Why stock never matches the count
Counting more often will not fix it. The problem is what leaves without being recorded.
Short answer
Every stock figure has two versions: the one the system calculates and the one on the shelf. They only agree if every outgoing movement is recorded somewhere — and in food service the part that is not a sale is large: an overcooked portion, a broken item, a comp, a staff meal. The fix is not to count more. It is to make the sale deduct stock on its own, and to give everything that leaves without being sold an easy way in.
Does this sound familiar?
- Monday's count never matches what the system says.
- You ran out mid-service while the report said there was plenty.
- Nobody knows how much was lost to breakage or expiry last month.
- What the team ate on shift appears nowhere.
- You buy on instinct, by looking at the shelf before you close.
Why it happens
The sale almost always gets recorded — it is the part that makes money, so nobody forgets. The rest does not. And the rest accumulates quietly: a broken item here, a comp there, a generous portion on Saturday. By the time the count finally reveals the hole it is weeks old, and there is no way to know when it started or which item made it. That is why the monthly full count is the worst of both worlds: too big to do well and too far apart to find the cause.
Five changes that fix it
The steps below work with a notebook and a spreadsheet too. Software makes each one faster — the order is the same either way.
- 1
Let the sale deduct stock automatically
If deducting is a second task after selling, it gets forgotten at peak — which is exactly when the most goes out. The deduction has to be a consequence of the sale, not something to remember.
- 2
Make the non-sale easy to record
Breakage, staff meals, comps, adjustments. If recording a loss is bureaucratic, nobody records it, and stock starts lying to you with authority.
- 3
Count in parts, not all at once
Count the expensive items weekly and the rest less often. A small frequent count finds the cause; a huge monthly one only finds the loss.
- 4
Set a minimum for what stops the service
A stock alert matters for what stops you selling, not for all three hundred items on file. Too many alerts is the fastest way to get a team to stop reading alerts.
- 5
Be willing to adjust — and keep the adjustment
When the count differs, adjust to reality and record the adjustment. A recorded adjustment is data; a silent one is the same lie as before, only refreshed.
What actually changes
Deducted at the sale
Stock moves when the product leaves, not when somebody remembers to log it.
Visible loss
Breakage and staff consumption become a number — and a number can be reduced.
Buying on data
You buy against what actually went out, not against how the shelf looks.
Frequently asked
Do I have to control every item?
No, and trying is the most common beginner mistake. Start with the ones that hurt: the expensive, the perishable and the ones that stop service if they run out. Good control of twenty items beats abandoned control of three hundred.
Does DoFast deduct ingredients or finished products?
Finished products. Recipe-level control — how much cheese comes out of stock per pizza — does not exist today, and you should know that before signing up rather than after. For resale goods, packaged items and bought-in supplies, product-level deduction does the job.
What about selling by weight?
It works. Products sold in grams or millilitres show their price per kilo and per litre, and stock is deducted in the right unit — not in "units" of something sold by weight.
Blind count, or count with the number on screen?
Counting without seeing the expected figure is always better. Seeing the number first influences the count even in someone acting in good faith — the mind goes looking to confirm rather than to check.
What handles this in DoFast
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