If you have several items with negative quantity on hand (QOH) that you need to correct, do an inventory count instead of manually correcting the QOH of each item individually. Because your Retail account handles inventory counts of items with negative inventory slightly differently than inventory counts of in-stock items, we recommend following the specific instructions below.

Before starting an inventory count, we recommend trying to identify what caused the items to have negative inventory if you haven't done so already. Depending on the cause, correcting their negative QOH may not require you to do an inventory count. For example, if items were sold but not received on an incoming purchase order, receiving them on the incoming purchase order would correct their negative QOH. Adjusting their stock quantity through an inventory count first will only add to the problem, as receiving the purchase order will then inflate your inventory.

To begin an inventory count:

1. From the main menu, click Inventory > Inventory Counts > New Inventory Count.
2. Name the inventory count. We recommend naming it based on the situation and time of year for reference (e.g. Negative Inventory - May 22, 2019).
3. Click Save Changes.
4. Click Missed. Because you haven't counted any items yet, your entire inventory is listed. Once you start counting items, the items will move from the Missed section to the Count and Totals sections.

   Quantities set aside on special orders, layaways and work orders are not considered in stock, are not included in inventory counts and should not be counted.

5. Click the SHOULD HAVE column header to bring the items with a negative QOH to the top of the list. Optionally, under Advanced, use the available search field and filters to refine your list of items. This will let you know which items to examine.

   

6. To count the items with negative inventory that you physically have in stock, click Count.
7. Under Count Items, you can enter items into the count either by scanning the items or by manually entering them with the keyboard. Whichever method you choose, follow Workflow 1 or Workflow 2. Either workflow will move the counted items from the Missed section to the Count and Totals sections.

   Workflow 1

   1. In the Search OR Quantity field, scan each item you physically have in stock individually. This adds them to the list of counted items and updates their COUNTED quantity as you scan them.
   2. In the Search OR Quantity field, enter one of the searchable details of an item you physically have in stock. If the searchable detail is unique, the item is added to the list of counted items and you can skip to step 3.
      • Description
      • System ID
      • UPC
      • EAN
      • Custom SKU
      • Manufacturer SKU
      • Tags
      • Vendor ID
   3. If the search detail is not unique, use the available filters to find the item and click Select to the left of its description. This adds it to the list of counted items.
   4. In the Search OR Quantity field, enter the quantity you physically have in stock.
   5. Click + Count Item. This updates the COUNTED quantity of the item. If you enter the wrong quantity, simply edit the item's COUNTED quantity.
   6. Repeat the above steps for all other items you physically have in stock.

   Workflow 2

   1. In the Search OR Quantity field, scan an item you physically have in stock. This adds it to the list of counted items.
   2. In the Search OR Quantity field, enter the quantity you physically have in stock.
   3. Click + Count Item. This updates the COUNTED quantity of the item. If you entered the wrong quantity, simply edit the item's COUNTED quantity.
   4. Repeat the above steps for all other items you physically have in stock.
   5. To start an inventory search, click the + Counted button.
   6. Use the available filters to find the item and click Select to the left of its description. This adds it to the list of counted items.
   7. In the Search OR Quantity field, enter the quantity you physically have in stock.
   8. Click + Count Item. This updates the COUNTED quantity of the item. If you entered the wrong quantity, simply edit the item's COUNTED quantity.
   9. Repeat the above steps for all other items you physically have in stock.
8. For the items with negative inventory that you don't physically have in stock, click Missed.
9. Enter 0 in their respective COUNT fields. You can also click their Zero button or select their checkboxes and click Zero Selected Items at the bottom of the list. Any of these actions will move the items from the Missed section to the Count and Totals sections.

   

10. For the items with positive inventory in the Missed section, leave their respective COUNT fields empty. This keeps them listed in the Missed section and prevents them from being affected by the inventory count.
11. From the Totals section, review the SHOULD HAVE and COUNTED quantity of each item and the resulting CHANGE quantity. The CHANGE quantity is the difference between the SHOULD HAVE and COUNTED quantity. This is important to understand how much stock will be added to correct the negative QOH of your items once you reconcile the inventory count. For example, if an item has a SHOULD HAVE quantity of -5 and COUNTED quantity of 1, then the CHANGE quantity will be 6.

    

12. Once you've reviewed the inventory count and are sure of the inventory adjustments it will cause, click Reconcile, then click Reconcile Inventory. This action cannot be undone.

    

13. Optionally, visit the Shrinkage section, view, print or export the shrinkage report to analyze the inventory and cost changes of the inventory count. In addition to the shrinkage report, the changes made to your inventory by the count can be found in the Inventory Change Logs report.

    

What's next?

If you chose to exclude certain items that have negative inventory from your inventory count, we recommend trying to identify what caused the items to have negative inventory and correcting their quantity on hand accordingly if you haven't done so already.