A stock take is when you stop and count everything you actually have, then check it against what your records say you should have. Small shops do one at the end of a season, before a big order, or whenever the numbers stop feeling right. This guide walks through how to plan and run the count, then how to do it with Inventory Cat, our inventory app for iPhone and iPad.
Before you start counting
A stock take goes faster with a little preparation:
- Pick a quiet time. Before opening, after closing or on a slow day, so stock isn't moving while you count.
- Tidy first. Put stray items back and group the same things together.
- Split the shop into places: front of shop, back room, each shelf or bay.
- Decide what's out: unopened deliveries, customer orders set aside, damaged stock. Count them separately or leave them out, but decide before you start.
- Get your records up to date. Enter the last sales and deliveries first, so the numbers you compare against are current.
How to run the count
- Finish one place before moving on. Work along each shelf from one end, so nothing gets counted twice or missed.
- Count what you see, not what you expect.
- Count the valuable or small things twice, or have a second person count them.
- Only fix the records once the count is done, so you compare a full count against one set of numbers.
The free way: set each count by hand
If each of your products is already an item in Inventory Cat, you can do a stock take with the free app alone. (New to the app? Start with how to keep track of inventory on iPhone.)
- On the Inventory screen, find the place you're counting. Your list is grouped by place, and the search box finds an item by name, place or barcode.
- Tap an item, count it on the shelf, then tap Set count.
- Type the number where it asks "How many … are there now?" and tap Set.
Each count goes into the item's History as "Was 12, now 10", marked Counted. If you typed the wrong number, Undo last in that item's History puts the count back.
This changes your numbers as you go, and you keep track of what you've counted yourself.
With Pro: Stocktake
Stocktake is part of Inventory Cat Pro. It keeps your count separate from your records until you've checked it. In the app's words: "Nothing changes until you apply."
- Tap More (•••, top left), then Stocktake under Pro.
- Choose what to count. Under Count, pick Everything, or a single place. A place includes the places inside it, so choosing "Shop" counts "Shop › Shelf 1" too.
- Tap Start stocktake. The top of the screen shows how far you've got, like "12 of 40 counted."
- Count each item. Every item in that place is listed with In the app: and the number your records say. Tap + or − to count it. An item you haven't touched shows "–", so you can see what's left.
- Or count by barcode. Type an item's code into Scan or type a barcode and tap +1. Each code entered adds 1 to that item's count, and the app shows which item it counted. If no item has that code, it says so. There's no camera button on this screen.
- Tap Review when you're done.
Your count is saved as you go, so you can leave the screen or the app and pick up where you left off. If you record a sale in the app during the count, the counted number moves with it, so the sale isn't wiped out when you apply.
Review the differences and apply
The Review screen is your stock take result:
- At the top, a summary like "38 counted, 31 match", with how many items are short and how many are over.
- Under Counted, each item shows what the app had and what you counted, like "42 → 45 +3". The biggest differences are listed first.
- Under Not counted, anything in that place you didn't count. "These keep the count they have now."
Go and recount any big difference before you apply. Keep counting takes you back to the count.
When you're happy, tap Apply (it says how many counts will change, like Apply 7 counts). The app says how many counts were updated. Each change goes into that item's History as Counted, so one item can still be undone there. To throw the count away instead, tap Discard stocktake. Discard "throws the count away and changes nothing."
Keep a record of the stock take
Once the counts are applied, open More, then Export and backup, and tap Export CSV. You get every item, one row each, with its name, barcode, quantity, location, low-stock number and when it last changed. It's a file your spreadsheet opens. Keep one export per stock take so you can compare them later.
Plainly: Inventory Cat counts things. It has no price or cost field, so it won't give you a stock value. If you need one, put your own prices next to the quantities in your spreadsheet, and ask your accountant what they need.
Your items are kept on your device and in your own backups unless you share, save or print them.
What it costs
Adding items, scanning, counting, Set count, low stock, CSV export and backups are free, with no item limit and no account. Stocktake is part of Inventory Cat Pro, an optional one-time purchase with no subscription. Pro also adds Import a spreadsheet, Barcode labels and Low-stock reminders. More on the Inventory Cat page.
Quick answers
How often should a small business do a stock take?
That's up to your business. Many shops do a full count once or twice a year and count fast-moving or valuable items more often.
Can I count one shelf instead of the whole shop?
Yes. In Stocktake, pick a place under Count instead of Everything, and only that place's items are listed.
What happens to items I didn't count?
They keep the count they have now. The Review screen lists them under Not counted.
Can I undo a stock take?
Before you apply, Discard stocktake changes nothing. After you apply, each item's change is in its History as Counted, and Undo last on that item puts it back if nothing has changed it since.
Does Inventory Cat work out the value of my stock?
No. It has no price field. Export CSV gives you the quantities to use in your own spreadsheet.
Try Inventory Cat
Try Inventory Cat: free, no watermark, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/inventory-cat