Odoo FIFO Stock Valuation Fix: Stop Recursion Errors

Hey there, Odoo users and inventory pros! Ever found yourself staring blankly at a server crash log when all you wanted was to check your Stock Valuation Report? Specifically, if you're working with FIFO (First-In, First-Out) products in Odoo 19.0 (and sometimes 18.0), you might have encountered a nasty RecursionError that brings everything to a halt. This Odoo Stock Valuation Report recursion error isn't just an annoyance; it can be a real showstopper, making it impossible to get accurate financial insights from your inventory. Don't worry, guys, because we're going to dive deep into why this happens, how to spot it, and more importantly, how to prevent and fix it so your Odoo system runs smoothly and your reports are always accessible. We'll explore the intricate details of the stock_account module and its interaction with FIFO costing, giving you the knowledge to troubleshoot and maintain a healthy Odoo environment. This issue often stems from a lack of proper cost data linked to your stock moves, which throws Odoo's valuation logic into an infinite loop, ultimately crashing your server. Understanding the root cause—be it missing purchase orders, unlinked invoices, or simply a zero price_unit—is crucial for both immediate fixes and long-term prevention. We'll walk you through the precise steps that trigger this bug, allowing you to replicate it in a test environment and confirm if you're facing the same challenge. Moreover, we'll discuss the expected behavior of the Stock Valuation Report versus the actual crash, highlighting where Odoo's current logic falls short when dealing with incomplete cost data for FIFO items. By the end of this article, you'll be armed with practical solutions and best practices to ensure your Odoo Stock Valuation Report provides the reliable data you need without any unexpected server shutdowns. It’s all about making your Odoo experience as seamless and efficient as possible, especially when it comes to critical financial reporting. So, let’s get started and banish those pesky recursion errors for good!

Unpacking the Odoo FIFO Valuation Bug: What's Going On?

Alright, let's talk about this frustrating Odoo FIFO valuation bug that can make your life as an Odoo user a bit challenging. Specifically, we're zeroing in on an issue within the stock_account module, particularly affecting Odoo versions 19.0 and sometimes 18.0, where accessing the Stock Valuation Report can trigger an infinite recursion loop and crash your server. This happens when you have products configured with the FIFO (First-In, First-Out) costing method, but their associated stock moves lack proper cost data. Think about it: FIFO relies on knowing which specific units came in first and what their cost was to accurately value what's currently in stock or what's been sold. If Odoo can't find that crucial cost information – perhaps there's no linked invoice, no purchase order, or the price_unit is unexpectedly zero or null – it gets stuck in a loop trying to figure out the value, leading to the dreaded RecursionError. The system essentially asks itself, "What's the cost?" and when it can't find a definitive answer from typical sources, it defaults to asking the product for its standard_price. But here's the kicker: in its attempt to determine that standard_price for valuation purposes, it might again look at historical moves, which then refer back to the product's _get_standard_price_at_date method, creating a circular reference. This endless chase for a cost that isn't readily available is what causes the infinite recursion and ultimately, the crash. It's a classic chicken-and-egg problem where the valuation logic keeps calling itself, unable to find a base case to resolve the calculation. For many of us, this Odoo FIFO bug surfaces unexpectedly, often after seemingly innocuous stock operations where the full financial flow wasn't completed or properly linked. This means you might have created receipts or deliveries manually, or through integrations, without the corresponding purchase orders or vendor bills that would normally supply the necessary cost data. Understanding this intricate dance between stock moves, product costing methods, and the valuation report is key to diagnosing and fixing the problem. It highlights a critical dependency in Odoo's accounting logic that, when unfulfilled, can lead to severe operational disruptions. So, before you pull your hair out, remember that this isn't just random; it's a specific logical breakdown in how Odoo attempts to determine value when core data points are missing for FIFO-costed items.

Replicating the Odoo Recursion Error: Steps to Take

To really get a handle on this Odoo recursion error and confirm you're dealing with the same nasty bug, let's walk through the exact steps to reproduce it. This process is crucial for troubleshooting and understanding the conditions under which this RecursionError in the Stock Valuation Report occurs. So, gather 'round, folks, and let's simulate this scenario in your Odoo environment, ideally in a test database so you don't mess up your live data! The core of the problem lies in setting up a product with specific configurations and then performing stock operations without complete cost information. This will help you pinpoint the exact source of the problem.

Here are the steps to reproduce the Odoo FIFO valuation crash:

1. Create a Product with FIFO Costing: First things first, you need to set up a new product. Navigate to Inventory -> Products -> Products and create a brand-new product. Make sure that under the 'Inventory' tab, the Costing Method is set to FIFO (First-In, First-Out). This is non-negotiable, as the bug specifically targets FIFO-costed items. Also, while you're there, on the 'General Information' tab, set the product's standard_price to 0 or simply leave it empty. This crucial step starves Odoo of an easy fallback cost, forcing it to look deeper and eventually stumble into the recursion loop. This initial setup is critical because it creates the perfect storm for Odoo's valuation logic to get stuck. Without a clear initial cost or a proper costing method, the system struggles to establish a baseline for subsequent valuations.

2. Perform Stock Moves Without Cost Links: This is where the magic (or rather, the mayhem) happens. Now, you need to create some stock movements for this FIFO product without linking them to purchase orders or invoices. This is the critical piece of the puzzle that deprives Odoo of direct cost data. For example, you can do this by:

   • Creating a Manual Inventory Adjustment: Go to Inventory -> Operations -> Inventory Adjustments. Create a new adjustment for your FIFO product, set the 'Theoretical Quantity' and 'Counted Quantity' to add some stock (e.g., 10 units). Validate this adjustment. Since inventory adjustments don't inherently link to purchase prices, they often lack direct cost information.
   • Creating an Internal Transfer (if configured without costing): While less common for initial cost, if you have complex internal transfer setups that don't pass cost data, this could also contribute.
   • Manually Creating Receipts/Deliveries (without PO/Invoice): If you're using developer mode, you might even manipulate stock moves directly, ensuring no purchase_line_id or invoice_line_id is set, and the price_unit on the move is 0 or null. This simulates scenarios where data might be imported or created in a way that bypasses standard financial flows.
   • The key here is to have stock moves where Odoo has no clear, immediate way to determine the cost of the incoming units. This is the condition that pushes Odoo's valuation mechanism to its breaking point.

3. Open the Stock Valuation Report: Finally, the moment of truth. Navigate to Inventory -> Reporting -> Stock Valuation. Attempt to open this report, potentially filtering by your FIFO product if you have a lot of data.

4. Witness the Crash (❌ Server Crashes with RecursionError): If everything is set up just right (or rather, just wrong for Odoo's valuation logic), your Odoo server will likely crash with a RecursionError. You'll typically see a traceback similar to the one described in the bug report, indicating an infinite loop between _get_standard_price_at_date and _get_value methods within the stock_account module. This crash is the definitive sign that you've successfully reproduced the Odoo FIFO Stock Valuation bug. It's super important to confirm these steps in a test environment to understand the exact circumstances of the error before attempting to fix it in production. This hands-on approach will give you invaluable insight into the bug's behavior and help you craft a targeted solution.

Understanding the 'Why': The Infinite Loop Explained

So, you've seen the crash, experienced the frustration, and perhaps even reproduced the Odoo recursion error yourself. Now, let's peel back the layers and understand why this infinite loop happens when Odoo attempts to generate the Stock Valuation Report for FIFO products lacking proper cost data. At its core, the problem is a circular dependency in how Odoo tries to determine the cost of a stock move, particularly when it's missing direct links to purchase orders or invoices. When the report needs to value a stock move, it calls the _get_value method on stock.move. This method is designed to find the cost of the units involved. If it can't find a direct cost (e.g., from an associated vendor bill), it tries to calculate it.

One of its fallback mechanisms is to determine the standard_price at a given date. This is where _get_value_from_std_price comes into play, which in turn tries to fetch the standard_price by calling self.product_id._get_standard_price_at_date(at_date). This _get_standard_price_at_date method on the product.product model is meant to provide the product's cost at a specific historical point. However, when a FIFO product has no actual incoming valuation layers or its incoming moves have zero/null price_unit, Odoo's logic for _get_standard_price_at_date often attempts to look at the last incoming move to derive a cost. Here's where the loop closes: the last incoming move that _get_standard_price_at_date might be examining is the very same move (or another problematic one) that initially triggered the _get_value call! So, _get_value calls _get_standard_price_at_date, which then tries to get the value of an incoming move (potentially the same one) by calling _get_value again, and round and round we go until Python hits its recursion depth limit and throws a RecursionError. It's like asking