the landed cost looks correct after any update.
- If you need to correct COGS on already-shipped orders, reach out to Luminous support, who can run the historical cost reconciliation process on your behalf.