Where stock really goes
When a count comes up short, the cause is usually one of these, and most are not theft:
- Unrecorded sales. A busy afternoon, a customer waiting, “I'll write it later”.
- Unit mistakes. A carton of 40 recorded as 1 piece, or 2 bags sold as 2 kg.
- Short deliveries. The supplier's note says 200 cartons; 190 came off the truck; nobody counted.
- Damage thrown away. Torn bags, broken bottles, expired items removed without a record.
- Theft. It happens, but it is far easier to see once the other four are under control.
Habit 1: a name on every record
“He says he sold it.” Without a name and a time on each entry, you can't prove otherwise. When everyone knows their name is on what they record, careless mistakes drop, and the person who knows what happened is obvious.
Habit 2: count deliveries at the gate
Count every delivery before the driver leaves, against the supplier's note or what you ordered. Write what actually came, not what the note says. A short delivery found a week later is your loss; found at the gate it is the supplier's.
Habit 3: give each person only what their job needs
The person who sells should not be the person who adjusts the count. If one person can both take stock out and change the records, they can hide anything. Split the jobs: counter staff record sales, the storekeeper records deliveries, and only you (or a trusted manager) adjusts counts and prices.
Habit 4: count small and often
A weekly count of one area finds a leak in days. A yearly count finds a loss nobody can trace. See how to do a stock count.
Habit 5: look for patterns
When the same product keeps coming up short, ask:
- Is it always on the same shift, or after the same person's entries?
- Is it a product sold loose from a pack (where unit mistakes happen)?
- Is it always after deliveries from the same supplier?
The answer is usually in the records, if the records have names, times and units. That is the point of keeping them properly.
What to do about a difference
- Check the records for a missing sale or delivery, and for unit mistakes.
- Ask the people whose names are on the last entries. Calmly, the same day.
- Record what you can't explain as an adjustment with a note, so the records are true again.
- If it repeats, change who can do what, and count that product more often.