Simple, repeatable stock habits are more valuable than occasional large clean-ups.
Record every way stock changes
Stock increases through receipts and returns, and decreases through sales, usage, transfers or corrections depending on your workflow. If some movements happen only on paper, the system quantity will gradually lose meaning.
Separate transfers from adjustments
When stock physically moves between branches, use a transfer so both sides of the movement remain connected. Use adjustments for genuine corrections, not as a shortcut for normal operations.
Count high-risk products more often
Expensive, fast-moving or easily misplaced items deserve more frequent physical counts than low-value, slow-moving stock.
Investigate patterns
Repeated shortages may point to receiving errors, unrecorded product use, incorrect sales processing or weak access controls. The goal of stock control is to improve the process, not merely change the number.