Stocktake checklist: what to do before, during and after

• Book the date, and how long you will stop receiving and dispatching.
• Tell suppliers and customers when deliveries and orders will pause.
• Decide who signs off the final numbers and posts the adjustments.
• Set the recount threshold, for example any line out by more than $100 or 5%.
• Roster counters. Two people per zone, and keep people out of their own area where you can.

• Check every bin has a readable location label. Replace torn or missing ones.
• Consolidate part-full cartons and pallets of the same item.
• Move damaged, expired and returned stock to one marked area.
• Clear any receipts, transfers and picks still waiting to be booked.
• Draw the zone map and give each team its boundary.

• Stop stock movements at a set time and note that time.
• Export system quantities as your baseline. This file does not change once counting starts.
• Charge phones, scanners and spare batteries.
• Brief counters on the unit of measure for each item type, such as cartons or singles.

• Count location by location and record each count against its bin.
• Keep system quantities hidden from counters.
• Count the damaged and returns area separately.
• When a zone finishes, compare it to the baseline and list lines over the threshold.
• Send a different person to recount every listed line.

• Look for the cause of each remaining variance before adjusting. Common causes are listed here.
• Post adjustments with a reason against each line.
• Keep the count records and the baseline file for your auditor.
• Restart stock movements and tell suppliers and customers.
• Book cycle counts for the items and zones with the biggest variances.

In Varify, counters scan a bin label or item barcode with a phone camera and enter the count. Counting keeps working offline once the session has been opened. Variances show against your imported quantities, recounts are kept separately from first counts, and a Team Leader or above commits the result.