Stock Recounts & Physical Counts
Run a physical stock count from the staff app or desktop, review variances against system quantities, and post the adjustment with its accounting.
A stock recount is a physical count reconciled against what the system thinks you hold. Someone counts on the floor — usually in the staff app — the count goes for review, a manager approves the variances, and posting corrects inventory and books the adjustment. Recounts move through In Progress, Awaiting Review, Approved and Posted, so a count is never silently applied.
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The lifecycle
| Status | Means |
|---|---|
| In Progress | Counting is underway; nothing has moved |
| Awaiting Review | Counted and submitted, waiting on a manager |
| Approved | Variances accepted, ready to post |
| Posted | Stock corrected and the adjustment booked |
| Cancelled | Abandoned; no effect on stock |
Counting and approving are separate on purpose
The person counting reports what they see. The person approving decides what it means. Keeping those apart is what makes a recount a control rather than an unreviewed overwrite of your stock figures.
Common Tasks
How to Run a Stock Count (physical count, stocktake, count stock, inventory count)
Count on the floor with the stock in front of you, using the staff app.
Required permission: Inventory count
- Open the staff app and go to Recounts
- Start a new recount, or open one already In Progress
- Work through the products, entering the quantity you physically counted
- Count what is there — do not adjust toward the system figure
- Submit the count when the area is done
Result: The recount moves to Awaiting Review with the variance against the system quantity calculated for each line.
Note: Counting a whole area in one recount is better than counting individual products as you notice them. Variances reviewed together tell a story; isolated corrections do not.
How to Review and Approve a Recount (approve recount, review variance, stock variance review)
Decide whether each variance is a genuine stock difference or a counting mistake.
Required permission: Inventory adjust (manager level)
- Go to Inventory & Products → Stock Recounts in the left sidebar
- Open a recount showing Pending Review
- Review each line’s variance against the system quantity
- Investigate any large or surprising variance before accepting it — a recount that has not been received or a transfer not recorded will look like a loss
- Approve the recount
Result: The recount becomes Approved and is ready to post.
Note: Net Variance across the recount is worth reading before you approve. A large net figure in one direction usually points at a systematic problem — a unit mismatch, or unrecorded goods receipts — not scattered shrinkage.
How to Post a Recount (apply recount, post stock adjustment, commit count)
Posting is what actually changes your stock.
Required permission: Inventory adjust
- Go to Inventory & Products → Stock Recounts
- Open an Approved recount
- Post it
Result: Stock is corrected to the counted quantities and the adjustment is booked to your accounts. The recount becomes POSTED.
Note: Posted recounts are not editable. If a counted figure was wrong, run a new recount for the affected products rather than trying to unwind the posted one.
How to Check a Product's Stock Without a Full Count (quick stock check, how much do we have, scan product)
For a single question about a single product, a full recount is overkill.
- Open the staff app and go to Stock Check
- Scan the barcode or search for the product
- Read the current stock
Result: You see what the system holds for that product, without opening or affecting any recount.
Note: Stock Check is read-only. To correct a discrepancy you find this way, use a Count fix on the Stock Day Book or run a recount.
Recount, count fix, or adjustment?
- Recount — you are counting an area or category and want the variances reviewed and approved together
- Count fix on the Stock Day Book — a one-off discrepancy on a product you were already handling that day
- Waste or damage — you know why stock is gone. Record the reason rather than counting the loss away, or you lose the ability to see how much you are losing and to what
Troubleshooting
Every product shows a large negative variance
Cause: Usually a unit mismatch — counting singles where the system holds cases, or the reverse.
Fix: Check the unit on the counting screen against the product’s stock unit. Do not approve a recount with a systematic variance in one direction; fix the unit and count again.
A recount is stuck in Awaiting Review
Cause: Nobody with approval rights has reviewed it.
Fix: Someone with inventory adjust permission needs to open it at Inventory & Products → Stock Recounts and approve it. Counting alone never changes stock.
Stock did not change after we counted
Cause: The recount was counted and possibly approved, but never posted.
Fix: Open the recount and check its status. Only Posted changes stock — Approved means it is ready to, but has not yet.
The variance includes stock that arrived during the count
Cause: A delivery received part-way through counting lands in the system after the counter has passed that shelf.
Fix: Avoid receiving goods into an area being counted. If it happened, note it during review and adjust that line rather than accepting the variance as shrinkage.
Can I edit a posted recount?
Cause: Posting has already moved stock and booked the adjustment.
Fix: No. Run a new recount for the affected products with the correct quantities. The correction is a fresh, auditable event rather than a rewrite of history.