Stock takes
Periodic physical count to reconcile system stock with reality.
Overview
System stock drifts from reality — items consumed without being recorded, breakage, theft, miscount. Periodic stock-takes (monthly or quarterly) reconcile the two. The platform records adjustments with reasons.
Prerequisites
- Owner or Admin role
inventory_managementfeature flag- Time and a person to count physically
Steps
Schedule the stock-take. Pick a time when the clinic is closed or quiet. Monthly is typical.
Open Inventory items list. Top nav → Inventory → Items.
Click "Start stock-take". Wizard opens.
Pick scope. All items, by category, or by location (multi-location).
Print the count sheet. PDF lists every item in scope with system count blanked out (so counter doesn't bias).
Physically count. Walk through the cupboards/shelves. Mark counts on the sheet.
Enter counts back in the wizard. For each item, type the counted amount. Difference shows live (system - counted).
Resolve variances. Each variance asks for reason — used in unrecorded procedure, breakage, expired, theft, miscount last cycle.
Submit and approve. Owner/Admin approval finalises adjustments. Stock balances updated; audit log entry records each adjustment.
Expected outcome
- System stock = physical stock after submit
StockAdjustmentrows record every change with reason- Patterns visible in reports — recurring shrinkage on specific items flags investigation
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Big variance, no clear cause | Process drift | Investigate; tighten consumption recording on procedures |
| Wizard locked mid-take | Connection lost | State preserved; resume from same wizard step |
| Some items missed | Filter excluded them | Re-run stock-take with broader filter |
| Approval bottleneck | Owner away | Designate Admin to approve |
| Stock-take history lost | Auto-archived after 1 year | Export immediately for permanent record |