The purpose of this document is to give complete instructions on how to use the Stocktake module of the Infusion Software.
This document should be read in conjunction with the Infusion Help Manual particularly the Products section. This is found in Infusion under the Help Menu or by simply pressing F1.
There is a PDF attachment to download at the bottom of this article.
Overview
Having accurately recorded stock levels helps the business to accurately track profit margins and generate valid reports. The purpose of a Stocktake is to verify stock levels and stock valuations by physically counting stock. Upon updating the Stocktake, stock quantities are adjusted to reflect the physical count.
The Stocktake verification is taken as at a specified date and is assumed to be taken after all transactions for that day have occurred i.e. at the end of the day.
Normally a Stocktake is started at close of business. Staff will complete the count and then return to normal processing the following day. Over the next days / week the physical count is entered into the system and the Stocktake checked by running various reports. When fully satisfied that the adjustments to be made are correct, the Stocktake is updated. Stock quantities will now reflect the Stocktake count plus all stock movements (purchases, credits and sales) made after the Stocktake date. Only one Stocktake can be processed at a time and only for one location. The Stocktake can be a full or partial Stocktake.
The Stocktake of Serial Tracked product is done individually and not part of the main Stocktake. The Stocktake Audit Trail will report all adjustments made here as well.
Inactive products are not included in the Stocktake – they are not listed on Stocktake Sheets. They are not included in the count and they are not updated at all so any quantity on hand for Inactive products remains the same after the Stocktake.
Kit Sets
If you use kit sets and they are ticked to Use When Invoiced you will see the components only on the stocktake. If they are set to Use When Received into stock you will see the Kit Set Code on your Stocktake and not the components.
How Often Should A Stocktake Be Completed?
Depending on the size of the business and number of codes a full stocktake should be completed every 3 months at the least. During this period, it is strongly suggested that rolling stock stakes be completed each week. Pick a Bin Location of common spare parts and count them weekly.
Serial tracked items should be counted and checked on a rolling basis.
Bin Locations
Bin locations play a very important part in the management of your stock, in particular Spare parts. Bin Locations should be set up so that any staff member could easily locate a spare part.
Using Bin Locations will also help you manage and complete accurate stocktakes.
Before Starting a Stocktake
Review all Pending Invoices and Credits that are dated on or before the Stocktake and process or delete as necessary. The Stocktake system assumes that in the case of pending transactions the stock movement has occurred already i.e. for pending invoices the stock has already been removed from the bin or shelf in the store / warehouse, and for pending credits the stock has been returned to the bin. If this is not actually the case look at re-dating the pending transaction ahead of the stocktake date. Posting pending invoices with the stocktake being open, will not alter the count or allocated totals but it will alter the snapshot total.
Process all supplier receipts and invoices for goods that have been received and which are placed into their location already.
This should be done before stocktake sheets are printed and before the stocktake is commenced.
Note: Product Valuation reports done at the time of the stocktake assumes that allocated quantities (pending sales) are still held in stock and would include them in the Product Valuations totals at latest and average cost.
It is also important to be sure not to process any new invoices with a date of or earlier than the stocktake as this will also affect the count. It is possible to process invoices but with a date after the stocktake.
Run the Products \ Utilities \ Check Product Integrity to ensure the product stock quantities are correct at the time of creating the Stocktake.
Stocktake Sheets
All Infusion reports can be previewed and the output directed to a printer, to a Word document, to Excel or to a pdf document. This is especially useful if you wish to retain a file copy of the original Stocktake sheets, with allocation figures.
Stocktake Sheets
Stocktake sheets can list the Products by Bin Location (physical location) or by Product Group. If “Show On Hand Balance” is ticked the sheets will include figures for On Hand, Allocated and Expected. The Stocktake Sheets have columns for 2 counts.
Starting a Stocktake
You start a Stocktake from the Products \ Stocktake \ Enter Stocktake menu
If there is no Stocktake already in progress you will see this message:
To begin a new Stocktake answer Yes and the next screen will require you to confirm the Location and Date of the Stocktake.
Dates and Stocktake
During a Stocktake any new processing dated on or before the Stocktake will affect Stocktake figures and make reconciliation difficult.
You will also have to enter the product selection parameters which will determine if a full or partial Stocktake is being performed.
You will have to confirm the selection.
- Once a Stocktake has been started these parameters can’t be changed – e.g. the location of a stocktake. You would need to Cancel the Stocktake and start all data entry again. A record is created in the Audit trail of the selections used.
- If you do not receive the message “Do you wish to begin a Stocktake now?” it indicates there is a Stocktake already in progress. Always check the Stocktake Date in the top right-hand side of the screen. Check with other users if you have any concerns that the Stocktake is not a valid Stocktake. Check the Audit Trail to see who started the existing Stocktake.
- If you know that it is not a valid Stocktake then exit and select Cancel Stocktake; you will receive this message:
Responding Yes will cause the Stocktake to be cleared out and no updating will occur to product balances.
Viewing the Stocktake Count
The first time you enter a Stocktake the system will display the selected stock items from the selected location.
The quantity in the Snapshot column is the quantity that the system calculates as being “in stock”. This is copied into the Count column the first time the Stocktake is entered. It is important to Save to ensure this first Copy Snapshot is kept.
- Where there are pending invoices and/or credit invoices dated before the Stocktake there will be quantities in the Allocated column and the snapshot column will be reduced by the amount of the allocation e.g. if there are 14 items on hand and there are pending invoices for 3, then the snapshot will be 11. If there are 0 items on hand and there are pending invoices for 3, then the snapshot will be -3.
Note that if the allocation is a negative amount, the snapshot is increased e.g. if there are 5 items on hand and there is a pending credit for 1, then the snapshot will be 6.
Note that any pending invoices and credits dated after the Stocktake are not included in the Allocated figure.
Entering the Stocktake Count
When you are ready to enter the Stocktake count, the count values are entered into the Count column and the system will display any differences in the right-most column. You may prefer to Zero Count – i.e. clear out the Count column and then enter the Stocktake values from ‘scratch’ rather than overtype the values which the system has calculated.
You can use Copy S/shot (Copy Snapshot) to restore the system calculated ‘in stock’ or snapshot figure to the Count column – this is useful if several errors have occurred during data-entry.
Batch Entry
The count can also be entered in Batch Entry mode; this is where the user enters the Product Code and then the Quantity Counted. These entries are cumulative – i.e. the count is incremented each time by the figure entered as Quantity Counted. Entry of a blank Product Code will end this process.
Import Count
The final entry method is to import the counts from a CSV file. Two file formats are supported. Both must contain just 2 columns. The file called STKTAKE must contain the Product Code and the STKTAKE Quantity counted while STKTAKEB must contain the Barcode and Quantity counted. The file must exist within the Infusion folder.
When importing the stocktake a prompt asks if it is a Full or Partial Stocktake.
Full Stocktake
This will update all quantities with the count from the imported file. For products not in the import, the count will be zero.
Partial Stocktake
A partial Stocktake can be taken any time, and only a small selection of products are counted. When imported only the counted quantities are updated. All other quantities are left alone.
It is important to note that the Stocktake must be dated the day before the physical count (or the count to be done at the end of the day after all processing in Infusion). Take care to note all sales, receipts or credits made of the products in the Stocktake selection set, and ensure the physical count is adjusted to reflect the count as at the end of the day before. As always, the variance report must be run before updating, to ensure that only the products that were counted are updated.
- If the Product Code exists in both the stktake.csv (or stktabeb.csv) file and the Stocktake, the count is altered to the Quantity Counted in the .csv file.
- If the Product Code exists but there is no entry in the imported file, the count in the Stocktake file is not altered.
- If the Product Code or Barcode exists only in the .csv file, the Stocktake will not be altered. An exception report will list any entries in the .csv file which have not been imported.
Cancel Stocktake
Use Cancel Stocktake to completely clear the Stocktake. Note that appropriate warnings are given. Details of who cancelled the Stocktake, the Date, Location and time are recorded in the Audit Trail
After the Stocktake Count has been Entered
Prior to updating the Stocktake it is important that various reports be run.
The most critical is the Stocktake Variance report. When the Stocktake is updated the Product Valuation is increased (decreased) by the amount which is the total Latest Cost Variance. This report should be run immediately before the Stocktake is updated to confirm what the financial result of updating the Stocktake will be i.e. the Product Valuation before + the Stocktake Variance should equal the Product Valuation after (ignoring Serial Tracked Products).
The second report that is very useful is the Stocktake Valuation report – this can be run in summary or detail mode.
NB if you are seeing Products in your Variance report that were not part of your current Stocktake, these may be from a previous stock take that was open during an upgrade. You will need to call your Certified Partner or Infusion Support to get rid of these values if this does happen.
Also run the Product Valuation report at this stage.
Stocktake Variance Reports
The Stocktake Variance reports can list products by Bin Location or by Product Group. These reports list only those Products where the count differs from the expected count.
The reports show:
Qty Before, Valuation, Allocated (qty), Counted Qty, Total Qty After (i.e. with the Allocated Qty added back in), Valuation, Variance (qty) and the Variance Value ($) at Latest Cost.
Variances Can Occur Because
- Staff are using the incorrect code to sell an item - it is purchased in under one code and sold under another. This should be easy to identify as you will have product where one code is up and another is down.
- A kitset is set up to use products when invoiced and one or more of the components is incorrect - modify the product code and select the kitset tab and see which kitsets use the code.
- Staff are buying in a box of items and selling them individually - the system will show the code coming in 1 at a time but going out in multiples. Update the ratio setting under the supplier tab on the product to reflect the correct quantity. We buy one roll of 100 metres, but sell it per metre.
- Someone is stealing - if certain codes continue to have a monthly variance, then additional management of the products is required.
- Items are taken and used on a job but not added to the job - customer gets free parts.
- Shoplifting, does the counter display or shop display need to be relocated to prevent or discourage theft.
- Products taken for internal usage
Update Stocktake
Update Stocktake will update the Stocktake, putting adjustments into the Product transaction files and updating balances, and clearing out the Stocktake figures ready for another time. This should be done only after reports have been run and checked. Details of who processed the Stocktake, the Date, Location and time are recorded in the Audit Trail.
After the Stocktake
Once a Stocktake is updated it is possible to report what adjustments were made using the two reports Stocktake Audit Trail – By Gain/Shortage and Stocktake Audit Trail – By Group. Individual Product adjustments can also be seen on the Product Enquiry screen.
TIP Running rolling or regular stocktakes will help identify any issues
Stocktake Valuation Reports
The Stocktake Valuation reports can list products in Detail or in Summary and will list products by Bin Location or by Product Group. An option will allow you to see consignment stock. The detail reports list all Products in the Stocktake and show:
Quantities Allocated, Counted and In Stock plus the Value ($) at Latest Cost and at Average Cost. The Summary reports show, by Bin Location or Product Group, the totals of the Value ($) at Latest Cost and at Average Cost of the Stocktake Products
Note The Stocktake Valuation report does not include Serial Tracked Items so the Grand Total may differ from the Grand Total on a Product Valuation report.
Stocktake Audit Trail Reports
The Stocktake Audit Trail reports show all Products which have been adjusted for a Stocktake variation (gain or loss) between the date ranges nominated. The report shows the Product Code, Description, Stocktake Date, the Adjusted Qty, and the Latest Cost for the Products and the Total Value of the adjustment using Latest Cost. This can be used to report a main Stocktake and the Stocktake of individual Serial Tracked Products.
The report ‘- By Gain/Shortage’ lists firstly the products where the ‘In Stock’ was adjusted upwards in and then those products where the ‘In Stock’ was reduced. The report ‘- By Group’ lists the products in Product Group order.
The purpose of running stocktakes is to identify and correctly report stock holdings. Any variances need to be investigated and processes put in place to ensure that these don’t occur.
Summary of Stocktake reports
Printed prior to Stocktake:
- Stocktake sheets
- Product valuation report from the Valuation menu (A)
Printed during Stocktake (before Updating):
- Variance report (B)
- Stocktake valuation report
Printed after Stocktake (after Updating):
- Valuation report
- Audit Trail report
- Product Valuation report (C)
- A + B = C (ignoring Serial tracked Items)
- Stocktake of Serial Tracked Products
Stocktake Serial Tracked Products
The Stocktake of Serial Number Tracked Products is performed separately from any other Stocktake. It allows a user to Stocktake just one Serial Tracked product at a time. There are no reporting functions other than the Stocktake Audit Trail report.
Stocktake sheets can be printed and this listing will show the serial numbers it has recorded as being available for sale.
Select the appropriate Location and Product. Enter the Quantity Counted against the associated Serial #.
Use the Add Serial # button to add a new Serial Number for the product.
Use the Update button to save the Stocktake count and details for this Serial Tracked product.
Use the Exit button to exit but note that all entries / changes are lost.
Single product Stocktake
Given the appropriate level of access you can right click on a product code and select Stocktake. This will allow you to Stocktake the one highlighted item.
Once you have entered the correct quantity, select Update.
NOTE: The Stocktake will be dated today.
You will not be able to perform a single Product Stocktake if you have a full stocktake in progress or if the item is serial tracked.
Remember to Update the Stock Value to the General Ledger when the stocktake is finished
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