Overview

The Stock Snapshot and the Transaction COGS report both involve inventory cost figures, but they serve different purposes and can show different numbers — especially if they are not configured to use the same COGS recognition basis. This article explains what each report shows and the most common reasons the numbers diverge.

What Each Report Shows

Stock Snapshot

The Stock Snapshot is a period-level inventory valuation report. For a date range you choose, it shows each SKU's opening and closing stock quantities and values, plus summary columns for how much was Received, Sold, and Adjusted during the period. The "Sold Qty" and "Sold Value" columns represent inventory that was consumed by outbound shipments.

Transaction COGS

The Transaction COGS report is a line-level drilldown (found under Insights → Accounting → Drill Down → Transaction COGS). It shows the cost of goods sold recorded against each individual shipment line — one row per line (or rolled up per order or per SKU, depending on which tab you use). It is primarily used to audit COGS at a granular level and to catch missing or zero-cost lines before closing the books.

The Root Cause of Discrepancies: COGS Recognition Basis

The most important reason the two reports can show different cost totals for the same period is the COGS recognition basis — the date rule Luminous uses to assign a shipment's cost to an accounting period.

There are three options:

BasisWhat it means
Order DateCost is recognized on the date the order was placed.
Order Ship DateCost is recognized on the ship date of the order as a whole. For orders with multiple shipments, this is the first shipment's date. This is the system default.
Per ShipmentCost is recognized on the actual ship date of each individual shipment line.

The Per Shipment basis is the only one that reconciles exactly to the Sold Qty / Sold Value columns on the Stock Snapshot. If Transaction COGS is set to Order Date or Order Ship Date while the Stock Snapshot uses a different basis, the totals will differ — especially for accounts that frequently ship orders in multiple partial shipments.

Two Separate Settings Must Both Be Enabled

Even after you select the right basis, there are two separate per-account settings that control reconciliation:

  1. Save as Default on Transaction COGS — lets you permanently set the company-wide recognition basis. Without this, changing the dropdown only previews the report for you and does not affect anyone else or the Stock Snapshot.
  2. Stock Snapshot reconciliation — makes the Stock Snapshot's Sold Qty/Value figures use the same saved basis.

Both settings must be enabled for the two reports to agree. If you do not see the Save as Default action or the always-visible company-default indicator on the Transaction COGS screen, contact Luminous Support to have these settings turned on for your account.

How to Align the Two Reports

  1. Go to Insights → Accounting → Drill Down → Transaction COGS.
  2. Open the Recognize COGS by dropdown and select Per Shipment (recommended for most businesses).
  3. Click Save as Default and confirm the dialog. This sets the basis company-wide and retroactively — Luminous does not lock closed accounting periods.
  4. Confirm the always-visible indicator updates to show your chosen basis.
  5. Re-run the Stock Snapshot for the same date range and verify the Sold Qty/Value now matches Transaction COGS totals.

If the Save as Default button is not visible, the required per-account setting has not been enabled — contact Luminous Support.

Quick Reference: Key Differences

Stock SnapshotTransaction COGS
PurposePeriod-level inventory valuationLine-level COGS audit
GranularityPer SKU / per warehousePer shipment line, per order, or per SKU
Date filtersFrom / To date for the snapshot periodShip date range, applied to the COGS recognition date
Reconciles to the other?Only when both use the Per Shipment basis and both account settings are enabledOnly when both use the Per Shipment basis and both account settings are enabled