Stocktakes and cycle counts

Overview

Inventory counts keep WMS accurate over time. No matter how tightly you control processes, small variances accumulate — mis-picks, damage, supplier short-ships, and process gaps all affect stock levels. Regular counting catches and corrects these variances before they cause fulfilment problems.

WMS supports two counting methods:

• Stocktakes — count a defined set of SKUs or locations, then post corrections.
• Cycle counts — ongoing targeted counts for specific locations or products, managed as individual jobs.

Both methods work on desktop and mobile.

Stocktakes

Counting modes

Stocktakes support two modes, available as separate tabs:

Mode	When to use
By Product	Select one or more SKUs to count across all their locations. Useful for investigating a specific product that is frequently short.
By Location	Select a warehouse location and count every product stored there. Best for zone-based or location sweep counts.

When By Location mode is selected, the By Product tab is hidden to keep things unambiguous.

Starting a stocktake

1. Go to the Stocktake section in WMS.
2. Select the counting mode (By Product or By Location).
3. Define the scope:
   • For By Product: choose the SKUs to count.
   • For By Location: select the location. The dropdown defaults to your configured default stocktake location.
4. WMS generates the stocktake list with expected quantities.

Drafts are preserved per location — if you switch between locations, your unsaved counts are not lost.

Counting inventory

For each item in the stocktake list:

• Standard products: enter the counted quantity.
• Batch-tracked products: verify each batch, enter the counted quantity per batch, and optionally confirm expiry dates.
• Serial-tracked products: confirm individual serial numbers (or import them via file where supported).

You can scan product barcodes to increment counts instead of typing quantities manually. If you find products at a location that were not previously recorded there, you can add lines to the count.

You can also change a product to a different location during a stocktake — WMS records a stock movement to transfer inventory to the new location for an accurate audit trail.

Reviewing variances and posting

Once counting is complete:

1. WMS calculates variances by comparing expected to counted quantities.
2. Review the differences — investigate any large or unexpected variances before posting.
3. When satisfied, post the stocktake.

Posting generates inventory adjustments with reason "Stocktake variance" for every discrepancy. These immediately update on-hand quantities and are logged in stock movements.

Stocktakes are non-destructive until posted. You can re-count or correct entries without any consequence until you post.

Cycle counts

Cycle counts are smaller, more frequent counts targeting specific SKUs or locations. Rather than counting your entire warehouse periodically, cycle counts let you continuously verify high-risk or high-value areas.

Cycle count dashboard

The Cycle Count section in WMS has its own dashboard showing all cycle count jobs with their status, assigned user, location, product, and priority.

From the dashboard you can:

• Create new cycle count jobs targeting a product, location, or set of either
• Assign jobs to specific team members
• Adjust job priority to surface urgent counts first

Running a cycle count on mobile

1. Open the cycle count job on the WMS mobile app.
2. Scan the location barcode to confirm you are in the right place.
3. Scan products and enter counted quantities.
4. Submit the count — WMS calculates variance and creates adjustment movements if needed.

You can also submit quick adjustments directly from mobile without a formal cycle count job — useful for immediate corrections spotted during other tasks.

When cycle counts post

When a cycle count is posted, WMS creates stock movement adjustments (positive or negative) that can be reviewed in movement logs. These are identical in effect to stocktake variances and contribute to your audit trail.

Best practices

• Run full stocktakes periodically. Quarterly or annual full counts keep your overall inventory accuracy benchmark fresh.
• Use cycle counts frequently for high-risk areas. Count fast-moving, high-value, or frequently mis-picked SKUs more often — weekly or fortnightly for problem-prone products.
• Pause movements during counts where possible. If orders continue to move through the counted area while counting is in progress, your counts may not match reality. Count areas during low-activity windows where practical.
• Investigate large variances before posting. A large unexpected variance may indicate a process error, data entry mistake, or theft. Investigate before committing.
• Use reason codes on adjustments. When corrections are applied, use consistent reason codes (Damage, Found, Lost, Stocktake variance) so you can report on patterns over time.

FAQ