Your stock says 100. Your shelf says 92. What happened?
It happens in every shop. Your records show one number, the shelf shows another, and there's no obvious reason why.
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Why counted and recorded stock drift apart
A record and a shelf are two different systems, and they only agree if every change is captured in both. Every sale, delivery, return and write-off has to reach the record — and in a busy shop, some of them do not.
Most gaps are ordinary. A pack sold as loose weight. A delivery entered twice. A damaged item taken off the shelf on a busy afternoon and never written off. A credit sale on a paper slip that never got entered. None of these are unusual, and none of them mean anyone did anything wrong.
This is why the size of a gap matters less than whether it repeats. One count gives you a number and no context. The same product showing the same kind of gap on a second count is telling you where your recording is breaking down — and that is something you can fix.
Common questions
Why doesn't my shop stock match my records?
Because a record only matches a shelf if every change reaches both. The most common reasons are a unit or pack-size mismatch, a sale that was never entered, a delivery entered incorrectly, and damaged or expired stock removed without a write-off.
Is a small stock difference normal?
Small differences are common, particularly on loose goods weighed by hand and on fast-moving items. What matters more than the size of a single gap is whether the same gap shows up again on the next count.
How do I calculate a stock difference?
Subtract your recorded quantity from the quantity you counted. A negative result means less on the shelf than your records show; a positive result means more. To express it as a percentage, divide the difference by the recorded quantity and multiply by 100.
Should I value missing stock at cost price or selling price?
At cost price. The cost is money you have already spent on stock that is not there. The selling price tells you what those units would have earned, which is a sale that will not happen rather than a second loss. The two should never be added together.
What does it mean if I counted more than my records show?
It usually means something was recorded that did not happen, or a delivery or return reached the shelf without an entry. It is not extra profit — it means your record of this product is wrong in the other direction.
Should I change my records to match the count?
Yes. The shelf is the more reliable number, because it is what you can actually sell. Correct the record to the counted figure and write down what you found, so a repeat is recognisable.
Does a stock difference always mean theft?
No. In most shops the ordinary explanations — counting, units, unrecorded sales, receiving errors, and unwritten-off damage — account for the great majority of differences. Ruling those out first is both fairer and far more likely to find the real cause.
How often should a small shop count stock?
Counting your fastest-moving and highest-value products regularly is usually more useful than counting everything rarely, because a gap is only informative when you can see whether it repeats.