Operations & Systems
Stock is money sitting on a shelf. Most owners cannot say exactly how much.
Too little stock loses a sale. Too much ties up cash, takes space and spoils or goes out of fashion. Many owners manage by looking at the shelf and trusting their memory, which works until the business grows or someone else starts to buy and issue stock. This session builds a simple stock routine that an owner and a helper can both run.
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A stock problem usually shows up as a cash problem first.
An owner who orders too much finds money tied up in goods that do not move. An owner who orders too little finds customers walking out. Often the real problem is not the quantity but the lack of a routine: stock arrives without being recorded, goes out without being noted, and is counted only at year end.
This session is about habits before tools. A reliable notebook routine is better than software nobody keeps updated. Once the routine works, moving it to a spreadsheet or a billing system is straightforward.
What the session covers
30 topics across 6 areas. Six parts of a basic stock routine.
Knowing What You HoldA list comes before a system.5
- An item list with a name, unit and location
- Grouping items by how important they are
- Raw materials, work in progress and finished goods, where relevant
- Items with an expiry date or a shelf life
- Keeping one list, not three
Recording Stock In and OutThe routine that makes the numbers believable.5
- Checking goods against the order and the delivery note when they arrive
- Entering receipts the same day
- Recording what is issued, sold, returned or damaged
- Who is allowed to take stock, and how that is noted
- A simple register, a spreadsheet or the billing system
Stock that is not recorded when it moves cannot be trusted afterwards.
Counting and ReconcilingCompare what the records say with what is on the shelf.5
- Counting a few important items often, rather than everything rarely
- Having someone other than the record-keeper count
- Investigating differences before adjusting the record
- Separating counting errors, wrong entries and real losses
- Keeping a note of every adjustment and the reason
Deciding When and How Much to OrderSimple rules for the items that matter.5
Illustration (hypothetical): if a shop sells about ten units a day of an item and the supplier takes five days to deliver, the shop needs enough stock to cover those five days plus some margin before the next delivery arrives. The numbers are the owner's own; the method is the point.
- How fast an item sells or is used
- How long a supplier takes to deliver
- A reorder level and a safety margin
- Minimum order quantities and what they do to cash
- Seasonal and festival swings
Slow-Moving, Expired and Dead StockThe stock nobody wants to look at.5
- Listing what has not moved for a set period
- Discounting, bundling, returning to the supplier or writing off
- First-in, first-out for items that expire
- Storage conditions that cause damage
- Stopping the reorder habit for items that do not sell
Records and RulesWhat the law may expect you to keep.5
- Why accounts of stock matter for tax and audit as well as for control
- Stock accounts under GST for registered businesses outside the composition scheme
- Invoices, delivery challans and the e-way bill for movement of goods, where applicable
- Sector rules for items such as food, medicines or chemicals
- Checking the current rules with your accountant
This session explains why records matter. It is not tax or legal advice. Rules change, so check the current requirements for your business.
What participants leave with
- A stock list template and a stock in and out register
- A cycle-count sheet for regular spot checks
- A reorder worksheet with the method worked on a hypothetical item
- A slow-moving stock review sheet
- A short list of questions to ask their accountant about stock records
What this session is not
- Software training or a product recommendation
- Tax, GST or legal advice
- A forecasting course
- Guidance for specialised stock such as pharmaceuticals or food, where sector rules apply
How the session runs
A practitioner walks through a basic stock routine using a hypothetical small shop and a hypothetical small workshop. Participants then list their own ten most important items, work out a first reorder level for two of them, and plan a count they can do the same week. The group compares how different businesses handle receipts and issues, since the gaps are often similar.
What your students leave with
- A simple stock list showing what they hold and where
- A way to count stock regularly and explain the difference from the records
- A first reorder level for their most important items
- A list of slow-moving and dead stock, and what to do with it
- A routine for recording stock in and stock out, even in a notebook
- A clear idea of the stock records the law may expect of their business
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Count what matters this week, and decide before you reorder.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.