How to do a physical inventory count (stocktake) step by step
When the quantity on your shelves no longer matches the number on your screen, neither your reorder alerts nor your profit reports tell the truth. A physical inventory count—also called a stocktake—resets your book records to match what is actually sitting in your shop and warehouse.
To run an accurate stocktake, first enter all pending purchase and sales invoices, tidy your shelves, and pause stock movements in the counting area. Open a draft stock count per warehouse, scan barcodes with your phone, enter physical quantities into a blank field without looking at book balances, verify discrepancies, and approve the count.
Why and how often should you count physical stock?
Inventory drift rarely comes from one big mistake. It builds up quietly over months: a supplier delivery unpacked before the purchase invoice was booked, two similar items swapped at checkout, or a damaged box pushed to the back of the storeroom. If you only count once a year, finding out why those units disappeared is nearly impossible.
Combining an annual full stocktake with shorter monthly or quarterly cycle counts for fast-moving products keeps your records reliable all year round. Regular counting ensures your critical stock alerts trigger on time and prevents cash from getting trapped in unrecorded items.
Pre-count preparation: prevent half the errors before you start
Most stocktake frustration happens when people start counting while shelves are messy and unbooked deliveries are still sitting on the floor. A day before the count, group identical products together, clearly mark open cartons with the quantity inside, and check that units of measure (pieces, packs, kg, meters) are consistent.
Next, draw a clean document cut-off line. Enter every supplier delivery that has already arrived on the shelves as a purchase invoice. Set aside any orders already invoiced and packed for customers so your team does not accidentally count them back into available stock.
- Book all pending purchase and sales invoices before starting the count
- Consolidate split boxes of the same product onto a single shelf location
- Confirm whether case-packed goods are tracked as single units or full boxes
- Isolate damaged, returned, or customer-reserved items outside the count zone
Choosing the right method: full count, cycle count, and blind count
You can tailor your counting method to your shop's schedule. A full physical count shuts down operations after hours to check every single item, whereas cycle counting checks one aisle or product tag in fifteen minutes before opening the doors.
Whichever approach you choose, always use blind counting: the person counting should enter what they physically see into an empty box rather than looking at a printed list of expected system quantities. When staff see '20 expected' on a sheet, they often write 20 after counting 19; a blank input forces an honest count.
| Count Method | When to Use It | Scope | Main Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Physical Stocktake | Year-end or period close while closed | Every product across all warehouses | Gives a complete, verified total stock value |
| Cycle (Partial) Count | Weekly or monthly before opening hours | One shelf section, tag, or top sellers | Catches errors early without stopping sales |
| Warehouse-Specific Count | After stock transfers or van loading | A single shop floor, storeroom, or van | Pinpoints exactly where shrinkage happened |
| Spot Check Count | Whenever a shelf looks unexpectedly low | Just the 5–10 suspect products | Fixes barcode or unit mix-ups immediately |
Counting on the floor with a phone camera or barcode scanner
Writing tally marks on clipboards and typing them into a computer at midnight doubles the workload and introduces transcription typos. In GiroPS, you open a stock count as a draft for a specific warehouse and walk the aisles scanning barcodes with your phone camera to log physical quantities on the spot.
Because the count stays in draft mode, you can pause whenever needed and resume from the next shelf. If you are only counting one section, you can choose to keep existing quantities for uncounted products; if you are doing a full wall-to-wall stocktake, you can set uncounted items to zero.
- Open a draft stock count for the target warehouse and move shelf by shelf
- Scan the product barcode and type the physical quantity into the blank box
- Keep uncounted items unchanged during partial counts, or zero them in full counts
- Review the discrepancy list and recount high-variance items before approving
Reviewing discrepancies and approving stock adjustments
Once all physical counts are entered, the draft summary shows the exact plus or minus difference between your system balance and the counted quantity. Before finalizing large variances, check whether a case was left in another storeroom or booked under the wrong unit of measure.
When you approve the stock count, GiroPS automatically records the differences as stock movements for that warehouse and updates product balances. Your total inventory value adjusts accurately based on weighted average cost, and every change remains traceable in the activity log.
Step-by-Step Implementation
1. Close pending documents and organize shelves
Enter all unbooked purchase and sales invoices first. Tidy up shelves, group identical items together, and label open cartons with the exact count inside.
2. Select the warehouse and open a draft count
Go to the stock count screen in the app, choose the specific warehouse (shop floor, back room, or delivery van), and start a new draft count.
3. Count systematically from left to right using blind entry
Follow a fixed path along each rack so no shelf is skipped or counted twice. Scan each barcode with your phone and enter the physical quantity into the empty field.
4. Recount items with unexpected variances
Inspect the draft summary for large positive or negative differences. Verify those items on the shelf to rule out box-versus-piece confusion or swapped barcodes.
5. Choose the uncounted-item rule and approve
Preserve existing balances for uncounted items if you ran a partial cycle count, or zero them out for a full stocktake, then approve to post the stock movements.
Practical scenario
Example: Weekend stocktake in a 450-item hardware shop
Sam runs a neighborhood hardware store with 450 products and conducts a Sunday morning stocktake in his main warehouse. He opens a draft count and scans the shelves with his phone in two hours. Reviewing four variances before approval, he notices silicone tubes show 46 extra units because a recent delivery of 2 boxes (24 tubes each) was booked as '2 pieces' instead of 48. After fixing the purchase invoice and approving the count, both his stock quantities and average cost are spot on.
| Product Name | System Balance | Counted Quantity | Variance & Action Taken |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interior Wall Paint 15 L | 24 Pcs | 24 Pcs | 0 Variance (Record matches shelf) |
| Clear Silicone Sealant 280 ml | 12 Pcs | 58 Pcs | +46 Pcs (Fixed box-vs-piece purchase entry) |
| Paint Roller 20 cm | 35 Pcs | 32 Pcs | -3 Pcs (Approved adjustment reduces stock to 32) |
| Masking Tape 50 m | 18 Pcs | 0 Pcs | -18 Pcs (Zeroed out in full warehouse count) |
Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I lose my count if the internet drops in the warehouse?
No. The Android app works offline, so you can scan barcodes and save your draft stock count in a basement or metal warehouse and sync automatically once back online.
What if I cannot close the shop for a full day to count everything?
Run partial cycle counts instead. Count one product tag or shelf section per week and choose the option to keep existing balances for all uncounted items.
How do stocktake adjustments affect my inventory value?
When you approve a count, GiroPS posts stock movements for the differences and updates your total stock value using each product's weighted average cost.
How do I count products that do not have a barcode?
You can search for any item by product name or stock code directly inside the stock count screen and type the counted quantity.
Can different team members count separate locations at the same time?
Yes. If you set up separate warehouses for your main storeroom, shop floor, and delivery van, each staff member can run an independent draft count for their location.
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