Stocktaking

Stocktaking (also called stock counting or inventory counting) is the process of physically verifying the items you have on hand against what your system says you should have. Beam makes this process fast and accurate, especially when combined with RFID scanning.

What is a Stock Take?

A Stock Take is a structured count of your inventory designed to:

• Find discrepancies between expected and actual stock levels.
• Identify missing, misplaced, or surplus items.
• Keep your inventory data accurate and up to date.
• Meet compliance and auditing requirements.

Creating a Stock Take

To create a new Stock Take:

1. Go to the Stocktakes section in the app.
2. Tap the + button to start a new Stock Take.
3. Fill in a description for the Stock Take (for example, "Monthly count Warehouse A").
4. Select which items to include: all items, specific categories, or specific individual items.
5. Set the date for the Stock Take.
6. Tap Save to create the Stock Take.

Executing a Stock Take

Once a Stock Take has been created, open it and tap Start (or Continue if resuming) to begin counting. Beam supports two methods for counting inventory:

RFID scanning

1. Start the RFID reader from the Stock Take screen.
2. Walk through the area being counted, holding or wearing the reader.
3. Items are automatically detected and matched against the expected list in real time.
4. The count updates live as tags are read, showing progress instantly.

Manual counting

1. Tap an item in the Stock Take list.
2. Enter the actual amount you have counted.
3. Switch between category view and individual item view as needed.

Real-time progress

While a Stock Take is in progress, Beam shows real-time metrics to help you track how the count is going:

• Expected amount The quantity your system expects to find.
• Actual amount The quantity that has been counted so far.
• Accuracy percentage How closely the actual count matches the expected count.
• Variance The difference between expected and actual quantities, highlighted when significant.

Reviewing results

After counting is complete, review the results before finalizing. Items are categorized by their status:

• Matched The actual count matches the expected count.
• Over More items were found than expected (surplus).
• Under Fewer items were found than expected (shortage).
• Missing Expected items that were not found at all.

Discrepancies are highlighted so you can quickly focus on the items that need attention.

Completing a Stock Take

When you are satisfied with the count results:

1. Review all results and investigate any significant discrepancies.
2. Resolve discrepancies by confirming or adjusting counts as needed.
3. Tap Complete to finalize the Stock Take.
4. Results are saved permanently for future reference and audit trails.
5. Inventory counts may be updated automatically based on your configuration.

Stock Take statuses

Every Stock Take goes through a lifecycle represented by its status: