You counted and the numbers are off. Most differences are not theft. They are receipts that never got recorded, cases opened and sold by the piece, loose-weight rounding, or an adjustment nobody entered. Find the cause first; the fix is usually a process, not a number.
Signs you are in this situation
- The Physical Inventory Count variance report shows red rows (shortage) or green rows (surplus).
- Inventory → Stock shows Out of stock for something that is on the shelf, or stock for something you cannot find.
- Cashiers keep getting the Only N left prompt on products you know are full.
What to do right now
- Before submitting the count, recount the biggest differences. Counting errors are the most common cause.
- Open Inventory → Movements for the product and use Filter by reason. Read the last movements: Sale, Delivery, Refund, Correction, Physical Count. Look for the last point where the number made sense.
- Check Inventory → Open Units. A case opened and sold by the piece lives there with a Remaining count; if the pieces on the shelf differ, use Correct count with a Reason.
- Check Suppliers and Purchase Orders for a delivery that arrived but was never confirmed with Confirm Receipt. If you find one, receive it now rather than adjusting.
- Open Audit Log, set Date from and Date to for the last days, narrow All staff to a person if you suspect one, and Apply filters to see who adjusted what.
- Only then submit: Inventory → Physical Count, enter the real quantities, Submit Count, review the variance report, Done. Each adjusted product is recorded with Reason Physical Count.
Decide
| If… | Then… |
|---|---|
| A shipment was put on the shelf but never received in the POS | Receive it through Receive Shipment with the real cost and expiry. Do not fix it with a manual adjustment; you would lose the cost and the expiry date. |
| A case was opened and sold by the piece without opening a unit | Use Open Units → Open a new unit from now on. Correct the current gap with Correct count. |
| The product is sold by weight and the difference is small | Normal drift from scale rounding and spillage. Adjust with Reason Waste or Correction and move on. |
| Only high-value items are short, and the pattern repeats | Stop adjusting and go to Suspicious activity. |
| The product simply has the wrong number and you cannot find why | Adjust with Reason Correction so it shows in Shrinkage/Waste as a correction, not as waste. |
Afterwards, and how to prevent it
- Count by category on a rotating schedule instead of the whole store once a year. Small, frequent counts find causes while they are still visible.
- Every case broken open goes through Open Units. Every write-off goes through Adjust with the right Reason.
- Review Reports → Inventory Analytics → Shrinkage/Waste monthly and look at the split between Waste and Correction. Many corrections means the process is leaking, not the shelf.
- Make one person responsible for confirming every delivery in the POS the same day it arrives.