Overview
The model full stocktake procedure should be used if you are closing your business and counting all stock over one or two days.
If you have a high volume of picking or stock put away during your stocktake. Keep each stocktake small and post it as soon as it is complete. You may wish to also put some kind of marker on the shelves currently being counted, so your team knows not to put stock into or take stock away from that fixture until the stocktake is completed.
Well-managed stocktakes work very well, but it is easy to stuff up the overall stocktake if the process is not closely managed.
PLEASE ENSURE YOU ARE LOGGED INTO THE RIGHT SITE WHEN DOING STOCKTAKES ESPECIALLY FINAL STOCKTAKES
Video
If you are a new site, Don't stocktake your old system before you convert to Readysell
- If you are a new site that is not yet live on Readysell, do not conduct a stocktake just before Readysell goes live. Wait until Readysell is live before you do your stocktake. Some of the reasons why it is better to stocktake in Readysell 8, not your old system include:
- Focus on training and preparation for the go-live date. Stocktakes can be a distraction in the run-up to conversion
- You need to get the setup of your location in Readysell correct before you stocktake
Locations in administration - You need to get any product merges and unit changes complete after you convert to Readysell. This can reduce the benefit of a stocktake before conversion
- Barcode data may need to be set up on your products. Readysell can import this data from various sources or help you load the data with batch data capture units if required
- When you convert to Readysell, your team may make mistakes that effect stock
- There is a lot of planning and training, as noted below, required to get your stocktake right. Follow the Readysell 8 stocktake procedure and you will get a better result.
- Readysell 8 is great at stocktaking, use the best tool for the job. You need can use mobile, laptops with wi-fi, bulk data capture units, etc. to help you in Readysell 8
Preparation before the stocktake
Before conducting the stocktake:
- Determine how many stocktake teams will be on-site during the stocktake. You need:
- One person or stocktake team to do product maintenance on any stock the counters can't find
- A number of counter teams. Normally composed of one person counting the stock and the other person entering the product and count into the laptop or mobile app
- One person to run stocktake variance reports and chase up any large differences. This may be the same person/s that are doing product maintenance
- A supervisor that is in charge of everyone doing the stocktake
- Ensure you have enough electronic devices to do the counting. Each counting team needs:
- one mobile add a device with a blue tooth scanner
- or one laptop with a blue tooth scanner and trolley to rest the laptop on
- you need at least one spare device in case one brake during the stocktake
- Check your wifi network is working with all your devices. Your device should be able to connect and work with your wifi in the whole area being counted
- Conduct sufficient staff training:
- access the test system and perform all the steps in the procedure below on test
- get each stocktake team to enter a few stocktakes in the weeks before the stocktake date. Check their results and ensure they don't have any major questions
- repeat starting stocktake, entering counts, finding products that don't scan, running variance reports, final stocktake, and ending stocktake a number of times until you are confident in the procedure
- Inform Readysell about your full stocktake date. It helps us to know that we might be required to assist if you have any questions
- Stocktakes are easy to stuff up. The process is simple but it requires a lot of control. Dealers do sometimes stuff up stocktakes. It requires that everyone knows the steps they need to take and nobody double counts or makes any other the obvious errors.
- If you are not confident in your ability to control the stocktake:
- Consider having Readysell run some training sessions with you
- Consider having Readysell send someone to your site during the stocktake to control the stocktake.
Procedure
Start stocktaking once on the first day of the stocktake only
- In the navigation panel, go to Inventory then Stocktakes.
Click Start Stocktaking which is located on the top panel on the left.
The Start Stocktaking window will display
- Select Stocktake Mode
Select "Full (Windows)", when you intend to stocktake the whole business, everything in all locations including the balance in a final stocktake e.g., when you close the business on a weekend to stocktake everything.
* This stocktake mode requires a final stocktake of all uncounted products in all locations i.e., Generate Final Stocktake. before End Stocktaking is allowed.
* The transaction generated by the Generate Final Stocktake would clear out all uncounted products in all location
- Click on OK to start stocktaking
See Starting and Ending a stocktake for more information
Enter and post your stocktakes using electronic devices only, do not do a manual stocktake!
Using a laptop to enter stocktakes
- Always use a laptop the first time you stocktake your business if your barcodes are not complete
- From the navigation panel, select inventory, then stocktakes before you enter the first stocktake
- Click on New to create a stocktake transaction
Select a Site from the drop-down list, it should default to your logged-in site, make sure you know you are entering stocktakes for the correct site!
The Clear Stock Mode must be "Final stocktake"
(See Stocktake Mode and Clear Stock Mode for more details on various combinations and suitability for the purpose)
- Leave the Description for the stocktake blank unless you want to note something special about this particular stocktake
Scan in product and key in Unit Quantity Counted, repeat this step as many times as required
- if you find the product, click down and up arrow to enable the related button above the lines, then click on the related button, select product, then scan the bar code, and select add barcode when asked if you want to add the barcode to the product
- if you can't find the product at all remove the product from the fixture and put it in a box or basket below the location. A follow-up team will do the product maintenance and stocktake to enter this product
- Click on Finalize to post the transaction
- Repeat the above steps (6-12) until you have counted all the products for the business or all the products assigned to your team
Using the mobile to enter a stocktake
- You can use the mobile app to perform the stocktake if your product and barcode data are complete and accurate
Start your device, check its battery is full and that you have the barcode scanner
- Start the Readysell mobile app
Creating a new Stocktake transaction
From the Main Menu , click Stocktakes.
Click the
icon to create a new stocktake transaction.
- Click the
icon to save Once you have saved it you will be taken back to the main stocktake screen, from here click on on the icon with three dots (overflow menu) and select Stocktake Lines.
To create a new stocktake click on the + icon from the top right-hand side, enter a description of the stocktake, and click on the save icon (top right)
Once you have saved it you will be taken back to the main stocktake screen, from here click on the icon with three dots (overflow menu) and select Stocktake Lines.
When in stocktake lines you ccommence scanning products using a Bluetooth scanner or USB scanner, when you scan lines are automatically saved. Products will be displayed in the lines section of the stocktake window.
See also mobile Stocktakes
Using batch scanners to enter a stocktake
Stocktakes can be entered with basic batch scanner units. We do not recommend this approach if you have sufficient mobile units to do the work. Batch scanners are still a lot better than manual stocktaking. So if you don't have sufficient mobile units, batch scanners may be the solution for you. Those units can be hired from Readysell. Should you be interested in batch scanners, see Conducting a stocktake using batch scanners
Assign a team member to check stocktake variance
- Assign one team member to check stocktake variances as each stocktake is finalized
- To check the stocktake variance. In the navigation panel, go to Inventory then Stocktakes.
- Every fifteen minutes. Check to see if any new stocktakes have been added which have a status of 'posted'. You will need to check those stocktakes to see if there are any large or unusual variances
- For each stocktake that gets posted:
- In the navigation panel, go to Inventory then Stocktakes. The list of active stocktakes is displayed.
- Select the stocktake for which you want to run a report. Each stocktake is time-stamped, so you can sort by date to quickly find the last stocktake you entered.
- Click Show in Report.
- Stocktake report
- Stocktake report (Variances Only)- Run during stocktake
Readysell will display a report showing all the items you have counted and how many the system still thinks you have. The description and transaction number are also displayed, so you can go back and check later.
When running the stocktake report variance, please note the value of the stocktake is the value of stock counted. The variance is the difference between what you counted and what is on hand.
Investigate any large variances you find, such as where a barcode might have been scanned into the quantity or the wrong unit used
- See also: Running individual stocktake reports
Assign a team to product maintenance for products that can't be found by the stocktake teams
- The stocktake teams can't afford the time to chase up products where the bar codes don't scan. They will have a quick try to find the product. Then put it in a box or basket at the bottom of the fixture if they can't find the product
- The stock maintenance team needs to walk around the fixtures periodically, and find any products that could not be scanned. Then use Readysell to find the product, correct the barcode and then enter a stocktake for that product or add it to an existing stocktake
Ending the stocktake
Printing final stocktake variance report
- In the navigation panel, go to Reports then Form Reports.
- Type Stocktake in the search bar. A list of stocktake reports will appear.
- Select the report you wish to run. Normally you run a stocktake variance report (Summary) and then check that the total variance looks reasonable. If not investigate the causes of the larger variances
- In the Parameters tab, click Show Report Using Parameters. The Parameters window will display. The parameters you need to enter depend on the report you have chosen.
- Enter the desired parameters, then click OK. The selected report displays in the Preview window.
- Also, run a stock on hand report to show your final stock on hand position
- In the navigation panel, go to Reports then ListReports.
Select report "L-018" Stock Report
Click on "Show Report Using Parameters", then click on the "OK" button
- Check that the value on hand is reasonable
- Export a copy of the stock on hand report as excel, you can run the report again, but you will probably need to refer to this valuation again. So it is nice to have a copy saved
See also Printing and saving final reports
Generating the final stocktake
- If you are not doing ad-hock stocktakes and you believe all your products have been counted. You must generate a final stocktake
- If you are doing ad-hock stocktakes don't generate a final stocktake!
- You must generate and post a final stocktake before you can run your final reports and end stocktaking. The end stocktake button will not work until the final stocktake is posted!
- The purpose of the final stocktake is to clear stock on hand for all product locations that have not been counted
- Click Generate Final Stocktake. This will generate a new stocktake record, containing all of the products that have not had their counts recorded in Readysell for this stocktake.
In the Generate Final Stocktake window, select the site and location, then click OK.
- Review the list of products and make changes as necessary. For each product listed check that it is reasonable for that product to not have been counted in the location. Investigate any products where you expect it should have been counted. If when you investigate any products:
- If you have no stock on hand for the product, you do not need to make changes.
- If you have stock on hand in the location, you must enter the correct quantity in a separate stocktake. Delete the final stocktake and generate it again.
- Once you have finished, click Finalize to finalize the stocktake.
- After the final stocktake, run your final stocktake reports then click on end stocktaking
- See also Generating the final stocktake
Ending a stocktake
- In the navigation panel, go to Inventory then Stocktakes.
Click End Stocktaking which is located on the top panel on the left.
The End Stocktaking window displays.
- Select the site where you have been performing the stocktake, then click OK.
- See also Starting and Ending a stocktake
FAQ
Question:
Can you have multiple scanners for the same stocktake and multiple laptops
ANSWER:
NOTE: Organize your locations first if using locations - put the location number on a sticker and place it on the location so your staff can find them easily. If not using locations, the first count of a product would replace, and the second count of the same product but in another area will add on.
Start the stocktake once. Then click on the button New multiple times and save them. You can then have multiple stocktakes open - 1 per laptop and scanner. Each computer would have its own stocktake number that it would work on. You cannot have multiple computers using the same stocktake number.
Each stocktake is for a small section of stock (preferably by location), Finalise each stocktake as you go.
Then once everyone has done their stocktake number and Finalised them, then you can use the button Generate Final Stocktake which would then tell you what is yet to be counted. Once you've counted what is outstanding or corrected what is outstanding, then you can Finalise that stocktake and click on the button End Stocktaking.
Question:
Can you have view variances for stock that are in multiple stocktake transactions?
ANSWER:
Yes, In the "Stocktake Report (Variances Only)" report, after the stocktake transactions are finalized.
NOTE:
If you apply the product which exists to 2 or more stocktake transactions and you need to view the variances of the product, the stocktake transactions will need to be finalised and then you can run the "Stocktake report (Variances Only)" to see the variances for the product which have been counted. Also, you can apply the column "Counted Stocktake" to the Stocktake transaction screen to see if the product has been counted in another stocktake transaction that has been posted. From this understanding, you can have a look at the location of the Product to see what has been previously counted.
Question:
If I'm a Readysell cloud store, can I run a test stocktake in my Readysell?
ANSWER:
No. Unless you have a test environment available to complete a test of these steps.
NOTE:
If you have started start stocktaking but didn't apply or finalize any stocktake transactions, you can end a stocktake without changing any stock quantity on hand. if you have applied and finalized in Live/Production version of Readysell, you will need to correct the count in the next stocktake transaction to correct the test examples applied earlier.