Overview

Key Features of stocktakes

Support for :

• • Manual stocktakes,
  • Automated stocktakes using your own or data capture units hired from Readysell
  • Laptop using portable wireless blue tooth scanners
  • Warehouse stocktaking feature on Readysell mobile app for smart phones or tablets. The mobile app can use blue tooth scanners such as those that can connect to the device by clicking on the tablet, be hung around your neck in a form similar to a pendant and others
• Being integrated with Readysell advanced warehousing features, stocktakes can be performed by very small locations at a time. Locations can go right down to the shelf or bay level. 
• Readysell's extensive warehousing experience is available for hire if you need training, design advice or one of our team members to control your stocktakes.
• Full range of stock reports before and after the stocktake,
• Full range of variance tracking, stocktake progress tracking and performance reporting.

There are two ways to stocktake products:

• Use data capture units or the Readysell mobile application. This scan or type in products manually
• Use Extract Products to generate a list of products meeting particular criteria, print a stocktake count worksheet and send this to the required personnel for counting

Once you have finished counting stock, you may generate a final stocktake for all products that have not been counted. This identifies all products that have not been counted. You can then apply a number of different flags to these products (such as setting the Stock on Hand to 0, removing them from the website, marking them as Obsolete or Archive, and so on).

Extensive documentation

There is very extensive documentation on how to prepare, test, model your stocktake process, report on and review stocktakes. Every dealer who follows the documentation has few difficulties with stocktakes. There is no reason why you should not review the documentation and find the information you need before you start your stocktake.

Stocktakes in Readysell work in the following modes:

• Ad-Hoc : correcting stock for specific products without having to generate a final stocktake for uncounted products

• Location Only : correcting product location only. This mode does not change the product stock level or require to generate a final stocktake

• Partial : clearing stock in specific locations as you go; this is better for rolling stocktakes

• Full : clearing stock in all locations when you get to the end; this is better for full stocktakes

A stock variation report may be used to determine variances, stock cleared in other locations, and stock not cleared in other locations.

Before You Start Stocktakes

Before you start stocktaking please ensure that you :

• Are using automatic cost and sell price updates from the price book. Automatic updates change product units. If you do a stocktake then turn on automatic price updates. Your product units may change, which may stuff up your stock on hand for some products. Get automatic price updates running first!

• Implement purchase receipt scan checking, sale shipment scan checking and automatic purchasing. Those processes "close the stock loop". Unless you are following those best practice procedures, your stock on hand will probably get out of wack again after you do the stocktake. 

  If you are using automatic purchasing, scan checking stock receipts and scan checking sale shipments, you probably don't need to ever do a stocktake

• Understand product locations, see Locations in administration
• Understand the stocktake modes and how they effect your stock on hand, see Understanding stocktake modes and how they effect your stocktake
• Read this Readysell User Guide pages on Stocktakes
• Decide on which of the model stocktake procedures you will follow. Either the:
  • Model Full stocktake procedure, 
  • Model partial stocktake procedure, for a stocktake of the whole business one part at a time, 
  • Model Adhoc stocktake procedure, when you are not stocktaking the whole business or
  • Model location only stocktake used to setup your product locations
• Then after reading ALL of the stocktake documentation, log on to your TEST Readysell system and test the stocktake procedure you expect to use:
  • Testing your full stocktake
  • Testing your partial stocktake
  • Testing your Ad hoc stocktake
  • Testing your location only stocktake
• Then make sure all your locations are setup:
  • Locations in administration

• Consider the following issues which may impact on your stocktaking process :
  • Ensure that you and your staff are appropriately trained in the relevant areas of the stocktake process. Each person has to be told exactly what to do. They can't just guess!
  • How well controlled your stock on hand is at the moment. If stock is very well controlled and if you are using automated ordering. You may not need to do any stocktaking at all. It is possible to get stock so well under control that you never need to do another stocktake.

Videos

How to stocktake

• • • Your first stocktake should be performed with a mobile computer and a blue tooth scanner. This allows you to correct locations and product data as part of the stocktake process. Readysell needs to be setup on the computers. In a pinch, even normal desktop computers can be used on a trolley

• • • Second and later stocktakes can be performed with mobile data capture units

• • • Rolling or ad hoc stocktakes are normally more practical than full stocktakes
    • Readysell hires out mobile data capture units, contact us early to reserve your units.

Preparing for stocktake

• • • All required locations must be created in the system. See Locations in administration

    • Products do not have to be in the right location before you start unless you are using printed stocktake sheets

    • Labels for locations must be on the fixtures before you start stocktaking

    • Perform test runs of the intended stocktake mode before you start to test your readiness

    • Generate and understand the reports such as the Stocktake Variance report 

    • Consider and plan for how stocktake values/accounts reconciliation is to be handled e.g., speak to your account person to understand what GL codes are involved and the likelihood of post stocktake journal entries to balance your account

    • Two hours training from Readysell on how to do stocktakes is recommended

    • Readysell can send a stocktake manager to your site on a fee for service basis if required

  • How well controlled your warehouse stock locations are at the moment :
    • If your stock is recorded as being in the wrong location, stocktake effort will increase,
    • If your whole warehouse is currently setup as a single location, stocktake effort will increase,
    • If stock and locations are accurate. You may be better to do rolling stocktakes or no stocktake as the system tracks stock so accurately stocktakes are not normally required.
  • Any equipment required for stocktaking, such as stocktake units will be available on the required date and tested.
  • Their needs to be a person in your business assigned as the stocktake project controller. That person has to have a manual schedule, perhaps in excel, that tracks each step in your stocktake workflow. For example who is stocktaking which location, how each stocktake is progressing, if the variance report has been reviewed for the stocktake. This is important as one stocktake transaction processed using the incorrect options can invalidate the whole stocktake.

• • Stocktake is a way of checking (validating) stock on hand. There are levels of stock control quality. Each has an appropriate way of handling stocktakes :

    • Best. Stock is well controlled, locations are setup properly, stock allocation is turned on for sales and automatic reordering is being used to generate purchase orders. Consider never doing stocktakes, the stock will be continually checked by stock allocation and automated purchasing.
    • Good. Stock is fairly well controlled, but you are not using automated purchasing. Consider using rolling stocktakes with data capture units or the mobile application. Then start using automated purchasing.
    • Poor. Stock is not well controlled. But the business does have stock recorded by location (bin). Consider doing a full stocktake of the business. Then start processing rolling stocktakes with data capture units or the mobile application. Then start using automated purchasing.
    • Bad. Stock is not effectively controlled at all. Stock receipting is not accurate and the warehouse may be setup as one big location. Bar codes are not setup on many products. Consider doing a full stocktake just to work out your stock on hand for accounting purposes. Then start implementing better stock control procedures. Over time move to processing rolling stocktakes with data capture units or the mobile application. Then start using automated
  • Manual stocktakes are not best practice. They take around six times slower and take more staff hours than a stocktake using data capture units or the mobile app. Try to aim at avoiding writing stocktake quantities on manual printed worksheets if possible.
  • There will be time to do a test stocktake the day before your real stocktake process. Then ensure you have test ran one stocktake on the Readysell test system before you start stocktaking.

  • You must do a few small stocktakes and understand the resulting stock on hand and product movements the day before you start stocktaking!

  • Confirm that there are no old stocktakes on file that are still flagged as open. They may be processed in error as part of the new stocktake.
• You need to have in your own mind a firm plan including which stocktake options you will use and the manual procedures that will be in place.

Make sure you read the documentation and watch the videos on the following user guide pages

• Model Full stocktake procedure
• Model partial stocktake procedure, for a stocktake of the whole business one part at a time
• Model Adhoc stocktake procedure, when you are not stocktaking the whole business
• Model location only stocktake used to setup your product locations
• Testing your Ad hoc stocktake
• Testing your partial stocktake
• Testing your full stocktake
• Testing your location only stocktake
• Starting and Ending a stocktake
• Generating the final stocktake
• Running individual stocktake reports
• Printing and saving final reports
• Extracting Products into a stocktake transaction
• Conducting a stocktake using barcode scanners
• Conducting a stocktake using batch scanners
• Entering stocktake transactions on a laptop or Readysell 8 screen
• Understanding product movements from stocktakes
• Understanding stocktake modes and how they effect your stocktake
• How deciding to use the clear immediately stocktake mode effects your stocktake
• How deciding to use the adhoc stocktake mode effects your stocktake
• How using the Final stocktake mode effects your stocktake
• Stocktake quick start guide
• How to check stocktakes are clearing existing stock as expected

Reference

Buttons

Image	Name	Description
	Start Stocktaking run	This starts a new stocktake run.
	New Stocktake transaction	Creates a new stocktake transaction within a run
	Generate Final Stocktake transaction	Creates a final stocktake transaction for uncounted products
	End Stocktaking run	This ends the stocktake run making it complete.
	Extract Products	Extract products into a stocktake transaction based on a specified extraction criteria
	Import Batch Scan	Import products into a stocktake transaction via a batch scanner
	Finalise	Posts the stocktake transaction

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