How do I test a retail store’s inventory system against what is on the shelves?
Test in both directions. Pick items from the system and find them on the shelves, then pick items off the shelves and find them in the system. Doing only one direction hides a whole kind of error. Record the misses and ask the seller to explain each one.
A system can look tidy while the shelves tell another story. Ask for a current stock listing, and take a sample across departments, price points and fast and slow sellers. Count each item physically. Then do the reverse: walk the shelves, choose products at random, and see whether each appears in the system with a sensible quantity. Items present in the store but missing from the records are as telling as the reverse.
Look for patterns in the misses. Are they all in one section, one supplier or one staff member’s area? Do negative quantities appear? Is there a lot of stock showing that nobody can find? Ask how receiving, transfers, damaged goods and theft are recorded, and who can adjust a quantity.
Next, link the physical test to the money. Ask your accountant to compare the system total with the inventory figure in the financial statements, and how the year-end count was carried out. If stock is partly financed, ask what the lender holds. Choose a date for your own count near closing, and write the result into the agreement. Expect the first pass to find surprises, and treat that as useful.
Key takeaways
- Sample from system to shelf and from shelf to system.
- Look for misses clustered in one section, supplier or staff area.
- Ask who may adjust quantities, and how adjustments are logged.
- Plan your own count near closing and write the method into the agreement.
Related reading
15 pages on the same subject, grouped by topic.
Due diligence
- Expert answerHow do I check a clothing store’s old stock before buying?
- Expert answerHow do I check a convenience store’s product mix before buying?
- Expert answerHow do I check a furniture store’s customer deposits on special orders?
- Expert answerHow do I check a grocery store’s spoilage before buying?
- Expert answerHow do I check a pet store’s live animals and stock before buying?
- Expert answerHow do I check a retail store’s foot traffic before I buy it?
- Expert answerWhat should I ask about a hardware store’s buying group before purchase?
- Expert answerWhat should I ask about a store’s security cameras and theft records?
- Expert answerWhat should I look at in a hobby shop’s trading card and collectible inventory records?
- Expert answerHow can I tell if a shoe store’s aged inventory is hiding in the stockroom?
- Expert answerWhat happens to a store’s point-of-sale system when I buy it?
- Expert answerHow do POS and inventory system data transfer in a retail business sale?
- Expert answerHow is retail inventory valued at closing?
- GuideLease, inventory and sales-tax issues in a retail sale
- Expert answerHow do I plan working capital for a toy store’s big fall inventory buy?
Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat is inventory
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 03Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat are the steps to buying a business?
Deavo is an advertising and listings platform, not a brokerage, law firm or valuation firm. This page is general information, not legal, tax, accounting or valuation advice, and rules differ by province. Confirm anything you rely on with a qualified professional before you act on it.