Count and reconcile inventory levels regularly using our dedicated Cycle Count feature to account for discrepancies like shrinkage and miscounts.
Why cycle counting?
Cycle counts, sometimes called stocktakes, are small batches of inventory counting tasks for a single location, or a single group of items, within a warehouse. Performing cycle counts frequently for smaller portions of your inventory allows you to keep stock levels accurate without interrupting your day-to-day operations.
Tip: To learn more, check out our blog article on effective cycle counting.
How to Create Cycle Counts
Open your Items tab and filter the table to show the items you wish to count. Warehouse teams often prefer to count by a common brand or distributor, or will arrange counts by sales volume or location within the warehouse.
You can sort your items table in any sequence you like, the sequence in which you sort the items is how they will be sorted on the cycle count itself.
Select the items you wish to count using the checkboxes on each row.
Open the Actions menu and select Create cycle counts. In the window that appears, confirm which items (and in which warehouses they are stocked in) you wish to add to your new cycle count(s) and hit Save.
Open the Cycle Counts tab to see the newly created counts. If you selected items that are stocked in multiple warehouses/locations, there will be one count per warehouse/location the selected items are stocked in.
How to Perform a Cycle Count
Warning: Do not perform cycle counts during a time in which the affected items may be picked or shipped as part of order fulfillment, or would have their stock counts modified in any other way.
Open the Cycle Counts tab and select a count to open the count's details page.
Select Start scanning once you are in front of the appropriate items in the warehouse with a barcode scanner.
Begin scanning each unit of inventory on hand for each of the count's line items. Note that you do not need to scan the items in order, and you don't need to finish scanning all of the units for one item before scanning any units of another item.
(If barcode scanning is not possible or preferred, you can select the Edit button next to each count item to manually enter a unit count. However, this is not recommended for accuracy's sake.)Once you have finished counting all of the items as described in step 3, compare the numbers in the On Hand and Scanned column. If there is a discrepancy between the two, that discrepancy will be noted in the Divergence column.
(A divergence of more than 2-5% of the total count is generally considered anomalous, and should be investigated by a warehouse manager before proceeding.)When you are ready to commit the new on hand counts, click on Submit Cycle Count