Stock Counts
Use a stock count to check what's really on the shelf against what Brother POS says, and fix the difference. You type the counts in as you go; nothing changes in stock until you End count.
Quick steps
- Go to Products, open the Stock tab and click Stock Counts, then click New count.
- Give it a Name (for example Vault monthly), check the Count date, and pick the Location (stores that track stock by location) and the Products to count — All products or one category.
- Click Start count. The count sheet opens with every product in it.
- For each product you count, type the Correct quantity — or Adjust by (for example
-2). Each one fills in the other. - Add Notes if it helps. If your store asks for a reason on every stock change, there's a Reason for each product too — it starts on Count correction; change it for anything damaged, lost or expired.
- When you're done, click End count and confirm. Every counted product that differs is changed in stock.
Leave a product blank if you didn't count it — blank products aren't changed.
Common questions
Do I have to finish in one go? No. Everything saves as you type. Close the page and come back later from Stock Counts — the count is still In progress.
How do I find a product quickly? Use Search or scan: type a name, SKU or barcode, or scan it, and the sheet jumps to that product. Category narrows the list; Not counted yet shows only what's left.
Can I count on paper first? Yes. Print count sheet on the Stock Counts page prints the store's products grouped by category, with a Counted box on each row. On the printout, Blind count hides the stock on hand so counters write what they actually count. Then type the numbers into a count on screen.
I started a count by mistake. Open it and click Cancel count. Nothing you entered is applied to stock.
Who can do a count? Anyone whose role has the Adjust Stock permission (on for managers by default).
More detail: the count sheet
The Count Sheet
Each row shows the product, its category, what Brother POS has On hand (or In the location you're counting), and boxes for:
| Box | What to type |
|---|---|
| Correct quantity | What you counted. |
| Adjust by | The difference instead — -3 for three missing, +1 for one extra. |
| Reason | Why it's different. Only shown if your store asks for a reason on every stock change. |
| Notes | Anything else worth keeping. |
The bar at the bottom shows how far you've got: how many products are counted out of the total, and how many will change. Per page sets how many products show at once (50, 100, 250, 500 or All).
Reasons
The Reason column only appears when your store asks for a reason on every stock change (Settings → Edit Settings → Products & Inventory → Stock Management). It uses the same list as every other stock screen — see Reasons for stock changes. Each line starts on Count correction; pick Damaged, Lost / stolen, Found and so on where that's what happened. Other needs a note.
The reason (and your notes) go on each product's stock history, so you can see later why it changed.
More detail: ending a count
Ending a Count
End count applies every counted product whose quantity differs, in one go, and then shows a summary: who ended it and when, how many products were counted and how many changed. The ended count stays on the Stock Counts list with every change it made — Showed, Counted, Change, Reason and Notes for each product.
A few products can't be counted directly and are skipped, with a note saying which:
- Bundles — their stock comes from the products inside them. Count those instead.
- Products with variations — count each variation.
Once a count is ended or cancelled, it can't be changed.
What's Next?
- Stock Adjustments — Changing one product's stock by hand.
- Low Stock Alerts — Knowing what to reorder.
- Stock Transfers — Moving stock between stores or locations.