How do I make a stock sheet?

The Stock Sheet: An Essential Tool for Managing Your Company’s Inventory

Whether you manage a supermarket, a grocery store, a pharmacy, or any other type of business, a stock sheet is a critical tool for monitoring inventory movements in real time. What unique features does it offer? How should it be formatted and utilized?
Discover more in this article.

What is the purpose of the stock sheet?

Stock management is essential for two reasons:

• Legal Compliance: You are required to conduct an inventory audit at least once every twelve months to meet tax regulations and verify the existence and value of your company's assets.
• Operational Efficiency: It enhances visibility of your products, enabling you to monitor inventory levels, plan purchases from suppliers more effectively, and meet customer expectations. This helps prevent overstocking and stock shortages.

Various tools can support these efforts, including statistical forecasting, merchandise control (such as video surveillance to deter theft), optimized storage solutions, and inventory level tracking. The stock sheet is a key component of the latter category.

Depending on the number of items you handle, a stock sheet can be written by hand or integrated into software. Each sheet typically corresponds to a specific product SKU, serving as a document that details the status of an item at a particular moment. It provides crucial information on inventory movements and is utilized by warehouse personnel (for order quantity monitoring), managers (for oversight), sales teams (for customer service), and marketing departments (for trend analysis).

How do you create a stock sheet?

Since each stock sheet is unique to a product, it should at minimum list the product’s name or SKU and its packaging details to prevent errors, particularly with batch items. Noting whether you’re counting a single water bottle or a six-pack can have significant impacts.

For each completed stock entry, it's also advisable to note the number and the period it covers to aid in navigation, especially if the records are maintained on paper or are printed.

Details such as the supplier's name, stock levels (notably minimum and maximum), and lead times are also invaluable for managing reorders. If you handle a large number of SKUs, inventory management software can simplify data entry.

Whenever there is a change in inventory, you should record (manually or automatically) the date of the change, the nature of the inventory movement (e.g., restocking, sale), the amount added or removed, and the remaining stock. You can also include the unit cost of the product (which may vary due to promotions or price changes) and the value of the remaining inventory after the transaction.

This sheet can also be updated during an inventory. So, if you notice a discrepancy or an unknown markdown, apply it and note where it comes from after looking for the cause: theft, destruction, out-of-date product, etc. This consumption of stock should then be taken into account. This consumption of stock should then be taken into account in the accounting entry at 1 January by entering the actual values at 31 December.

How can stock sheet data be utilized for commercial purposes?

Beyond inventory management and accounting compliance, stock sheets are also a valuable source of commercial insights. By analyzing past inventory movements, you can forecast future trends. For instance, if an item has consistently sold about 30 units over the past three years, it's reasonable to expect similar sales in the near future. This information helps in adjusting order quantities, planning storage space, and evaluating product profitability. Additionally, stock sheets enable a detailed analysis of sales throughout the year, identifying peak months or periods and the reasons behind them. This knowledge allows you to strategically implement promotions or advertising campaigns.

Tools like analysis software enhance this process by visualizing the data, integrating insights from other sources, highlighting trends, and forecasting demand to maintain competitiveness.

In summary, a well-managed stock sheet is vital for maintaining optimal inventory levels. To achieve this, you need a dedicated sheet for each specific item, detailing stock levels, dates, inventory movements, and the nature of these movements. To maximize the benefits of your stock records, consider using analysis software, employing an inventory management method that suits your business, and reducing shrinkage with measures like video surveillance system.

At Veesion, we provide software already in use by over 4,000 retailers, featuring an algorithm that detects suspicious behavior in real time. Whether you operate a supermarket, a grocery store, a pharmacy, or any other retail outlet, our technology integrates seamlessly with your video surveillance systems, enabling you to tackle shoplifting effectively and with confidence.

Contact us for advice tailored to your specific needs and business type.