Inventory costing for African retailers and distributors: FIFO or weighted average?

Why does the method matter more in Africa?
Import prices jump with the exchange rate. With FIFO, cost of sales lags the new, higher prices, so reported margins look better in a devaluation and worse when the currency recovers. Weighted average spreads the jump across units, giving steadier margins.

What are landed costs?
Freight, insurance, clearing agent fees, port charges and import duty. IAS 2 requires them in the cost of inventory. Many SMEs expense them, overstating early-month costs and understating stock value.

Which software supports what?
TallyPrime supports multiple valuation methods with fast stock entry. SAP Business One and Business Central handle landed costs (B1’s Landed Costs document; Business Central’s item charges) and FIFO, average or standard costing. Odoo supports FIFO and average costing with landed costs. Zoho Books supports FIFO on Professional and higher; QuickBooks Online Plus uses FIFO only.

A practical rule
If you import, use weighted average and capture landed costs on every shipment. If you sell perishables or regulated batches (pharma, food), use FIFO with batch tracking.