How to Do a Stocktake in 2026: The Ultimate Guide for SMBs
Learn how to do a stocktake efficiently in 2026. We cover inventory count best practices, checklists, and how to avoid costly warehouse errors.
If you want to know how to do a stocktake in 2026, you're probably tired of inventory discrepancies, phantom stock, and the sheer chaos that comes with manual counting.
A stocktake (or physical inventory count) is the process of physically verifying the quantities and condition of products held in your warehouse or store. It's the only way to ensure your inventory records match reality. Without it, you risk stockouts, dead stock, and unhappy customers.
But let's be honest: stocktakes are usually a nightmare. They take days, freeze operations, and are prone to human error. In this guide, we'll walk through the best practices for doing a stocktake efficiently so you can get back to running your business.
Why Regular Stocktakes Are Critical
It's tempting to rely purely on your software's theoretical stock levels. But theft, damage, mispicks, and receiving errors happen daily. By performing regular stocktakes, you:
- Identify Shrinkage: Uncover exactly how much stock is lost to damage or theft.
- Improve Fulfillment Accuracy: Ensure that when a customer orders an item, it's actually on the shelf.
- Optimize Cash Flow: Identify obsolete stock that's tying up capital.
⚡ Pro Tip: Cycle Counting
Instead of shutting down your warehouse once a year for a massive physical count, try cycle counting. This means counting a small subset of inventory every day or week. Over time, you cover the entire warehouse with zero operational downtime.
Step 1: Preparation is Everything
The actual counting is the easy part. The preparation is where a stocktake succeeds or fails.
Organize the Warehouse
Before counting begins, make sure the warehouse is spotless.
- Process all pending orders: Finish packing and shipping everything you can.
- Clear receiving areas: Put away all newly received goods.
- Label clearly: Ensure every bin, shelf, and aisle is clearly marked.
- Group similar items: Don't have the same SKU scattered across three different locations.
Choose Your Method
Are you doing a full annual count or a cycle count? Are you using pen and paper, barcode scanners, or inventory management software? (Hint: in 2026, you shouldn't be using paper).
Step 2: Set the Rules
Before your team hits the floor, establish clear guidelines to prevent double-counting and confusion.
- Count blind: Don't give your staff the expected quantities. If they know they are looking for 50 units, they might just count 40 and assume the other 10 are in the back.
- Mark counted sections: Use colored stickers or digital flags to indicate that a bin has been counted.
- Handle discrepancies immediately: If the physical count differs from the system count, trigger a recount by a supervisor right away.
Stop drowning in manual stocktake spreadsheets. See how VNDLY handles multi-location stocktakes with ease.
Try VNDLY free →From the Founder: The Chaos of the Annual Stocktake
"During the early days of my product company, our annual stocktake was a 3-day nightmare. We’d freeze all shipments, print out reams of spreadsheets, and bribe the staff with pizza to count thousands of tiny SKUs manually. The worst part? Two weeks later, the numbers were already wrong because of receiving errors.Eventually, we realized that an inventory system is only as good as the physical reality it reflects. We switched to weekly cycle counting and forced strict bin locations. That painful experience is exactly why we built VNDLY’s stocktake module to be idiot-proof—allowing you to generate targeted count sheets without shutting down your entire operation."
Step 3: Execute the Count
When it’s time to actually do the stocktake, assign specific aisles or sections to specific teams (usually teams of two: one counter, one recorder).
How to Handle Variances
When you discover a discrepancy (a variance), don't just blindly adjust the system. Investigate:
- Is the missing stock in the receiving bay?
- Was it accidentally packed in an un-shipped order?
- Is there a unit-of-measure error? (e.g., counting individual units instead of cases).
Manual vs. Software Stocktaking
Still using spreadsheets? Here is a breakdown of why modern inventory software is critical for this process.
| Feature | Spreadsheets | VNDLY Inventory |
|---|---|---|
| Live Sync | Manual data entry | Real-time adjustments |
| Count Sheets | Printouts that get lost | Digital, targeted count sheets |
| Variance Tracking | Manual VLOOKUPs | Automatic discrepancy reports |
| Multi-Location | Version control nightmare | Centralized tracking across warehouses |
See It In Action
Want to see how easy a stocktake can be? Watch this quick demo of VNDLY's inventory management capabilities, including our real-time stock tracking and adjustment workflows.
Final Step: Review and Adjust
Once the counting is complete, review the variances. Update your system of record to reflect the new, accurate quantities. But don't stop there. Use the variance data to identify root causes. If one specific SKU is always short, do you have a theft problem? If one aisle is always wrong, is the labeling confusing?
Performing a successful stocktake in 2026 isn't about counting faster; it's about counting smarter. By using the right tools and strategies like cycle counting, you can maintain accurate inventory without the annual headache.
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