Guide
How to do a stock take
A stock take compares what is physically on your shelves with what your records say. Done carefully, it tells you what you have lost, what you over-ordered and how far you can trust your stock figures.
Step by step
Pick a quiet time
Count before opening, after closing or on a quiet day, and stop selling from the area being counted.
Tidy and group stock
Put like with like and bring stray items back to their shelf so nothing is counted twice or missed.
Finish receiving first
Record every delivery and sale up to the start of the count, so the records are up to date.
Count in pairs, by area
One person counts, one records, working shelf by shelf. Mark each area when it is done.
Recount the big differences
Before accepting a large variance, have someone else count that line again.
Record and investigate
Update your stock to the counted figures and note the reasons for differences you can explain.
Cycle counts: little and often
Instead of one big count a year, count a few lines every week, starting with the most valuable and the fastest moving. Problems surface while they are still small, and the annual count becomes a check rather than a shock.
A stock take is easier when sales move stock
On Revoluno, every sale at the till and online takes stock off as it happens, per branch, and deliveries can be recorded against purchase orders. Your expected figures are already current when you start counting, so the differences you find are real.