How to run a cycle count without closing shop
"Once a year, stop everything" is the most common approach to inventory counts — and often the most painful one. Cycle counting (counting a portion of stock regularly instead of all at once) solves both the shutdown problem and the accuracy problem.
The problem with a full annual count
Counting the entire stock at once means blocking the business, pulling the whole team off their normal work at the same time, and leaves a huge gap between two counts — a product counted in January can drift significantly by June without anyone noticing until the next annual count.
How cycle counting works
The idea: split the stock into portions (by category, location, or turnover rate) and count a small part regularly — every week or every month depending on catalog size — instead of everything once a year. The business never fully stops, and discrepancies get caught much earlier.
A good practice: prioritize the products that move the most (the ones with the most stock movements) or the highest-value ones — those are where an undetected error costs the most.
What actually makes it work
Cycle counting relies on a reliable movement history — otherwise there's no way to know what was actually counted and when. Every adjustment (the gap between theoretical stock and the physical count) needs to be logged as a proper movement, with its date and reason — not a silent correction of the number.
Frequently asked questions
?Do we still need one full annual count?+
Not strictly necessary if cycle counting covers the whole catalog over the year, but some local accounting or tax rules may require it — check what applies in your country.
?How does Fluxalyo track inventory discrepancies?+
Every stock adjustment is logged as a dated movement attributed to the person who made it, with the full history available at any time.
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