Goods in, by DOT date

What does this tour show?

It shows a delivery of tyres arriving at one in the afternoon and being booked in so it does not jump the queue. Roshan reads the DOT code off each lot's sidewall, receives the stock, and watches the new lot settle at the back of the list behind older tyres of the same size.

Tyres are unusual stock. They do not go off in a week like bread, but they do age from the day they are made, and customers increasingly check the date on the sidewall. A centre that fits whatever is nearest the door ends up with a back row of tyres that are years old. Booking in by DOT date and picking oldest first is the simple habit that prevents it.

What does the stock look like?

Tyre stock lists every size with its quantity and the DOT date of its oldest lot. In the sample:

Inside 195/65 R15, the 21 tyres sit in four lots, oldest first:

Step by step

1. Open Tyre stock. The page covers sizes, DOT dates and part-worn checks, and says plainly that the oldest DOT is picked first.
2. Read Tyres by size. Every size with how many are in and the date of its oldest lot. A size like 175/70 R13 with its oldest lot from late 2024 is one to push at the counter.
3. Glance at Aged stock. It is a quick way to see where old tyres are building up.
4. Open Goods in. Its note says it all: each DOT code is its own lot, read from the tyre sidewall.
5. Choose the tyre. Pick the size and pattern being delivered.
6. Read and enter the DOT code. Week plus year, four digits. In the tour the delivery is DOT 3826, week 38 of 2026.
7. Enter quantity, cost each and condition. Three tyres, at the cost on the supplier's note, condition New. Part-worn and remould are the other choices.
8. Receive stock. The lot is added. If the same delivery has a second DOT code for the same size, use Receive and add another DOT and enter it straight away.
9. Check where the new lot landed. Open the size's lots. The new one sits at the bottom, marked just in. Job cards keep taking from the top, so DOT 1825 still goes out next.

Why does cost each matter for tyres?

Tyre costs move with suppliers, exchange rates and seasons, so the same size can cost noticeably more this month than last. Recording cost each on every lot means your stock value is right and the profit on each fitted tyre reflects what you actually paid for that lot. It also shows you quickly when a price rise has eaten into the fitted price you quote at the counter. If the cost of a size has climbed and the finder's fitted price has not, the margin has quietly shrunk. The stock valuation guide explains how cost-based stock value works.

How old is too old for a tyre on the shelf?

There is no single answer that suits every shop, and you should follow your suppliers' and manufacturers' guidance on storage and age. What matters day to day is that you can see the age of every lot and act before it becomes a problem. The stock page makes that simple: the oldest lot for each size is on the list, and the lot view shows age in plain months and years. A practical habit is to review the list once a week and push any size whose oldest lot is getting on, by offering it first at the counter or pricing the budget level a little more keenly. Customers who ask about dates should get a straight answer, and with the DOT code on every lot you can always give one.

A second habit helps too: when a size keeps showing an old oldest lot while newer lots of the same size sell, check the rack. Usually the old tyres are simply stacked behind the new ones.

Tips at goods in

• Read the DOT code from the tyre itself, not the delivery note. Suppliers sometimes ship a different week than the paperwork says.
• Check every tyre in a lot carries the same code. Mixed weeks in one stack are common.
• Book in before stacking on the rack. Tyres on the rack but not in the system are invisible to the finder.
• Stack physically in the same order as the lots: oldest at the front, newest at the back.
• Look at sizes with old oldest lots once a week and mention them at the counter.

Common mistakes

• Entering one DOT code for a whole mixed delivery. The ages on screen are then wrong.
• Recording part-worn tyres as new. They get quoted and fitted as new, which is a complaint waiting to happen.
• Leaving cost each blank. Stock value and profit reports become guesses.
• Stacking the new delivery at the front. Fitters grab what is nearest, and the system's oldest-first order means nothing.
• Ignoring aged stock until it is too old to sell. It is easier to move a tyre at 18 months than at four years.

What should you do next?

With the delivery received, the next tour in the day, a warranty claim worked out fairly, deals with a tyre that has come back with a sidewall bulge. For counting the whole rack properly, read how to do a stocktake, and for the everyday habits of keeping stock accurate, the stock control guide.

How EasyTaskr helps

EasyTaskr's Tyre stock lists every size with its quantity and the DOT date of its oldest lot. Goods in records each DOT code as its own lot with quantity, cost each and condition, keeps lots oldest first, and job cards pick from the oldest lot.