On this page
A stock count can be accurate and still mislead you. The products you can use now, the units promised to customers, and the supplier order that has not arrived are different quantities. A useful stock-control routine keeps them distinct before you decide what to buy.
This is general English-language guidance being tested against South African search results, not a locally validated South African playbook.
Stock-control checklist
- Give each product and each version a clear name, SKU and unit of measure.
- Count physically received, usable stock on a schedule. Keep damaged and held units out of the usable count.
- Record unreceived quantities on open purchase orders separately from stock on the shelf.
- Record unfilled customer commitments, and subtract them only once when you calculate inventory position.
- Track average daily use, supplier lead time and a safety-stock buffer for each product where practical.
- Compare inventory position with the reorder point. The trigger tells you when to review a purchase, not how many units to buy.
- Check deliveries against the purchase order. Record what arrived, what was damaged and what must be held aside.
- Review count differences and slow-moving items before placing the next order.
A spreadsheet can handle these checks for a small catalogue if someone keeps it current. Software changes the workflow, not the basic questions.
Give each stock number a clear meaning
Usable on-hand stock is what has physically arrived and been accepted for use. Exclude damaged or held units. Incoming stock is the unreceived quantity on open purchase orders. Unfilled commitments are customer orders that still need stock.
For a reorder decision, compare the reorder point with inventory position:
Inventory position = usable on-hand + incoming purchase orders − unfilled commitments
Use only the remaining quantity on open purchase orders, not the original order quantity after a partial delivery. If your software already shows a quantity that nets out customer commitments, do not subtract those commitments a second time. Check whether that figure includes incoming orders before using it as inventory position. Software labels such as “available” can mean different things.
Count physical stock and investigate differences
A sales report cannot tell you whether a unit broke in storage, went missing or arrived damaged. Routine counts catch differences between the record and what is usable. Pair a full stocktake with smaller cycle counts of selected items between full counts. Check fast-moving, valuable, perishable or previously inaccurate items more often.
Square’s small-business inventory guide recommends scheduled counts, smaller spot-checks and checking deliveries against purchase orders. Sage’s South Africa inventory guide also recommends routine stock reviews because bought and sold figures alone do not account for loss or damage.
When a count differs, note the item, counted quantity, recorded quantity, date and likely reason. If you do not know the reason, say so. Do not erase the difference just to make the record look tidy.
Calculate a reorder point, then choose the order size
A common starting formula is:
Reorder point = average daily units sold or used × supplier lead time in days + safety stock
Compare this trigger with inventory position, not with a shelf count that ignores incoming orders or customer commitments. When inventory position reaches or falls below the reorder point, review replenishment.
For example, Square’s U.S.-oriented guide uses this arithmetic: 4 units/day × 7 days + 10 safety-stock units = 38 units. If average use is four units a day, supplier lead time is seven days and the chosen buffer is ten units, 38 units is the reorder point. Those values illustrate the calculation; they are not South African market data or a recommendation for every product. Use the demand and delivery times you actually see. If demand changes by season or deliveries vary, review the inputs.
The reorder point is a trigger, not the amount to order. Decide order quantity separately after checking inventory position, supplier minimums, storage space, available cash, product shelf life and any open purchase orders. A trigger of 38 units does not mean you should buy 38 units.
Receive what arrived, not what was promised
A purchase order records what you asked a supplier to send. It does not increase usable stock by itself. When a delivery arrives, count it against the order. Keep accepted, damaged and on-hold quantities distinct, and leave any unreceived balance as incoming stock.
This gives the next reorder decision a more honest starting point. A supplier document or delivery promise is not the same thing as a receipt you have checked.
A selection checklist for inventory software
Use these questions to assess any system. This is a selection checklist, not a product comparison.
- Can it show usable on-hand, incoming and committed quantities separately, or clearly explain how its “available” number is calculated?
- Can it record the source or reason for a sale, receipt, return or adjustment?
- Can it receive a delivery in parts and keep damaged or held units out of usable stock?
- Can you record supplier lead times, prices and minimum order quantities?
- Can you review low-stock items alongside open purchase orders, so you can see what is already coming?
- Does it show slow-moving stock, and can you check or export the records when needed?
- Does it fit the devices, integrations and staff access your process actually requires?
Test one ordinary delivery and one partial or damaged delivery before moving a full catalogue. The useful question is whether the system makes the stock position clear when something goes wrong.
What should a small business do first?
Pick one product. Count the usable units on hand, check what is still on open purchase orders, and subtract any unfilled commitments once. Compare that inventory position with a reorder point based on the product’s average use and supplier lead time.
If you want to inspect one example in software, Lynka’s Inventory page describes product and supplier records, purchase orders, receipts and stock movements. Its Stock Control page says the Reorder List uses a minimum-stock threshold to flag items for human review. You set the threshold and decide whether to replenish and what quantity to order. The list is a review prompt, not an automatic calculation of the demand-and-lead-time formula above or an automatic purchase order. See also Lynka’s reorder documentation. A spreadsheet remains a reasonable place to start.
A useful stock record tells you what is usable now, what is committed, what is incoming and why the balance changed. Start with one product and check that the numbers mean what you think they mean.
Sources
- Square, Inventory Management for Small Business: A Practical Guide. U.S.-oriented source used for the general reorder-point formula, worked arithmetic and count/receiving guidance only.
- Sage South Africa, Master inventory management with a cloud-based system. Used for routine stocktake and replenishment guidance; it does not validate the article as an SA-specific playbook.
- Lynka, Inventory. Checked for current product and receiving claims.
- Lynka, Stock Control. Checked for minimum-stock threshold and human-review behavior.
- Lynka, Reorder low stock and investigate slow-moving inventory. Checked for current Reorder List and open-purchase-order guidance.
- Lynka, Inventory and purchasing documentation. Checked for purchase-order, goods-receipt and accepted/damaged/on-hold stock behavior.
