When do you Stocktake?
There are a number of different types of stocktaking.
These occur at different times in the business calendar and for different reasons:
- Annual or Quarterly Stocktaking - this is needed for your end of year or quartelry accounts to accurately prepare your profit and loss statements, annual accounts and tax returns.
- End of Lease Valuation - if the business is changing hands, normally an external auditor will perform a full stock take and include fixtures and fittings to calculate what monies are owed between the two parties.
- Monthly Stocktaking - this gives you a general picture of your shrinkage and product performance and is often enough for a small business which have a good track record of acceptable wastage levels.
- Weekly Stocktaking - this gives you a more accurate view of what is being wasted on a weekly basis. In partnership with "Line Checks" to check troublesome products this can help identify and fix and issues quickly.
- Daily or End-of-Shift Stocktaking - this gives you the most accurate view of your stock movements and for identifying any issues. For large or top-end businesses or those experiencing issues accross a number of products this may be required as a one-off or sometimes every day.
- "Line Checks" - this is where you are just checking stock levels for a single product or a group of products before and after and sometimes during a shift. This is used where problems for that product have been identified in a weekly or daily stocktake or as a general check.
How often you need to stocktake is different for every business.
The further down the list you get above, the more in control of your stock you are.
Some night clubs and top-end venues perform daily stocktakes throughout the year, but most other businesses are happy with weekly stock checks and the occasional line check to track down issues.
|
