Stock counts (stocktake)

A stock count (stocktake) is how you reconcile what’s actually on your shelves against what Swann Retail thinks you have. You open a count, walk the store entering the quantities you find, then post it — and Swann Retail adjusts each counted item to match, recording the difference as shrinkage or overage.

Stock counts are part of the Advanced inventory add-on. If you don’t see Stocktake in your menu, it isn’t on your plan — contact Swann Software to add it.

Start a count

1. Open Stocktake from the menu and press New count.
2. Optionally give it a Name (e.g. “June 2026 count”) and a note.
3. Press Start count to open it.

A count stays Open while you work, so you can leave and come back to it. It only changes your stock when you post it at the end.

Count your items

In an open count, record what you physically have, one variant at a time:

1. Scan or enter the SKU of the item in front of you.
2. Type the Counted quantity.
3. Press Record.

Each line you record shows its variance straight away — the difference between what you counted and what the system expected. The table below builds up as you go, with the Counted, System, and Variance for every variant. Only the variants you actually count are touched when you post; anything you don’t count is left exactly as it is, so it’s fine to count one section at a time.

Review and post

When you’ve finished counting, press Review & post. This reconciles each counted variant against its current stock, adjusts it to your counted figure, and records the difference as an inventory adjustment. The count then closes and can’t be edited.

To close a count without changing any stock, press Cancel count instead — your recorded quantities are kept for reference, but nothing is adjusted.

The variance report

Once a count is posted, open View variance report. It shows the loss the count surfaced, valued at your retail prices:

• Shrinkage — the units and retail value that came up short — is the headline figure, with shrinkage rows highlighted.
• Net variance sits alongside it, netting overages against shortfalls.
• Each variant lists its counted and system quantity, the variance, and the retail value of that difference.

A variant that has been deleted, or that has no fixed price (an open or variable-price item), shows its value as $0.00 and counts as zero toward the shrinkage value — the units are still shown, but a real shortage of one of these can’t be priced, so the retail-value total may understate what actually went missing. Read the unit counts alongside the value for those lines.

Use it to see at a glance where stock is going missing and what it’s costing you.