An inventory count is the moment a store finds out what it actually has, and for the owner of two or three stores it is the moment the books and the shelves either meet or do not. The count itself is a list of lines with a quantity each; what makes it useful is the arithmetic after it: the counted stock against the book stock is the shrink, the cost of goods sold over the average stock is the turns, and the turns into the days of the period is the days on hand. This page is about that arithmetic, and the free convenience store count sheet on this site works it from the store's own count with no account.
Counted stock against book stock
Book stock is what the store should have: the last count plus what was received less what was sold at the register. Counted stock is what is on the shelf. The gap is the shrink, and it has a cost value once each line's cost is applied. A count without the book figure beside it is a list; the count sheet on this site takes the opening stock, the receipts, the sales and the count, and returns the shrink in units and in dollars, which is the number the owner of several stores compares store by store.
Turns and days on hand from the same count
Cost of goods sold over the average of the opening and closing stock is the turns for the period, and the period's days over the turns is the days on hand. Both come out of the same count once the sales at cost are known, and the sheet returns them beside the shrink so a store that turns slowly and shrinks fast is visible in one row. Neither figure is a benchmark on this site; the sheet publishes none and works the store's own.
Counting several stores the same way
The owner of more than one store needs the count worked the same way at each, on the same date, with the same cost basis, or the comparison between them is noise. The paid plan on this site keeps each store's counts against the store with the lines, the receipts and the transfers, so the next count starts from the record rather than from a spreadsheet; the sheets stay free and need no account.
Questions people ask about inventory count
What is an inventory count for?
To find the shrink, the turns and the days on hand: the counted stock against the book stock, the cost of sales over the average stock, and the period over the turns. The free count sheet on this site works all three from the store's own count.
How often should a store count?
As often as the shrink figure is worth knowing; the sheet works any period from the opening stock, receipts, sales and the count, and publishes no rule. The paid plan keeps every count against the store so the interval is a decision made on the figures.
Does the count sheet need an account?
No. It computes on the page with no account; Rollupvo Pro keeps the counts, the lines and the transfers against each store and exports them.