Stock numbers drift. A mis-pick, a return put back in the wrong bin, a damaged item thrown away without a note: each one is small, but together they mean the number on screen and the number on the shelf stop matching. Then you sell things you don’t have, or reorder things you do. Regular counting keeps the two in line.
Full stock counts vs cycle counting
A full stock count (or stock take) means counting everything at once, usually with picking stopped. Cycle counting means counting a small part of your stock on a schedule, a few bins each day or week, so every bin is counted over a cycle.
| Full stock count | Cycle counting | |
|---|---|---|
| What you count | Everything | A few bins at a time |
| How often | Once or twice a year | Every day or week |
| Disruption | Picking stops for hours or a day | Ten to twenty minutes, picking continues |
| Errors found | Months after they happened | Within weeks |
| Best for | Year-end, or a first count | Ongoing accuracy |
Most small shops do one full count to get a clean start, then switch to cycle counting. Some still do a full count at year-end for their accounts.
How to start cycle counting
- List every bin in walking order.
- Decide how often each bin should be counted, for example every bin once a month.
- Divide the list into daily or weekly groups. With 200 bins and 20 working days, that’s 10 bins a day.
- Count each group at a quiet time, and write down what you find.
- Compare with your records, deal with any differences, and move on to the next group.
Count by bin location
Count one bin at a time, not one product at a time. Walking bin by bin in the same order you pick means you never miss a shelf, and you also find products stored in the wrong place. If your bins don’t have labels yet, set up bin locations first.
| Bin | SKU | Product | Counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | MUG-TEAL | Teal mug | 14 |
| A2 | MUG-BLUE | Blue mug | 9 |
| B7 | TEA-50 | Green tea 50g | 31 |
- Count what you see. Leave the expected number off the count sheet, so the count isn’t nudged toward it.
- Finish open orders first. Items picked but not yet shipped make a bin look short.
- Count each bin on its own, even when a product is stored in more than one.
What to do with discrepancies
When a count doesn’t match your records, don’t just overwrite the number. Find out why, or the same gap will be back next month.
- Recount. Count the bin again, ideally someone else.
- Check open orders. Were items picked for an order that isn’t completed yet, or was an order completed while its items are still on the shelf?
- Check the neighbors. Look-alike products often end up in the next bin.
- Check returns and damage. Items put back or thrown away without a note are a common cause.
- Correct the record and note the reason.
Look at the reasons every month. If the same products keep coming up short, the cause is usually at picking: see how to reduce picking errors.
How often to count
There’s no single right answer; it depends on how many products you have and how fast they sell. A good start for a small shop is every bin once a month through cycle counting. Count more often if counts keep turning up differences, and less often if they’ve matched for months. Also count a bin when it should be empty, or just before you reorder.
ABC counting: count best sellers more often
Not every product needs the same attention. ABC counting sorts products by how much they sell and counts the top ones most often, because that’s where errors cost the most.
| Class | What’s in it | Count |
|---|---|---|
| A | Best sellers: roughly the top 20% of products, often most of your sales | Monthly, or every two weeks |
| B | Steady sellers: the next 30% or so | Every quarter |
| C | Slow sellers: the rest | Once or twice a year |
To sort your products, export the last few months of orders, count the units sold per SKU, and sort from highest to lowest. Re-sort every few months as sales change. Your A products are also the ones to keep nearest the packing table; see organizing the stockroom.
How pickBlink helps
The SKUs page in pickBlink lists every SKU with its bin and storage unit, and Export CSV turns that list into a spreadsheet you can sort by bin and use as a count sheet. You can also export your orders as a CSV to work out your A, B and C products. Between counts, stock counts go down as orders are completed, so the numbers follow your sales. See all features.