A stock card gives a running quantity for a particular item. A physical count checks how many units are actually present at a defined time and location. When they disagree, the useful next step is to trace movements and documents, not immediately accuse someone or replace one figure with the other.
All stores, documents and quantities here are fictional. The main item is a reusable crate, stock code RC-1, counted in individual crates. The lesson concerns quantities and movement evidence. It does not assign money values to stock or post financial accounting entries.
Identify exactly what is being counted
Before calculating, specify the stock-keeping unit, unit of measure, location and cutoff time. Two sizes of crate need separate records even if both are called crates. A bundle of five is not one individual crate. Stock at a second store is not automatically part of the first store’s count.
The quantity rule is: closing balance = opening balance + receipts − issues. A receipt increases the stock held at the stated location. An issue reduces it. “Issue” means release from that location; it need not mean a sale. A transfer to another store is still an outward movement from the first store.
Worked case 1: build a complete stock card
Harbour Store begins Day 1 with forty-eight RC-1 crates. There are two receipts and two issues before the Day 5 closing count. Every document is confirmed to concern this item and this location. There are no movements during the count.
| Document | Day | Confirmed movement | Quantity and unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| GR-31, receipt note | 1 | Crates accepted into Harbour Store | 30 individual crates |
| IS-44, issue note | 2 | Crates released from Harbour Store | 22 individual crates |
| GR-32, receipt note | 3 | Crates accepted into Harbour Store | 16 individual crates |
| IS-45, issue note | 4 | Crates released from Harbour Store | 19 individual crates |
| Day and reference | Receipts | Issues | Running balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 1, GR-31 | 30 | 0 | 78 |
| 2, IS-44 | 0 | 22 | 56 |
| 3, GR-32 | 16 | 0 | 72 |
| 4, IS-45 | 0 | 19 | 53 |
The independent total check is 48 + (30 + 16) − (22 + 19) = 53. Receipts total forty-six and issues total forty-one, a net increase of five. Adding that increase to forty-eight also gives fifty-three. A physical count of fifty-three at the same cutoff therefore agrees with the card.
Each reference links a line to evidence of a movement. A delivery document stating thirty crates is not, on its own, proof that thirty were accepted: the receiving check must establish the quantity actually received. Likewise, an unfulfilled request for crates is not yet an issue. These distinctions prevent planned movements being mistaken for completed movements.
Worked case 2: an omitted issue
This is a separate store record. Its opening balance is forty crates, a confirmed receipt adds twenty and a recorded issue removes twelve. The card shows 40 + 20 − 12 = 48, but the physical count is forty-two.
A document search finds issue note IS-61 for six crates released before the cutoff. The release and recipient’s acknowledgement are checked, and the issue was not entered on the card. The difference is physical minus recorded: 42 − 48 = −6. The six-crate omitted issue explains both the amount and the direction.
The corrected sequence is 40 + 20 − 12 − 6 = 42. Keep a traceable correction linked to IS-61 rather than erasing the earlier record. The evidence supports a recording omission; the original difference alone did not prove theft, damage or a counting error.
Worked case 3: the wrong unit
Another store has twenty-four individual RC-1 crates. Receipt GR-71 states four bundles, each containing five of these crates. No issues occur. A clerk enters “4” as if it meant four crates, giving a recorded balance of twenty-eight. The physical count is forty-four.
The actual receipt is 4 × 5 = 20 crates. The corrected balance is 24 + 20 = 44. The original entry understated receipts by 20 − 4 = 16 crates, which matches the count exceeding the card by sixteen. Both the bundle quantity and the conversion factor are necessary evidence.
Do not solve this by changing the whole card to bundles halfway through. Keep its defined unit and convert incoming documents into that unit. A different bundle size would require a different conversion; “bundle” has no universal numerical value.
Worked case 4: a duplicated receipt
A fourth store opens with thirty-five crates, receives eighteen under GR-81 and issues nine under IS-82. The correct balance is forty-four. GR-81 is accidentally entered twice, so the card shows 35 + 18 + 18 − 9 = 62. The physical count is forty-four.
The card exceeds the count by eighteen. Matching document references and checking the actual receiving event establishes that one receipt was duplicated. Remove the effect of that duplicate through a documented correction: 62 − 18 = 44. Do not invent an eighteen-crate issue to make the totals agree; that would describe a movement that never happened.
Checks before adjusting a record
- Recount the correct item, checking separate shelves, similar items and the stated location.
- Align the cutoff. Identify movements immediately before, during or after the count so they are neither omitted nor counted twice.
- Check the unit on every relevant document and conversion.
- Recalculate each running balance, then check totals independently.
- Match completed receipts and issues to unique references; investigate missing or duplicate entries.
- Document the explanation and use the store’s authorised correction process. If evidence remains incomplete, report an unresolved discrepancy.
A matching final figure is useful evidence, but it does not prove that every line is correct. An omitted receipt of five and an omitted issue of five could cancel numerically. The document trail tests what the balance alone cannot show. Equally, an unexplained difference should remain visible rather than being hidden by a convenient adjustment.
Three solved practice reconciliations
Task 1: find the missing outward movement
A card shows opening 32, receipt 18 and issue 11. The count is 34. A verified issue of five was omitted. Reconcile.
Solution: The original card gives 32 + 18 − 11 = 39. Entering the supported issue gives 39 − 5 = 34. The five-crate shortfall is fully explained by that omission.
Task 2: convert before adding
There are eighteen crates. A receipt of three bundles of six is entered as three crates. There are no issues. Find the original and corrected balances.
Solution: The original balance is 18 + 3 = 21. The receipt should be 3 × 6 = 18, giving thirty-six crates. The correction increases the recorded balance by fifteen.
Task 3: distinguish duplication from loss
Opening stock is twenty-seven crates. One receipt of fourteen is entered twice and one issue of eight is entered correctly. Physical stock is thirty-three. Explain.
Solution: The erroneous card gives 27 + 14 + 14 − 8 = 47. One actual receipt gives 27 + 14 − 8 = 33. Correct the duplicate fourteen-crate receipt; no fourteen-crate loss is established by these facts.
Choose storage that can support the stock-card movements
Keep Harbour Store’s RC-1 movement documents and quantities above. Add this fictional requirement: RC-1 crates must stay dry, identifiable and available for the scheduled releases. The five-day storage decision must accommodate the highest running balance, not merely the closing 53 crates. All facility descriptions and charges below are supplied classroom conditions.
| Option | Stipulated capacity and conditions | Five-day charge |
|---|---|---|
| A: small private room | 60 crates; dry; locked; staff available every day | KSh500 |
| B: shared dry store | 80 crates reserved exclusively for RC-1; dry racks; locked; staff check receipts and issues daily | KSh800 |
| C: open yard | 100 crates; no rain protection; releases only on Day 5 | KSh300 |
Worked choice: choose B against these requirements. The stock-card sequence is 48 → 78 → 56 → 72 → 53. Peak stock is 78, so A is short by 18 at the first receipt and by 12 on Day 3. B has two spare places at the peak and meets the dry-storage and release conditions. C has enough space but fails protection and Days 2 and 4 availability. Lowest charge alone does not meet the job. Shared storage here is a supplied service arrangement; it implies no legal warehouse category.
| Function | How B performs it in this case | Record or check |
|---|---|---|
| Protection and preservation | Dry racks protect crates from the stipulated rain risk; locked access limits uncontrolled entry | Condition and quantity check when accepted; later physical count |
| Buffering supply and release times | Holds 78 after the Day 1 arrival until later issues | GR-31 followed by IS-44 and later documents |
| Keeping items identifiable | RC-1 is separated from other items and counted as individual crates | Stock code and unit on the card and each document |
| Breaking larger receipts into releases | Accepts 30 under GR-31; releases the separately authorised quantities | 22 under IS-44; 19 under IS-45 |
| Making stock available | Staff release on the required days without treating requests as completed issues | Authorisation, actual release and recipient acknowledgement |
| Control and reconciliation | Card and independent count are compared at one cutoff | 53 at Day 5 after all four listed movements |
Trace the documents through the store
The delivery description first supports a receiving check; GR-31 records thirty accepted RC-1 crates, and the stock card increases from 48 to 78. An authorised request for twenty-two is checked against availability, then IS-44 and acknowledgement support the actual release and the card falls to 56. Repeat with GR-32 (+16) and IS-45 (−19), then count at the shared cutoff. An order awaiting arrival is not stock received; an unfulfilled request is not an issue. A locked door alone does not produce this document trail.
Independent storage decision
Task: Before Day 1, the same verified delivery is revised from 30 to 34 crates; all other movements are unchanged. Does B still fit, and what are the revised balances?
Answer: 48 → 82 → 60 → 76 → 57. B fails its 80-place limit by two on Day 1 even though the final 57 fits. A revised receipt schedule or additional suitable space would need explicit agreement before acceptance; neither is supplied. Do not reduce the recorded receipt to 32 to make the capacity table appear to pass.
Frequently asked questions
What is a stock-keeping unit?
It identifies a particular item or variant whose quantity is tracked separately, such as the RC-1 crate.
Does an issue always represent a sale?
No. It records an outward movement from the location, including transfers or other authorised releases.
Should I combine crates and bundles?
Only after converting them to the card’s defined unit using a verified bundle size.
Does a short count prove theft?
No. Timing, omissions, unit errors and counting mistakes are possible explanations that need investigation.
Why keep document references?
They connect entries to evidence and help reveal missing or repeated movements.
Can two errors cancel?
Yes. Equal omitted inward and outward quantities can leave the final balance apparently correct.
What if no explanation is found?
Record the unresolved difference and follow the authorised investigation process. Do not invent a movement to force agreement.
Reference
For quantity records and movement documentation, see the Logistics Cluster guide to systematic recording. All stock cards and documents here are original classroom examples.
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