Counting stock

Stock Takes

Stock takes use a point-in-time approach so you can count physical stock while sales continue to arrive.

How it works

Start the stock take.

TrueSKU takes a snapshot timestamp and the items being counted - stock itself is not locked, and sales/receipts carry on as normal.

Pick older outstanding orders first.

Before counting, remove items needed for orders that existed before the snapshot time.

Count the physical stock.

Enter the counted figures against the stock take, on desktop or from a phone (see below).

Review differences.

Large deviations can be checked before being accepted.

Reconcile accepted lines.

TrueSKU applies accepted differences through stock movements.

Why this matters

A simple “set stock to counted figure” approach breaks when sales are still happening. The snapshot timestamp lets TrueSKU work out what the stock should have been at the count moment and then reapply later movements on top of current stock, rather than overwriting it outright.

Orders placed before the count starts

When a stock take starts, TrueSKU records what it expects to be on the shelf at that moment. That figure is already net of orders that have been processed by then, because their stock has been taken off. If the goods for those orders are still sitting on the shelf waiting to be picked, they get counted as spare stock, and reconciling adds them back. Your stock is then overstated by exactly the quantity of those unpicked orders.

Pick or set aside the goods for every order placed before the snapshot time first, then count what is left. The snapshot time is shown on the stock take, and on the phone count screen. Orders that arrive after the snapshot don't need to be held back - they are handled for you.

If the shelf is empty but orders are still waiting

Sometimes there is nothing on the shelf, yet earlier orders for that item are still open and can't be filled. Counts can't be negative, so the honest count is 0, but a count of 0 tells TrueSKU the stock is exactly nil, not that you owe customers some. It sets the stock back to 0 and the shortfall is forgotten, so if those orders are later cancelled, stock ends up overstated.

The safe approach is to sort those orders out before counting: cancel or refund the ones you can't fulfil (use the Sales Inbox for anything TrueSKU flags as needing a decision), or leave that item out of this count until the stock arrives. Don't try to subtract the orders' quantities from the count yourself. Some orders haven't had their stock taken off yet (for example orders a channel still marks as pending, or listings not yet linked to a SKU), so subtracting them would take the stock off twice. Count what is physically there once the goods for earlier orders have been set aside, and let the office handle anything that can't be filled.

If you use multiple warehouses

A stock take counts one warehouse. Choose it when you start the stock take: expected quantities come from that warehouse and reconciling adjusts that warehouse only. Phone counters see the warehouse name on the stock take but never need to pick one. See Multiple Warehouses.

Counting from a phone

Once a stock take is started, anyone with access can count it from a phone instead of desktop - scan a barcode or type a code/name to find a line, enter the count, done. The mobile screen deliberately hides the expected quantity so the count reflects what's really there. See Warehouse App for setup, including giving warehouse staff their own scan-only login that doesn't use a paid seat.

Items the warehouse flags

Warehouse staff don't need to start their own stock takes to report a problem. From the Warehouse app (or a phone) they can flag an item that looks wrong - a count that seems off, something they can't find, or a product that has stopped selling while stock is still on the shelf. Flagging changes no stock and involves no counting.

The office sees the list under Stock > Warehouse Flags, with a marker on the Stock menu while anything is waiting. For each item you can see what TrueSKU expects, what the person said they could see, their note and the reason, and how many live listings it has. Then you choose:

Dealt with - for example the stock was fine, or a listing had been ended by mistake and you've relisted it. Add a note if you like. Items that aren't about the quantity (such as "not selling, still on the shelf") often need no count at all.
Adjust it by hand - open the SKU and make a normal adjustment with a reason, so it's recorded.
Start a stock take - tick the items and start a stock take for them. This opens the normal Start screen with those SKUs and the warehouse filled in. Nothing is timed until you press Start, so pick or set aside the goods for orders that have already come in first, then start the count.

A stock take counts one warehouse and direct-stock SKUs, so tick items from one warehouse at a time. Once a take has been started the flags are closed and link to it; flags you didn't include stay on the list. Closed flags are kept under the Closed tab.

Counting from two places at once? The desktop screen shows who last counted something and when, and warns before reconciling if someone else has counted recently - worth a glance before you finalise.