Stock taking is a fundamental part of any business that deals in physical products.
It is the only way you can keep track of inventory, ensure that your ordering process is efficient and to prevent you from over stocking or running out of popular products. In order to achieve this goal, you need a solid process of carrying out the stock take. Here we have compiled ways in which you can carry out the stock take.
It is important to learn the perfect timing to carry out this exercise. The best time would be when you are least busy to avoid any distractions. Stock taking process is very critical as it involves numbers, hence a slight distraction would easily cause a mix up. Another way would be choosing the best time of the month to carry out this process, at the end of the month and beginning of the month would be best. The beginning of the month will help you to know the goods that are about to run out so as to purchase some more and at the end of the month it will help you in monitoring your sales.
You should divide your stock into different categories so as to make the work easier. Whenever the stock is organised there are less chances of duplicate counting or under counting as they are all clearly laid out. Due to this, the stock taking process is more straightforward and accurate. Some of the categories can include: according to the date of arrival, the type of products, or the fast moving versus slow moving merchandise.
Having physical documents to work with enables you to cross out the goods that are already out of stock hence enabling you to avoid mistakes. However in case you don't want to use physical sheets, many software solutions allow you to do this with a couple of clicks. Always make sure that the documents you have printed are up to date by cross checking the dates to make sure that it is compatible to what you are looking for.
Due to advancement in technology, a couple of software have been created that can be used during stock taking. Before you use any it is important to do wide research about various options available in order to settle with one that suits your business perfectly. In case you are not technologically savvy you need to use the one that is most user-friendly as using one that you are not familiar with can cause you to make expensive mistakes.
Before you start the stock taking process you need to purchase a file whereby you will be storing all the documents that have your stock records.However using a software solution for the stock take makes the process simpler and faster. In case you are still using paper-based systems, you should think about moving to a digital alternative .
At the end of the day, stock taking helps you to keep both you and your staff accountable, it helps you determine future purchases and enables proper time utilisation. Every business owner should find the most suitable method to use for their business.
