> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Run a stock count

> Snapshot what the system thinks you hold, enter what is physically on the shelf, and approve the count to post the variances to stock.

export const StillStuck = ({topic}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--note" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      <strong>Still stuck{topic ? ` with ${topic}` : ''}?</strong>{' '}
      Check <a href="/platform/help/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> first —
      it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,{' '}
      <a href="/platform/help/contact-support">contact support</a> and include
      your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
      matching entry in your audit log.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const TaskHeader = ({before, time, after}) => <div className="ck-task">
    {before ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Before you start</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{before}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {time ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Takes about</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{time}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {after ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">When you're done</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{after}</p>
      </div> : null}
  </div>;

export const Path = ({steps = []}) => <span className="ck-path">
    {steps.map((s, i) => <span key={i} className="ck-path__step">
        {i > 0 ? <span className="ck-path__sep" aria-hidden="true">
            ›
          </span> : null}
        {s}
      </span>)}
  </span>;

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['pharmacy']} plans="All plans" roles="Staff with the adjust stock permission; controlled counts also need a witness" />

A count compares what the system holds against what is actually on the shelf, and then makes the system agree with the shelf. Opening a count takes a snapshot of current stock, so counting and selling can carry on side by side without the figures moving underneath you.

<Path steps={['Sidebar', 'Inventory', 'Counts', 'New count']} />

<TaskHeader before="Stock on hand, and a colleague free to witness if you are counting controlled items" time="5 minutes to open and approve; the counting itself is the long part" after="Stock that matches the shelf, with every variance recorded in the ledger" />

## Open the count

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start a new count">
    On the **Counts** tab, select **New count**. The sheet explains itself: "Snapshot current stock into a worksheet, then enter what you physically count."
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the scope">
    **Scope** is either **Whole clinic** — meaning your whole pharmacy — or a single location. A scoped count is far easier to finish in one go, and a count you finish is worth more than a count you abandon.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the count type">
    | Type                       | What it means                                  |
    | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
    | **Cycle count**            | "A routine spot count of one location."        |
    | **Full physical**          | "Count everything in scope."                   |
    | **DEA CII count**          | "Controlled (CII) items only — dual sign-off." |
    | **Biennial DEA inventory** | "All controlled items — dual sign-off."        |
  </Step>

  <Step title="Say how it was counted">
    **How was it counted?** has two answers.

    **Type counts by hand (worksheet)** — "Open a worksheet and key each quantity against the system snapshot." This page covers that route.

    **Portable scanner (CipherLab terminal)** — "Walk the shelves with the terminal first, then upload the scans here." See [Count with a CipherLab scanner](/pharmacy/inventory/cipherlab).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open it">
    A toast confirms **"Count opened"**. The worksheet now holds a frozen snapshot of the scope.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Enter what you counted

The worksheet lists every lot in scope with its **Location** and the **System** quantity. Enter the real number in **Counted**.

* Leave a row blank if you have not reached it yet. Blank is "not counted", not "zero".
* Enter `0` when there is genuinely none on the shelf. That is a real count and it produces a real variance.
* Select save as you go — a toast confirms **"Counts saved"** — and come back to it. A count stays open until you approve or cancel it.

## Approve it

Approving is what actually changes stock. Up to that point nothing has moved.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add a witness if the scope is controlled">
    A controlled-drug scope requires dual sign-off. Choose the colleague from **Select a witnessing staff member**; the count cannot be approved without one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Approve">
    Saving happens first, then the approval. Where the shelf and the system already agreed, the toast reads **"Approved — no variances"**. Where they did not, the differences are posted to stock and to the ledger.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Approving posts every variance to stock and closes the count — it cannot be reopened or reversed. Check the outliers before you approve: a mistyped quantity on a controlled line becomes a discrepancy you have to explain. **Cancel count** discards an open count without touching stock, and is the right move if the counting went wrong.
</Warning>

## Reading the variances

The reconciliation totals name the direction rather than making you work out a sign: **More than expected**, **Less than expected** and **Net difference**, each valued in your currency.

Treat a large "less than expected" as an event, not a correction. It is the signal for shrinkage, an unrecorded dispense, or a sale that ran ahead of stock — which shows up separately on the **Reconciliation** tab, covered in [Batches, expiry and FEFO](/pharmacy/inventory/batches-and-expiry).

## Check it worked

* The count shows as closed, and the sheet reads "This count is closed. Variances were posted to the ledger."
* The **Stock** tab now matches what you counted.
* The **Ledger** tab shows a movement for each variance, against your name and your witness's.
* The **Counts** tab lists the count with its type, scope and date. An empty tab reads "No counts yet. Start a cycle count to reconcile physical stock against the system."

## If something goes wrong

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="I cannot approve — the button does nothing useful">
    A controlled scope needs a witness selected. Nothing else blocks approval.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The witness list does not include the person standing next to me">
    Only staff accounts in this pharmacy can witness. Invite them first — see [Invite your team](/pharmacy/get-started/invite-team).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Stock moved while I was counting">
    The snapshot is taken when the count is opened, so sales during the count do not shift the **System** column. If a delivery arrived mid-count, cancel and re-open so the snapshot includes it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A product on the shelf is not on the worksheet">
    It has no stock line in this scope — either it is at another location, or it was never received. Receive it, then run the count again. If you are scanning, the reconciliation sheet lets you assign it; see [Count with a CipherLab scanner](/pharmacy/inventory/cipherlab).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I approved a count with a wrong number in it">
    An approved count cannot be reopened. Correct the stock with an adjustment from the toolbar's **Dispense**, giving the reason, so the ledger carries both the error and the correction.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<StillStuck topic="a stock count" />