A transfer order moves inventory between two locations of the same company, through an in-transit location, with a separate shipment posting and receipt posting.
A transfer order moves items from one location to another within the same company. It carries a transfer-from code, a transfer-to code and an in-transit code. Posting the shipment removes the quantity from the origin and places it in the in-transit location; posting the receipt removes it from transit and adds it at the destination. Ownership and value stay in the company the whole time.
Press Alt+Q and search for Transfer Orders to create one. The in-transit location is an ordinary location whose card marks it as used for in-transit only. Transfer routes can predefine the in-transit code and the shipping agent for a given from and to combination, so users do not retype them. If the destination requires a warehouse receipt, the goods are received through that document instead of directly on the order.
On 3 June 2026, 40 pcs of item 1000 are transferred from BLUE to RED through in-transit location OUT-LOG. When the shipment is posted, BLUE drops by 40 pcs immediately and RED still shows nothing. The 40 pcs are visible at OUT-LOG until the receipt is posted at RED on 5 June, after which OUT-LOG is empty again and RED holds 40 pcs.
The most frequent blocker is a missing in-transit code, which stops posting. Business Central also supports direct transfers that post shipment and receipt in one step, controlled by a setting in Inventory Setup, and switching between the two ways without telling users leaves people looking for a transit step that no longer exists. In daily work the real damage comes from shipments that are never received: the quantity sits in transit for weeks and looks lost. Note also that transfer orders work inside one company only; moving goods to another legal entity is a sale and a purchase, or an intercompany document.
Transfers are repetitive and usually triggered by a shortage seen at one site while another has stock. Zentriq Agent can prepare a transfer order from a question asked inside Business Central, filling the from and to locations, the item and the quantity, but the result is a draft: a person reviews it, corrects it if needed, and only then releases and posts it. Reviewing open transfer orders weekly is a simple way to catch shipments that were never received.
A standard transfer order posts the shipment and the receipt separately, so the quantity needs somewhere to sit in between. The in-transit code points to a location flagged for that purpose.
No. A transfer order stays inside one company. Between legal entities you post a sale and a purchase, or use intercompany documents.
Zentriq's AI tools automate many of the manual processes around transfer order in Business Central. Learn about the Zentriq Agent or try Zentriq PunchOut to see how AI simplifies procurement in BC.