Planning an inventory count with Shopify POS

A planned inventory count helps you confirm that the stock in your store matches what's recorded in your Shopify admin. Counting inventory on a regular schedule can help you identify shrink, catch tracking errors, and keep your online and in-store channels accurate.

This page covers how to choose a counting method, schedule and prepare for the count, run the count across multiple devices, and then reconcile adjustments afterward. For the step-by-step Quick count workflow, refer to Changing inventory quantities on Shopify POS.

If you're migrating from Stocky and planning your first count in Shopify, then refer to Migrating from Stocky to Shopify inventory management.

Inventory count methods

You can combine the following two methods to count inventory:

• Quick count on Shopify POS: Staff scan or search for products on a Shopify POS device and enter the on-hand quantity. This method is best for in-store counts. For details, refer to Changing inventory quantities on Shopify POS.
• Inventory adjustments in the Shopify admin: Shopify admin staff can adjust quantities on the Inventory page or import a CSV file. This method is best for bulk updates and for reconciling after an in-store count. For details, refer to Adjusting inventory quantities and Importing and exporting inventory with a CSV file.

A common approach is for in-store staff to count with Quick count, and then for headquarters to review and reconcile the adjustments in the Shopify admin.

Inventory count timing

You can schedule a count around your store's hours and staffing. Consider which of the following options is best for your business operations:

• After closing: Sales are paused, so counts stay accurate.
• Before opening: The store is quiet, but the count can run into business hours if it takes longer than expected.
• Spread across multiple days by zone: Useful for larger stores. Each shift counts a different zone so that no single day is overloaded.
• Closing the store for the count: The most accurate option because no sales happen during the count, but the store might lose revenue for the closure period.

Estimated time and staff by catalog size

Adjust time and staff based on store layout, product complexity, and whether staff use barcode scanners. The following table estimates are starting points to help plan inventory counts.

Inventory count frequency

How often you count depends on your catalog size, shrink risk, and store complexity. Consider which of the following options is best for your business operations:

• Quarterly: Works for most retailers.
• Monthly: Recommended for high-shrink categories such as small, high-value items that are more prone to loss or theft.
• Rotating weekly counts: Some retailers count a different zone each week so that the entire catalog is covered without a full store-wide inventory count.

Consistent inventory counts on a regular cadence are more valuable than infrequent perfect counts.

Prepare for an inventory count

Preparing your system and equipment before the inventory count can help avoid discrepancies caused by pending activity or unprepared devices.

Prepare your system

Before the count, prepare your system in the following ways:

• Complete pending orders, transfers, and shipments so that all inventory movements are reflected in your admin.
• Process any received shipments and mark them as received in your Shopify admin.
• Sync all Shopify POS devices by opening the app and confirming that recent sales display.
• Spot-check a few products by comparing the On hand quantity in your admin against the physical stock to catch obvious mismatches before the full count.

Prepare your equipment and team

Before the count, prepare your equipment and team in the following ways:

• Charge your Shopify POS devices and any supported barcode scanners.
• Assign staff to zones based on physical areas of your store, such as shelves, racks, or stockroom sections. You can use bin locations to formalize these zones.
• Print backup count sheets for any zones where a device might not be available.
• Review your catalog for products that are missing barcodes or that have damaged barcode labels, and reprint labels before the count. You can use the Retail Barcode Labels app to reprint labels.

Running an inventory count across multiple devices

For larger catalogs, you can have staff count on multiple Shopify POS devices at the same time. Each Quick count session supports up to 1,000 variants, so plan to submit each session as soon as a zone is complete, and then start a new session for the next zone.

To avoid double-counting and missed products, use the following guidelines:

• Assign each staff member a specific zone based on physical layout, not alphabetical order. Counting in a single physical sweep prevents staff from doubling back through the same area.
• Submit each session as soon as the zone is complete. Submitted sessions sync immediately to your Shopify admin.
• Keep printed zone assignment sheets so that you can track which zones have been counted.

Inventory adjusts in real time when a sale completes in Shopify POS or your online store. When you submit a Quick count session, the quantity adjusts to match what was counted. If a sale happens between the time staff counted a product and the time the session was submitted, then a small discrepancy displays in the adjustment. To minimize this, count during closed hours or low-traffic periods, and submit each session promptly after the zone completes.

Reconcile inventory after a count

After staff submit their Quick count sessions, you can review the adjustments and follow up on discrepancies by using the Inventory adjustment changes report in your Shopify admin.

Steps:

1. Open the Inventory adjustment changes report.
2. Filter the report by the date of the inventory count.
3. Review the adjustments for each location.
4. For any variant with a variance greater than 5%, recount the product physically to confirm the new quantity.

After reconciling, you can schedule your next inventory count. For frequency recommendations, refer to Counting frequency.

Coordinating counts across multiple locations

If you operate more than one location, then use the following guidelines to plan how inventory counts are sequenced and how transfers are handled during the count window:

• Same-day counts: Counting all locations on the same day gives you an accurate snapshot of total inventory at a single point in time. This approach requires more staff but produces the cleanest report.
• Staggered counts: Counting one location at a time across the week is easier on your team, but inventory can shift between counted and uncounted locations if transfers happen in between.
• Pause inter-location transfers: Pausing inter-location transfers during the count window can help avoid the same products being counted at both the origin and destination locations.

When comparing locations, review matched discrepancies. A positive variance at one location and a negative variance at another often indicates an unrecorded transfer between them.

Tips for an accurate inventory count

Refer to the following best practices for an accurate inventory count:

• Use barcode scanners: Scanners are faster and more accurate than searching variants by name. Your device's camera works as a backup when a scanner isn't available. For details, refer to Choosing a barcode scanner.
• Quick count works on managed devices: If your devices are locked in kiosk mode with a mobile device management (MDM) tool, then Quick count is still available.
• Recover from a frozen device: Restart Shopify POS. Any sessions that were already submitted are safely synced to your Shopify admin.
• Recover from a failed device: Switch to another Shopify POS device. Submitted progress is preserved, and you can continue counting from where the failed device stopped.
• Check a product's count status: Scan or search for any product in Quick count to confirm whether it has already been counted in the current session.
• Note untracked products on paper: If a product can't be found in Shopify POS during the count, then the product might not be assigned to your location. Make a note and assign it to the location in your Shopify admin after the count.