Stock-taking in a workshop: how to do it in one evening, and what to do with the result

Many workshops and shops put the stock-take off until the accountant asks for it. Then it is done late in the evening, in a hurry, and the numbers in the spreadsheet are edited until they agree. Afterwards nobody can say what happened to the missing stock.

The count itself matters less than two other things: the difference between the records and the shelf, and the reason for it. If you correct the number without writing down the reason, the same gap will be back next month.

Pick a time when nothing moves

You can only count stock that is standing still. In practice that is an evening after closing or a day off. While you count, nobody takes parts for a job, sells from the shelf or books in a delivery, or the count is wrong before you finish.

Before you start, book in every delivery that has arrived. Goods that are on the shelf but not yet entered make the count disagree with the records for no real reason.

Do not count everything, count what moves

Your accountant will want a full count at least once a year. For running the business that is too rare. It is more useful to recount, once a month, the few dozen items that bring in most of your turnover: screens and batteries in a phone workshop, filters and oil in a car service, the best sellers in a shop.

A simple rule: if an item moved more than five times last month, count it often. If it has not moved for a year, count it once a year and think about selling it off.

Write down the difference and the reason, not just the new number

This step is what separates a stock-take from editing numbers. If the shelf has 7 screens and the system says 9, do not just type 7. Record: was 9, counted 7, difference −2, reason: broken while fitting, never written off.

The reasons are usually few and they repeat: used on a job but never added to it; damaged while fitting; given to a customer under warranty; paid for but never delivered by the supplier. Each needs a different fix, and you can only tell them apart if the reason was written down.

What the reasons tell you later

After three months the list of reasons tells you more than the balance. If half the differences are “used on a job, not added to it”, the problem is not theft but the way work gets booked, and one conversation with the team fixes it.

If the differences gather around one supplier or one person, you will see that too, but only if the reason was recorded at the time and not remembered a month later.

How to do it in ReactDesk

In Inventory, open the item, choose “Counted on the shelf” and type the number you counted. ReactDesk works out the difference, asks for a reason (stock-take, damaged, lost, found, returned to supplier or correction) and lets you add a note.

The change is saved in the item’s stock history with the date and the name of the person who entered it. Stock never changes without such an entry, so a month later you can still see where those two screens went.

A monthly count takes an evening. In return you know how much money is sitting on the shelf and where stock goes missing, and you know it before you run short.