Underwater Sales
When you ship a sales order item when you do not have the item in stock it is known as an underwater sale. Inventory is in an underwater state when the on-hand quantity of the item is below zero. Whenever an item is shipped, even if it is underwater, an inventory costing calculation is initiated.
You should avoid entering or shipping an item if the on hand count is zero or a negative amount. If you enter sale transactions when an item is underwater, NetSuite cannot accurately calculate the cost of the item on those sale transactions. Cost calculations from underwater sales can lead to skewed results for reports and inventory data. For more information, see Avoiding Underwater Inventory.