With planned stock counts you count your stock in a targeted way instead of all at once: the Barcode Scan App for Exact Online shows which items and storage locations are due, you count them with a scanner and the count is sent to Exact Online as a stock count. If you untick Process directly, the count stays a draft so a colleague can review it before the stock changes.
Useful for warehouses that count part of their stock regularly, for the annual stocktake and for companies where a second person approves counts.
In short
- You count under the Count button: per product or, if your warehouse uses storage locations, per storage location.
- Count suggestions show uncounted and longest uncounted items; Location count suggestions do the same for storage locations.
- Every count becomes a stock count in Exact Online.
- With Process directly unticked, the count stays a draft in Exact Online, ready for review.
- The setting Process productcounts directly decides per user whether that box is ticked by default.
- Counting is included in the Basic subscription.
What are planned stock counts?
With a planned stock count you decide in advance what will be counted, instead of picking a few items at random. The app keeps track of which items and storage locations have been counted with the app and when. Based on that, the count suggestions show what is due: first what has never been counted, then what was counted longest ago. That way every item comes up for counting.
For each count you also choose whether it is processed directly or reviewed first. We call the second option authorising counts.
When to use it
- Cycle counting: count part of the warehouse every day or week instead of one big count per year. Read more in cycle counting in Exact Online.
- Annual stocktake: split the warehouse between several counters, each per storage location. See also stocktaking in Exact Online.
- Check by a second person: the warehouse employee counts, the stock manager or controller reviews the differences in Exact Online and only then processes the count.
How it works step by step
Step 1: Choose what to count
Click Count. If your warehouse uses storage locations, you choose from four buttons: Count per product, Count per storage location, Count suggestions and Location count suggestions. Count suggestions show the lists Uncounted stock items and Longest uncounted items (with the Last counted column). Select the items you count today and click Next. Without storage locations, Count opens the list where you select the items to count straight away.
Step 2: Count with the scanner
Scan an item barcode to increase the quantity, or enter the counted quantity. For batch and serial number items you enter the numbers. If your warehouse uses storage locations, you count per location.
Step 3: Process directly or save as draft
Under Additional fields you find the Process directly box and the Description field. If the box is ticked, Exact Online updates the stock immediately. If you untick it, the count is saved as a draft. Click Submit.
Step 4: Review and process in Exact Online
A draft count appears among the stock counts in Exact Online. There you check the counted quantities and the differences with the stock, and process the count. Only then does the stock change.
Authorising counts
Authorising means a count does not update the stock automatically, but first goes to someone who assesses the differences. In the app you control this with the Process directly box: unticked means a draft in Exact Online. A large difference can then be recounted before the stock value changes. A useful guide for this is dealing with inventory discrepancies in Exact Online.
Note: for batch and serial number items, one count in the app can result in several stock counts in Exact Online. Review all of them.
Settings
Go to Settings and open the Count section (see also all settings):
- Process productcounts directly: ticked by default. If you untick it, Process directly is unticked by default on every new count and counts go to Exact Online as a draft. The setting applies per user, so you can turn it off for counters only, for example.
- Collapse extra fields: hides Process directly and Description behind the Additional fields button.
- Hide items without stock (per storage location) and Hide locations without stock (per product): keep the count list short.
Related options
- Ad-hoc counting: count an item without planning via Count.
- Counting per storage location: with Count per storage location you count one shelf or bin in one go. A location count records the location as counted, not the items.
- Book in or out without an order: to add or remove a known quantity instead of counting, use book items in or out without an order.
- Analyse count differences: Analyze shows how accurate your stock is.
- Several counters: let every employee work with their own account and read how to log in securely with Exact Online.
Frequently asked questions
How do I plan a stock count in Exact Online?
In the Barcode Scan App, use Count suggestions under Count. It shows uncounted stock items and the longest uncounted items, and Location count suggestions does the same for storage locations. Select what you want to count today and click Next. Count suggestions are available under Count when your warehouse uses storage locations.
Can a count be reviewed before the stock changes?
Yes. Untick Process directly when you finish the count. The count is then saved as a draft in Exact Online and the stock does not change yet. A colleague reviews the count in Exact Online and processes it there.
How do I turn off Process directly by default?
Go to Settings, open the Count section, untick Process productcounts directly and click Save. Process directly is then unticked by default on every new count. The setting applies per user.
Can I count per storage location?
Yes. If your warehouse uses storage locations, choose Count per storage location under Count. You select a location and see the items that should be on that location. With Count per product you count the selected items across all their locations instead.
How do I see which items have not been counted for the longest time?
Open Count suggestions under Count. The list Longest uncounted items shows previously counted items with the Last counted column, oldest count first. The list Uncounted stock items shows active stock items that have not been counted with the app yet.
Which subscription do I need to count stock?
Counting, the count suggestions and the choice to process counts directly or as a draft are part of the Basic subscription. The count accuracy analysis in Analyze is part of the Advanced subscription.
See the subscriptions or read about ABC analysis of your inventory to decide which items to count more often.