# Fishbowl: "Cannot distribute a negative cost"

> Fishbowl blocked a cost distribution with a negative value in a Manufacturing Order.

## What it means
Fishbowl blocked a cost distribution because the value is negative. This usually means either you entered a negative number (with a minus sign), or a formula or calculation produced a negative result. Manufacturing orders don't allow negative distributions in this operation.

## What to check
- Look at the cost amount you're trying to distribute—is it showing as negative?
- If you're trying to reverse, credit, or refund a cost, verify that the distribute function is the right approach. Fishbowl may have a separate adjustment, credit, or reversal procedure designed for negative adjustments.
- If a formula produced the negative value, check the formula for data entry or calculation errors.

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*From Israel Lopez Consulting (ILC). Custom Fishbowl Inventory integrations and software, and Fishbowl experts since 2015. Written by Israel Lopez. Questions about this topic, or want to reach the people who wrote it? Visit https://israellopezconsulting.com/contact*