Guide
How to do a stock count in a mini-mart or grocery store
A stock count tells you what's really on your shelves, so your stock numbers, reorders and profit figures are right. Done well, it takes an evening, not a weekend. Here's how.
Why count at all?
Your system's stock figure is only as good as what's been recorded. Breakages, theft, mis-scans, deliveries that were short and waste that nobody wrote off all push it away from the truth. A count resets it, and the difference tells you how much stock you're losing.
Full counts and cycle counts
| Full count | Cycle count | |
|---|---|---|
| What | Everything in the shop | One department or aisle at a time |
| How often | Once or twice a year | Weekly, rotating round the shop |
| Good for | Year end, a new system, a fresh start | Catching problems early without closing |
Most small grocers do best with cycle counts all year, plus one full count. Count high-value and high-theft departments (tobacco, spirits, razors, baby formula) more often.
Step by step
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Pick a quiet time
After closing, or before opening. Sales during a count make the numbers harder to trust. For a cycle count of one department, a quiet hour is fine.
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Get deliveries and waste up to date
Receive every delivery that's arrived, and write off anything damaged or out of date first. Otherwise the count will "find" a problem that's just paperwork.
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Split the shop into zones
One zone per person: an aisle, a fridge, the stockroom shelves. Count the stockroom too, not just the shop floor.
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Count by scanning
Scan each item and type how many. Scanning is quicker than writing lists and avoids "which crisps did I mean" mistakes. For cases, count the case and the loose units.
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Weigh the loose stuff
Produce and deli sold by weight are counted in kilos. Weigh what's out and enter it to the gram, for example 3.250 kg.
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Check the big differences
Before finishing, look at items where the count is far from what the system expected. Recount those. Most big gaps are a missed shelf or the wrong item scanned.
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Finish and look at the cost
Finishing the count sets stock to what you counted. The difference, valued at cost, is your shrinkage for the period. Watch it over time and by department.
Keeping shrinkage down between counts
- Scan deliveries in, item by item, and record shortages straight away
- Write off waste with a reason every day, so it isn't mistaken for theft
- Record batches and expiry dates on short-life stock, and sell oldest first
- Ask for a manager PIN for voids, refunds and price changes, and look at the log
- Count the departments that keep going wrong more often
Count with OmniSync Retail
OmniSync Retail counts the whole store or one department, by scanning or typing. Finishing the count sets stock to what you counted, and records the difference at cost. Every item's history shows the count next to its sales, deliveries and write-offs. See expiry tracking too.