NAQIXSTOCK CONTROL · NAQIX Editorial · 30 September 2026
Stock on screen. Stock on the shelf. Do they match?
Five practical stock checks to investigate differences between your inventory records and physical stock.
Count one product all the way through
Start with a product that sells regularly and is easy to count. Pick a quiet moment and note the time. Count every unit in the shop, storage area and relevant branch. Separate damaged items and customer returns awaiting a decision. A useful stock check starts with a clear definition of what is available to sell; mixing saleable and damaged units makes the first comparison misleading.
Check 1 / Rebuild the quantity
Use this quantity equation: opening stock + receipts + customer returns - sales - supplier returns +/- adjustments = closing stock. For example, 20 opening units plus 10 received, less 6 sold and 1 returned to the supplier leaves 23 units. This is an illustrative quantity example, not a stock valuation method. Compare each movement with its supporting record before deciding that the opening figure is wrong.
Check 2 / Look at units and locations
A carton and a piece are not interchangeable. Confirm the conversion used on purchase and sales documents. If a carton contains 12 pieces, one carton received should not appear as one piece. Next inspect the location: a transfer sent by one branch may not yet be received by the other. Count and compare at the same location and cut-off time.
Check 3 / Separate a return from a refund
A payment refund does not by itself tell you whether the goods are back on the shelf. Inspect the actual return workflow. Was the item received? Was it saleable? Was it put into the correct location? Record the outcome before increasing available stock. For damaged or expired goods, use the process your business has approved rather than silently treating them as new stock.
Check 4 / Investigate before adjusting
A stock adjustment can make the screen match the shelf while hiding the original mistake. First check late receipts, duplicate items, unrecorded sales, incorrect units and incomplete transfers. If an adjustment is still needed, keep the count, reason, date and responsible person together. Repeat unexplained differences deserve a process review, not a larger recurring adjustment.
Check 5 / Make the routine repeatable
Keep a short count sheet with product code, location, physical count, system quantity, difference, reason and follow-up owner. Start with a small regular selection rather than waiting for a difficult full stocktake. Bring one of these examples to your software demonstration and ask the presenter to trace the movements using your units and locations.
Bring a real stock question to the demo
NAQIX brings billing, stock, purchasing and accounting into the product conversation. Ask the team to demonstrate the exact sequence your business needs, including returns, multiple units and branches where relevant. Confirm supported behavior for your chosen setup before switching your daily operation.
Take the checklist with you.
Keep the key checks together in a free four-page PDF.
Download the free checklist