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What is stocktaking?

Stocktaking – also known as wall-to-wall or inventory checking – is the process of physically checking the quantity and quality of items for sale in a stockroom or warehouse. It involves counting every piece of stock you have and noting down the number, whether on paper or through some software or technology. Many people also note the condition of the item to determine if it’s suitable for sale.

There are five inventory methods that are all based on how often (or how little) you conduct a stocktake. They are:

Annual stocktaking – occurs once a year and all of the stock is recorded at once. This is the minimum frequency that businesses should consider to keep their records accurate.
Periodic stocktaking – occurs every month, few months or twice a year. Similar to an annual stocktake, all the stock is counted in one sitting and is the most popular form of stocktaking.
Continuous stocktaking – occurs numerous times throughout the year and could involve different products being counted at varying times – e.g. certain products being counted once a week and others once a month. Continuous stocktaking makes it easier to prepare end-of-year statements as there’s always up-to-date information regarding stock levels.
Spot checks – occurs randomly and usually because you’ve noticed some discrepancies. For example, if you notice a difference in physical stock levels of one item than that on your inventory software, you may carry out a spot check to discover the cause.
Stockout validation – only occurs if a product is out of stock or very low. This method acts as more of a record of why and when a stockout occurred to help make sure it doesn’t happen again. If your chosen stocktaking software and physical method is accurate, you shouldn’t need to conduct a stockout validation.
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