How to run a stocktake in Stokkap

Overview

A stocktake is a controlled count of physical stock in one or more locations. Stokkap compares the counted quantity with the system stock captured when the stocktake was created, then records the difference as a variance.

Stocktakes can be completed as records only, or used to update stock in WooCommerce and Stokkap after review.

If you are comparing stocktake software features rather than following setup steps, start with the stocktakes feature overview.

Term	Meaning
System Stock	The quantity recorded when the stocktake was created
Count	The physical quantity entered by the user
Variance	Counted stock minus system stock
Adjustment	The stock change applied after approval

Create a stocktake

Open Stocktakes and choose New Stocktake. The setup page lets you name the stocktake, choose stock management types, select locations, choose a count method, set options, and start immediately or save as a draft.

Recommended first setup

1. Choose Stokkap managed products when checking location stock.
2. Select one location type, then only the locations being counted today.
3. Use Count Sheet for list-based counting or exact quantity entry.
4. Use Scanner (Tally Mode) when every scan should add +1.
5. Enable Include product variations if variations are stocked separately.

Locations

Location selection controls which Stokkap locations are included. If Stokkap managed products are selected and the stocktake is started immediately, at least one location is required.

Count method

Choose the workflow that matches how the team will count.

Mode	Best for
Count Sheet	Printed lists, exact quantities, manual review, and barcode lookup from a list
Scanner (Tally Mode)	Fast barcode counting where each scan should increment the count by 1

Options

Option	What it does
Include products with zero stock	Pre-populates products or selected locations where system stock is currently 0. Users can still count 0 even when this is off.
Include product variations	Includes individual variations as separate count rows. Variable parent products are not counted as stock rows.
Include private products and disabled variations	Includes hidden products or disabled variations that may still have physical stock. Draft and trashed products are excluded.
Count by location separately	Counts each selected location as a separate line item. This is required for Stokkap managed products.

Choose Start Stocktake to begin counting immediately, or Save as Draft to create the stocktake and start it later.

Which products are included

The app builds the stocktake item list from the selected stock management type, selected locations, and options.

Stokkap managed products

• Only products managed by Stokkap are included.
• The selected Locations control which product/location rows are created.
• Products that are not assigned to any selected location are not added to the stocktake.
• When Count by location separately is enabled, each used selected location becomes its own count row.
• If Include products with zero stock is off, selected locations with 0 stock are skipped.
• If Include products with zero stock is on, selected locations with 0 stock are included so they can be confirmed.

WooCommerce managed products

• Products using WooCommerce's normal single stock value are included.
• Location selection does not split these products by location.
• Products that only have a WooCommerce stock status, such as In stock or Out of stock, can still be included and counted.
• Status-only products are useful when the business wants to move from simple status tracking to exact stock quantities.

General inclusion rules

• Variable parent products are not counted as stock rows.
• Product variations are included only when Include product variations is enabled.
• Published products and enabled variations are included by default.
• Private products and disabled variations are included only when Include private products and disabled variations is enabled.
• Draft and trashed products are always excluded.

Count stock

Both count modes update stocktake item rows. The difference is how quantities are entered.

Count Sheet

Use Count Sheet when users need to view the product list, print count sheets, enter exact quantities, or scan a barcode/SKU to find the matching row.

Scanner (Tally Mode)

Use Scanner mode when each barcode scan should add 1 to the count automatically. The item sheet remains available at the bottom for manual corrections, review, and printing.

Scanner mode works best when products have barcodes saved in WooCommerce, or when product SKUs match the labels being scanned.

Choose location prompts

If a scanned product exists in multiple selected stocktake locations, Stokkap asks where the scan should be counted. After a location is chosen, it becomes the current counting location for later scans until another prompt is needed.

Best practices while a stocktake is active

Tell staff before a stocktake starts, especially anyone picking orders, receiving stock, moving stock between locations, or editing products in WooCommerce.

During an active stocktake:

• Avoid moving stock in or out of the counted locations unless it is necessary.
• Avoid stock transfers between counted locations.
• Let pickers know which locations or products are being counted.
• Keep a note of any urgent picks, sales, receipts, or stock moves that happen during the count.
• Use smaller targeted stocktakes when normal trading needs to continue.
• Complete and sync soon after counting to reduce movement confusion.

Order picking during a stocktake

Order picking can affect the final result if the picked products are also in the stocktake. Choose the completion mode first, then count consistently.

Completion mode	How to handle picked or sold items during the count
Set to Counted	Count what should be the final available stock. If items have been sold or picked after the stocktake started and should no longer be available, do not include them in the counted quantity.
Apply with Realtime Adjustment	Include stock that was picked or sold after the stocktake started, or add it back to the counted quantity, because the app preserves the live sale or pick movement separately.

Example: a stocktake starts with system stock 10. Two items are picked for an order while the stocktake is open.

• With Set to Counted, if only 8 are now available, count 8.
• With Apply with Realtime Adjustment, count as if the two picked items are still part of the stocktake total, so the count remains 10. The app then applies only the real variance while WooCommerce keeps the order movement.

Review variances

A variance is the difference between counted quantity and the system stock recorded when the stocktake was created.

variance = counted stock - system stock

System Stock	Count	Variance	Meaning
10	12	+2	2 more found than expected
10	10	0	Count matches system stock
10	7	-3	3 fewer found than expected

Rows can be accepted, flagged, or rejected before completion. Counted pending rows can still be applied if they have a variance. Flagged, rejected, and uncounted rows are skipped when adjustments are applied.

Complete stocktake

Choose Complete Stocktake when counting and review are finished. The completion dialog warns about variance rows, uncounted rows, and flagged rows before approval.

Stock handling choices

Choice	What it does
Record Only	Completes the stocktake for audit evidence without changing stock
Set to Counted	Sets stock to exactly what was counted; use when sales were paused during the count
Apply with Realtime Adjustment	Applies the counted difference to current live stock; recommended for active stores

Realtime adjustment uses this formula:

new stock = counted - started + current

Apply with Realtime Adjustment is intended for products that already track an exact starting quantity. It applies a numeric variance, so a stock-status-only item counted as 0 may be skipped as a zero adjustment instead of being converted. If a status-only WooCommerce product should be changed by the stocktake, use Set to Counted.

Completion email

When the final result is Completed or Partial, Stokkap sends a stocktake completion email to eligible recipients.

The email includes the stocktake name, store name, approver, completion mode, counted and uncounted totals, confirmed, skipped, and failed adjustment totals, plus a direct link back to the stocktake.

Recipients can include the account owner, the user who approved or completed the stocktake, the stocktake creator, and eligible client admins with access to the store. Duplicate email addresses only receive one copy.

Offline counting

Offline counting works for existing cached stocktake rows. Prepare the stocktake while online before leaving a reliable connection.

1. Create or open the stocktake while online.
2. Choose Cache for offline.
3. Wait until the app confirms the stocktake is cached for offline counting.
4. Count existing rows offline.
5. Reconnect before final approval and stock adjustment sync.

Creating a new product/location row through Count in another location requires the app to be online.

Permissions

Permission	Allows
stocktake_view	View stocktake lists and details
stocktake_create	Create stocktakes, update counts, accept, flag, and reject rows
stocktake_approve	Complete stocktakes and process adjustment sync

A common workflow is for staff to count stock, then an admin reviews variances and completes the stocktake.

Edge cases

• Product not found: check that the product was included in scope and that its SKU, barcode, or GTIN matches the scan.
• Duplicate scans: scanner mode adds +1 per scan, so avoid scanning the same physical item twice.
• Counted 0: a value of 0 means the item was checked and none were found. A blank row means it was not counted.
• Partial completion: some adjustment rows synced successfully but at least one failed and needs review.
• Failed for review: Stokkap stopped because it could not safely finish a stock-changing batch.