Retail stock takes don’t have to be a headache for you or your staff. These steps will save your retail business time, money and after-hours inventory session.

If you’re a retail owner, you know that the insight you gain from regular stocktakes empowers your inventory, demand and growth decisions. It’s even mandatory at the end of each financial year. 

But many retailers delay their stocktakes or get so stuck in manual processes that they become inaccurate and ineffective. Yet, effective inventory management is crucial for the success of any retail business. 

A well-executed stock take ensures you maintain accurate records, prevent losses, and make informed decisions. 

However, with the right inventory management system, tools and processes, stocktakes can be conducted quickly, accurately and effectively. By streamlining the stocktake process with the right inventory tool, like BizKit POS, you can turn a potentially tedious task into a manageable one. 

Here is a simple guide to conducting a stock take for your retail business.

1. Plan Ahead

To minimize disruptions an store operations, you need to plan ahead. The best thing is to select a date and time when your retail store is closed for operations or during low-traffic hours. This will ensure you can focus solely on the stock take and inventory count without interrupting customers or daily operations. 

It’s important to notify your team about the stock take in advance to coordinate schedules and prepare resources. It means your staff have clear communication about what they need to do during the stock take and ensure you’re not missing out on any hidden stock. 

Stocktake planning tips:

• Avoid peak hours or seasons, or busy days to reduce interruptions.
• Have a checklist of all the necessary tools, such as inventory sheets, scanners, and labels.

With the right equipment, you can complete the stocktake while the store is open without requiring your staff to work extra hours. 

2. Organize Your Stock and Store

Before you begin your stock take, it’s important to organize the stock.

You can start undertaking cyclical counts‍ before the palled stock count date. Why? 

Attempting to count your entire stores’ inventory in just one event can expose you to risks and inaccuracies. Instead, implement cyclical stocktakes focusing on one area of your store, one product/category, or one store at a time. This way, your staff can focus on one batch at a time, lowering errors and time spent on each count. You can also create the habit of performing regular bite-sized stocktakes. 

Stocktake stock and store organization tips:

• Conduct stock cyclical counts
• Arrange the stock neatly and categorize items logically. 
• Group similar products together to speed up the counting process and reduce confusion.
• Label shelves clearly to avoid mix-ups.
• Remove damaged or expired items to maintain accuracy.
• Map out your store – physically draw out or have a layout map of your store, right down to every shelf and rack, to visually assign areas to staff that they can refer to before they start.

Making stock organisation a standard practice for your store’s everyday operations can simplify this step. You will just be walking around and making sure that everything is organized as planned.

3. Organise staff appropriately

Apart from informing your staff of the stocktake, you also need to organize them to realize an effective stocktake of your store.

This is especially important if you’re taking stock of multiple areas of your store, have a large store, or have multiple branches.

You can appoint a supervisor in each location or for each product, category, or brand who’s responsible for overviewing the process. 

Teach your staff your approved system to count stock, such as always running from top to bottom and left to right, before starting to avoid duplicate counts.  

4. Count and Record

Start counting your inventory systematically, product by product, category by category or section by section.

To record stock levels efficiently, use tools like barcode scanners or mobile apps integrated with your BizKit POS system.

You should also mark off all stock as it’s counted to avoid duplication‍. This is where having an inventory scanner can save you time. Otherwise, you can make use of your store map we mentioned earlier to cross off areas that are completed. Ensure staff are communicating here to avoid any overlap. 

Tips:

• Stick to one area at a time to ensure no items are missed.
• Use a consistent method, such as counting from top to bottom or left to right.
• Mark off all stock as it’s counted to avoid duplication
• Don’t forget items that are in transit

Consider the stock being transferred between stores (if you have multiple branches), is still in transit from suppliers, or is labelled for customer pickup before you start your stocktake. Identify which stock will still be counted in your system, and try to process this stock to avoid miscounts and inaccurate data.

5. Double Check and Review

To minimize errors, have at least two team members perform the stock take. Before finalizing the numbers, cross-check their results to catch any discrepancies.

Tips:

• Pair an experienced team member with a newer employee to ensure quality.
• Take breaks to maintain accuracy and focus.

Once the stock count is done, review, investigate and resolve any inaccuracies or inconsistencies post-count. Double-check your original stock levels against the results before you update them and run an updated inventory report. 

During review, look for data where you can identify any glaring issues or results like:

• Any stok shrinkage
• Your profit margin
• Best performing stock/categories and product types
• Fast-selling or understocked products
• Slow-moving or overstocked products

6. Compare and Validate Numbers

Once your count is complete, Make sure the data for the stocktake is valid. How?

Match the physical stock levels against the numbers in your inventory management system, such as the BizKit POS system. The inventory data you start with is just as important as the inventory data you end with. 

Investigate discrepancies promptly to identify causes, such as theft, administrative errors, or unrecorded sales.

Tips:

• Keep records of discrepancies for future reference.
• Use BizKit’s reporting tools to analyze trends and spot recurring issues.

Review how accurate your inventory management system is and how you’ve been running your inventory reports in the past. Your POS should clearly view stock numbers before considering starting a stocktake.

7. Update Your System

Finally, update your system.

Adjust your inventory records in the POS system to reflect the actual stock levels. This will ensure that your system remains reliable for future transactions and reporting.

Tips:

• Document adjustments to maintain a clear audit trail.
• Schedule staff training to prevent recurring errors.

Digitise your Stocktake and Inventory with the BizKit POS System.

Conducting a thorough and efficient stock take is essential for any retail business. But a stocktake performed with a pen and paper is at risk of being inaccurate and inefficient. With an inventory management system that allows you to digitize your stocktake, you can say goodbye to double-entering your data from manual checklists to spreadsheets or closing your stores. 

No matter how efficient you are, you need the right tools to get ahead. A successful stocktake should be powered by an inventory management system that allows you to digitise the process and make it a quick, accurate process. 

Digitize your stocktake with BizKit POS today to simplify your stock-taking process and elevate your inventory management strategy! Start a Free Trial of BizKit POS here.