How to prepare for an inventory check and analyze its results

To ensure your inventory check at the end of the month gives accurate results, check your records before counting the stock and then find out why the actual quantity differs from the planned quantity.

Preparation: what to check before the inventory check

Before counting your inventory, make sure all data has been recorded in Poster. Otherwise, the inventory result may be inaccurate.

1. Close all checks. Open checks do not deduct items from inventory, so their quantities remain in stock.To close a check in the Poster POS, tap Pay, select a payment method, and complete the payment. After that, the check status in Reports → Receipts will change to Closed.
2. Add all supplies, stock deductions, transfers, and manufactures for the period in the Inventory section. If a document is missing from the system, it is not included in the planned inventory balance, which can result in a discrepancy that does not reflect the actual stock.

What Is an Inventory Result?

The inventory result shows the difference between the actual quantity of a product in stock and the quantity that should be in stock according to Poster.

• Actual quantity — the amount of a product you counted during the inventory check.
• Planned quantity — the amount Poster calculates based on sales, Manufactures, transfers, and stock deductions.

Result = Actual quantity − Planned quantity

For example, according to Poster, there should be 20 L of milk in stock. During the inventory check, you count 9 sealed packs of 2 L each and 1 opened pack containing 1.85 L. The actual quantity is 19.85 L.

19.85 − 20 = −0.15 L

Therefore, the inventory result is −0.15 L.

When Is a Discrepancy Normal?

• A small difference in stock quantities — for example, a few grams or milliliters — can occur due to measurement or handling inaccuracies. For example, a cook may add slightly more or less of an ingredient than specified in the tech card. There is no need to change the supply or cost because of such minor discrepancies.
• An inventory check shows the difference between the actual and planned quantities, but it does not determine its cause. Check the cause separately, for example, whether the recipe was followed and whether sales and stock deductions were recorded correctly.
• An inventory check records the stock quantity on the date it is performed and does not change data for periods that have already been closed.

If the discrepancy is significant, check the product's stock movements for the period to find its cause.

How to Analyze a Significant Discrepancy

1. Start with the items that have the largest discrepancies. You do not need to check the entire inventory at once — first, review the items with the biggest differences.
2. If it is a ready-made product that you do not prepare yourself, such as bottled water or packaged ice cream, check its supplies. If the supplies are correct, check whether there were errors when processing sales, deducting expired products, or recording similar products. Theft may also be a possible cause.
3. If it is an ingredient used to prepare dishes, check semi-finished products and tech cards to make sure the ingredient quantities are correct. If everything is configured correctly, check whether employees follow the recipe when preparing dishes. Also check for delayed stock deductions and possible theft.

You can consider a discrepancy explained once you have identified its cause — for example, an error in a document, an incorrect stock deduction, or a recipe not being followed.

If Inventory Was Previously Recorded Incorrectly

If errors from previous periods have accumulated in the cost, correct them during the inventory check:

1. Reset the cost of the ingredient or product. After that, the system will not use the previous value when calculating the new cost.
2. Add a supply with the current product quantity in Inventory → Supplies. If the product has already been paid for, do not select an account in the Payment field.
   
   

If you cannot correct the accounting errors yourself, contact our support team via chat. We will help you understand the situation and, if necessary, explain how to start your inventory records from scratch.