Counting compares what Inventory expects you to have against what is actually on the shelf. Any difference you find, over or under, becomes a permanent adjustment to your stock once you post it.
How to Start a Count
- On the Counts page, click New Count.
- Choose what to count. Storage Area counts one area at a time, which is a natural way to work counting into a shift. Full Count covers every area in a single pass.
- Pick the area, if you chose Storage Area, and confirm the count's start date and time. It defaults to right now, shown in your venue's local time zone.
- Click Create Count.
What Is a Blind Count?
Turning on Hide Expected Quantities (Blind Count) when you start a count, whether Storage Area or Full Count, keeps the numbers Inventory expects out of view while anyone is counting. This is a one-time choice made when you create the count. There is no way to turn it on or off afterward.
While a blind count is in progress, every field looks the same except the Expected and Variance figures next to it are simply gone. You see your own running total, with nothing to match against. Review Count reflects the same thing: instead of a per-item list, it states how many packages you counted across how many items, with a note that the real numbers appear once you complete the count.
Click Complete Count and everything reveals at once. Expected and Variance return on every line, and if anything came in far from expected, a banner lists each one by name so you know what to look at before you post. Reopening a completed blind count hides everything again until you complete it a second time.
[IMAGE: Blind count toggle when creating a count]
[IMAGE: Counting screen during a blind count, showing no Expected or Variance]
Counting Area by Area
Every item stocked in the area appears with a field for each package tier you count it in, such as Single, 6-Pack, or 24-Pack, plus a running Total Counted in the item's base unit. Enter what you physically count. Inventory does the math. Also, you do not have to count in whole numbers. A quantity field accepts decimals, so a liquor bottle that is partway poured can be entered as, for example, 5.2 rather than rounded to 5 or 6.
If you skip an item rather than entering a number for it, that item is left out of the count entirely. It is not the same as recording it as zero. To show an item as fully out of stock in this count, enter 0 rather than leaving its field blank.
Running a Full Count instead? The same screen groups every item by storage area, each with its own progress count, so you count your way through the whole venue in one pass rather than switching between separate counts per area.
Expected shows what Inventory's records say should be there, and Variance is the difference. It is highlighted the moment a number does not match, right down to the specific package tier, not just the item as a whole.
Tip: Add a Reason whenever a variance is worth explaining, such as breakage, a missed delivery, or theft. It is optional, but it is the only place that context gets recorded, so it is worth the extra few seconds.
How to Review and Post a Count
Once every item has a count, click Review Count. Inventory summarizes every line and, if anything varies from what was expected, asks you to explicitly confirm you have seen it before you can continue.
Any line off by at least 2 containers and at least 20% from what Inventory expected will get flagged for you to confirm. Both have to be true, so a small percentage difference on a large quantity will not flag, and a one-container difference on a small quantity will not flag, either. If Inventory expected none of an item and you counted 2 or more, it will always flag.
Confirm and click Complete Count. This locks the numbers in. The count's status changes to Completed and its fields become read-only, but nothing has touched your stock yet.
Important: Click Post Count to apply the new numbers. Posting is the one irreversible step in the whole flow. Once you confirm, every variance becomes a real stock adjustment, recorded alongside your invoice receipts in the item's transaction history. Counts show who did what and when. Started By, Completed By, and Posted By each appear with a name and a timestamp as the count moves through its stages.
How to Reopen or Cancel a Count
Both options live in the count's three-dot menu, and which one you see depends on where the count stands.
- While a count is In Progress, the menu offers Cancel Count. This discards the count entirely. It is not kept around as a cancelled record.
- Once a count is Completed, the menu instead offers Reopen Count, which returns it to In Progress so you can fix a number before posting.
Once a count is Posted, neither option is available. By then its adjustments are already part of your stock history.
Printing or Exporting a Count
The count's three-dot menu also offers Print and Export CSV. Either one lays out one section per storage area, so a page handed to one person can carry its own Counted By line and cover only the areas assigned to them.