Dashboard

The OpenBoxes dashboard is your command center. When you log in, it gives you an at-a-glance view of what needs attention across your warehouse or facility.

Overview

The dashboard is organized into widgets that surface the most important information about your inventory operations. Each widget focuses on a specific area — expiring stock, low inventory, recent shipments — so you can quickly spot issues and take action.

Key Widgets

Expiring Stock

This widget shows products approaching their expiration date, sorted by urgency. OpenBoxes uses FEFO (First Expired, First Out) logic, so items closest to expiry appear first. Click any item to view its stock card and plan a disposition — whether that means prioritizing it for distribution or writing it off.

Low Stock Alerts

Products that have fallen below their reorder point appear here. Each entry shows the current quantity on hand, the minimum level, and the reorder quantity. Use this to decide which items need to be reordered or requested from another facility.

Recent Activity

A timeline of recent transactions at your location — stock movements received, shipments sent, inventory adjustments made. This helps you stay aware of what your team has been doing without digging into individual records.

Inventory Summary

Shows a high-level breakdown of your total inventory value, item count, and stock status categories (in stock, low stock, out of stock, overstock). Use this to gauge overall warehouse health.

The top navigation bar provides quick access to all major modules:

  • Products — Search and manage your product catalog
  • Inventory — View stock levels and make adjustments
  • Stock Movements — Create and track inbound/outbound movements
  • Purchasing — Manage purchase orders
  • Reporting — Run reports and export data

The location selector in the header lets you switch between facilities. Your dashboard updates automatically to reflect the selected location.

Alerts and Notifications

OpenBoxes highlights items that need your attention using color-coded indicators:

  • Red — Critical issues (expired stock, stockouts)
  • Yellow — Warnings (expiring soon, below reorder point)
  • Green — Healthy status (adequate stock levels)

Alerts appear both on the dashboard and within individual modules, so you won't miss them regardless of where you are in the application.

Customizing Your View

You can configure which widgets appear on your dashboard and how they are arranged. Click the configuration icon to show or hide specific widgets based on what matters most to your role.

Managers might prioritize low stock and expiring stock widgets, while receiving staff might focus on inbound shipments and pending putaways.

Tag-Based Filtering

OpenBoxes supports tagging products with custom labels (e.g., "Essential Medicines," "Cold Chain," "HIV Program"). On the dashboard, you can filter widgets by tag to focus on a specific program or product category.

Tip: Tags are especially useful in multi-program facilities. Create tags for each health program or funding source so you can quickly isolate inventory for reporting and decision-making.

Quick Actions

From the dashboard, you can jump directly into common tasks:

  • Create Stock Movement — Start a new outbound or inbound movement
  • Record Adjustment — Log an inventory correction
  • Create Purchase Order — Begin a new procurement

These shortcuts save time compared to navigating through menus for routine operations.

Best Practices

  • Check the dashboard daily — A quick morning review catches issues before they become emergencies.
  • Use tags consistently — Agree on a tagging convention with your team so filters work reliably.
  • Act on alerts promptly — Expiring stock alerts are only useful if someone follows up on them.

Tip: If your dashboard feels cluttered, hide widgets you rarely use. A focused dashboard is more effective than one showing everything at once.