Item Group Availability

  • Published on May 4, 2026
  • 10 minute(s) read
  • AF
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Feature Overview

Item Group Availability calculates a comprehensive, multi-source availability picture for every item in an Item Group and makes that picture ready to export to an external system. Rather than exposing raw Business Central ledger data to external channels, Item Group Availability produces a structured, pre-calculated summary per item: current inventory, outstanding supply (purchase orders, production orders, assembly orders, transfer order receipts), outstanding demand (sales orders, production components, assembly components, transfer order shipments), optionally remaining sales forecast, and a net available quantity figure — all in a single exportable dataset.

The calculation is controlled by an Item Group Calculation Method, which defines exactly which document types to include and what date range to cover. Each document type can be set independently to All (open and released), Only Released, or None. Date ranges are expressed as date formulas relative to the work date, so the same calculation method always produces a result anchored to today without requiring manual date entry. For production and assembly documents, the filter can be further narrowed to specific status levels (e.g. Only Released, or Firm Planned and Released). Detailed overrides allow the calculation method to use different locations, dimensions, or date windows for each document type, giving very precise control over what is counted.

An Item Group Availability record ties together one Item Group and one Calculation Method. When you trigger the Calculate Item Group Availability action, Commerce Manager iterates over every included item line in the group, reads supply and demand from the relevant BC tables, and writes a result row for each item. These rows are stored in the Item Group Collect. Avail. table and are ready to export via webhook. Free text columns on both the availability header and the item group line flow through to each result row, allowing channel-specific metadata to travel alongside the availability figures.

Key fact Detail
Main setup pages Item Group Availability (Card), Item Group Calculation Methods
Prerequisite At least one Item Group with Certified status and populated lines
Calculated figures Inventory, Qty. on Purchase Order, Qty. on Sales Order, Qty. on Prod. Order, Assembly Order Qty., Qty. on Component Lines, Assembly Component Qty., Trans. Ord. Shipment Qty., Trans. Ord. Receipt Qty., Demand Forecast Qty., Available Qty. (Base)
Date control General Start/End Date Formula + per-document-type overrides
Export Via webhook (API Function + Export Item Group Availability Code)
Dimension filtering Shortcut Dimension 1 and 2 at both Calculation Method and Availability levels

Getting Started

  1. Create and certify at least one Item Group and populate its lines using Update Item Group Lines (see the Item Groups article).
  2. Search for Item Group Calculation Methods and create a new method. Enter a Code and Description.
  3. Set the General Start Date Formula and General End Date Formula to define the default date window (e.g. blank start = no lower limit, <3M> end = three months forward).
  4. For each document type (Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, Transfer Orders, Production Orders, Assembly Orders, Production Components, Assembly Components), choose All, Only Released, or None depending on what should contribute to the availability figure.
  5. Optionally set a Location Code on the Calculation Method to restrict the calculation to one location. Leave blank to include all locations.
  6. If you need different date windows per document type, add rows in the Calculation Method Detail sub-page specifying the Area, Type (Start date Formula / End date Formula / Location Code), and the override value.
  7. Search for Item Group Availability and create a new availability record. Enter a Code and Description, then link it to the relevant Item Group Code and Item Group Calculation Method.
  8. Optionally override the Location Code or Dimension filters at the availability level — these take precedence over the calculation method settings when populated.
  9. Choose Calculate Item Group Availability from the action bar. Commerce Manager calculates all lines and writes the results to the sub-page.
  10. Configure the API Function and Export Item Group Availability Code fields, then choose Export Item Group Availability Data to push the results to the external system.

Related Features

Item Group Availability is directly dependent on Item Groups — the availability calculation draws its item list from the group's included lines, so the two features are always used together. The Item Group Calculation Method is a reusable configuration object that can be shared across multiple availability setups, so a single well-designed method can serve many groups. If a Sales Forecast is configured in Business Central and referenced in the Calculation Method, the availability calculation also factors in remaining forecast demand, making the Available Qty. figure more conservative and better suited for replenishment-oriented channels.

User Stories

US-01: Calculate availability for all items in a group

As a Product Manager
I want to calculate the current availability position for every item in an item group
So that the external system receives an accurate, up-to-date stock picture it can use for order taking or replenishment decisions

Setup:

  1. Open the relevant Item Group Availability card.
  2. Verify that the Item Group Code and Item Group Calculation Method are both filled in.
  3. Choose Calculate Item Group Availability from the action bar.
  4. Commerce Manager deletes any existing availability lines for this code and recalculates from scratch, iterating over all included item lines in the group.
  5. Review the resulting lines in the sub-page. Each line shows inventory, supply quantities, demand quantities, and the net Available Qty. (Base).
US-02: Configure a calculation method that includes only released orders

As a Product Manager
I want to create a calculation method that counts only released purchase orders and sales orders (not open ones)
So that the availability figure reflects only firm commitments and avoids inflating supply or demand with unconfirmed orders

Setup:

  1. Open Item Group Calculation Methods and create a new method.
  2. Set Include Sales Orders to Only Released.
  3. Set Include Purchase Orders to Only Released.
  4. Leave transfer orders, production orders, and assembly orders at your preferred setting (often All or None depending on the business).
  5. Assign this method to the relevant Item Group Availability record.
US-03: Restrict availability calculation to a specific warehouse location

As a Product Manager
I want to calculate availability only for stock at a specific location
So that the channel receives availability figures relevant to the warehouse that will fulfil their orders

Setup:

  1. Open the Item Group Availability card.
  2. Set the Location Code field to the relevant location. This overrides any location set on the Calculation Method.
  3. Run Calculate Item Group Availability. Only inventory and order quantities at that location are included in the calculation.

Note: If the Item Group Availability location is left blank, the location from the Calculation Method is used. If both are blank, all locations are included.

US-04: Use different date windows per document type

As a Product Manager
I want to count sales orders for the next 4 weeks but purchase orders for the next 12 weeks
So that the availability figure matches the planning horizon relevant to each document type

Setup:

  1. Open the relevant Item Group Calculation Method.
  2. In the Calculation Method Detail sub-page, add a line for Sales Order / End date Formula with value <4W>.
  3. Add a line for Purchase Order / End date Formula with value <12W>.
  4. The general End Date Formula on the header acts as the fallback for any document type that does not have a specific override.
US-05: Include sales forecast in the availability calculation

As a Product Manager
I want to factor remaining sales forecast demand into the availability figure
So that the channel sees a more conservative Available Qty. that accounts for forecast demand not yet covered by actual sales orders

Setup:

  1. Open the Item Group Calculation Method.
  2. Set Include Sales Forecast to either Include Remaining Forecast (only unfulfilled forecast) or Include Full Forecast (total forecast quantity regardless of existing sales orders).
  3. Set the Sales Forecast field to the Production Forecast Name to use.
  4. Alternatively, set the Sales Forecast on the Item Group Availability card to override the method's setting for this specific availability.
  5. Run Calculate Item Group Availability. The Demand Forecast Qty. column on each line is populated and is included in the Available Qty. (Base) calculation.
US-06: Export availability data to an external system

As a Product Manager
I want to push the calculated availability figures to the external channel via webhook
So that the channel's order-taking system always shows current stock availability

Setup:

  1. Open the Item Group Availability card.
  2. Set the API Function (default commerceExportItemGroupAvailability) and Export Item Group Availability Code to the webhook configured in Data Contract Manager.
  3. After running the calculation, choose Export Item Group Availability Data.
  4. Commerce Manager invokes the webhook with the availability record. A confirmation message appears on success.
US-07: Use free text fields to pass channel metadata alongside availability

As a IT Manager
I want to attach custom text values to the availability export payload
So that the external system can identify which assortment or warehouse zone the availability figures belong to without parsing the availability code

Setup:

  1. Open the Item Group Availability card.
  2. Make the Free Text 1 through Free Text 5 columns visible using the column chooser.
  3. Enter the relevant values. These override the corresponding free text values from the Item Group Line when both are present; if the availability free text is blank, the Item Group Line's free text is used.
  4. These values appear on each calculated availability line and are included in the export payload.
US-08: Filter availability by dimension

As a Product Manager
I want to restrict the availability calculation to a specific business unit or cost centre using dimensions
So that a division-specific channel only sees availability for their own demand and supply

Setup:

  1. Open the Item Group Availability card.
  2. Set Shortcut Dimension 1 Code and/or Shortcut Dimension 2 Code to the relevant dimension values.
  3. These override the dimension filters set on the Calculation Method for this availability.
  4. Run Calculate Item Group Availability. Inventory and order quantities are filtered to the specified dimensions.

Field Reference

Field Where to find it What it does Default
Item Group Availability Code Item Group Availability Card Unique identifier for this availability configuration —
Description Item Group Availability Card Human-readable label —
Item Group Code Item Group Availability Card The item group whose lines are used as the basis for calculation —
Item Group Calculation Method Item Group Availability Card The method that controls what documents and date ranges are included —
Calculation Order Item Group Availability Card Processing sequence priority 20
Location Code Item Group Availability Card Overrides the method's location filter when populated Blank
Sales Forecast Item Group Availability Card Overrides the method's forecast name when populated Blank
Export Item Group Availability Code Item Group Availability Card Webhook code used when exporting availability data Blank
API Function Item Group Availability Card API function name for the export webhook commerceExportItemGroupAvailability
Shortcut Dimension 1/2 Code Item Group Availability Card Dimension filters applied to all document queries in this calculation Blank
Free Text 1–5 Item Group Availability Card Metadata passed through to each result line and included in exports Blank
General Start Date Formula Item Group Calculation Method Lower date boundary relative to work date (blank = no lower limit) Blank
General End Date Formula Item Group Calculation Method Upper date boundary relative to work date Blank
Location Code Item Group Calculation Method Default location filter used when the availability card has no override Blank
Include Sales Orders Item Group Calculation Method All, Only Released, or None All
Include Purchase Orders Item Group Calculation Method All, Only Released, or None None
Include Transfer Orders Shipment Item Group Calculation Method All, Only Released, or None All
Include Transfer Orders Receipt Item Group Calculation Method All, Only Released, or None None
Include Prod Orders Item Group Calculation Method Firm Planned and Released, Only Released, Planned to Released, or None None
Include Production Component Demands Item Group Calculation Method Firm Planned and Released, Only Released, Planned to Released, or None Only Released
Include Assembly Orders Item Group Calculation Method All, Only Released, or None None
Include Assembly Component Demands Item Group Calculation Method All, Only Released, or None All
Include Sales Forecast Item Group Calculation Method None, Include Remaining Forecast, or Include Full Forecast None
Sales Forecast Item Group Calculation Method Production Forecast Name to use when forecast is included Blank
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