Stock and Inventory Management: 10 Practical Tips for Small Shops

Daily and weekly habits

1. Bill every sale, including small cash sales. Stock in the books is only as correct as your bills.
2. Enter every purchase on the day it arrives, with quantity and purchase rate, before putting it on the shelf.
3. Use one name per item. "Parle G 100g", "parle-g" and "PG biscuit" as three items will break every stock report. Use barcodes where the item has one.
4. Record damaged, expired and personal-use items as stock adjustments rather than leaving the difference unexplained.

Set a minimum stock level for each item

A minimum (reorder) level is the quantity at which you place a new order. A simple way to set it: average daily sale × days your supplier takes to deliver, plus a small safety buffer. If you sell 10 packets a day and the distributor comes every 3 days, keep the minimum at around 35–40.

Review these levels before festivals and the wedding season, when demand for some items doubles.

Know your fast and slow movers

• List items by sales value for the last 3 months. Usually a small group of items brings most of the sales; never let these run out.
• Items that have not sold in 60–90 days are slow movers. Stop reordering them, put them near the counter, bundle them, or return them to the supplier if possible.
• For dead stock, a small discount today is better than a total loss later. Remember that a discount shown on the bill also reduces GST (see GST on discounts).

Do a physical stock count

1. Count one shelf or category each week instead of the whole shop once a year.
2. Compare the counted quantity with the stock shown in your books.
3. Investigate big differences: missed bills, wrong item chosen on the bill, purchases not entered, or theft.
4. Adjust the stock with a reason so the next count starts from the truth.

Expiry, batch and serial numbers

• Medical, FMCG and food shops: track batch number and expiry date, and sell first-expiry-first-out (FEFO). Check items expiring in the next 60 days every week.
• Mobile and electronics shops: track IMEI or serial numbers, so warranty and returns can be matched to the exact unit sold.
• Keep the purchase rate updated so your stock value and profit reports are correct.

Simple reports to check every month

• Stock value: how much money is sitting on your shelves at purchase rate. If it keeps rising while sales stay flat, you are over-buying.
• Low and out-of-stock list: check it before calling the distributor, so you order what is actually needed.
• Item-wise sales and profit: which items earn the most margin, not just the most sales. Give these the best shelf space.
• Supplier dues: pay on time to keep good rates, and to keep your input tax credit safe (see input tax credit).

Doing this in BizBahi

In BizBahi each product has a stock quantity and a minimum stock level. Inventory has All, Low and Out tabs, so you can see items at or below the minimum and items that are finished; the morning summary on the home screen shows the low-stock count. Sales reduce stock and purchases increase it automatically, and you can make stock adjustments for damage or counting differences.

Products can be batch-tracked (batch number and expiry) or serial-tracked (IMEI/serial), and you can print barcode labels or scan barcodes while billing. For a large list, import products with stock and minimum stock from Excel (More → Integrations). To see which features suit your type of shop, read billing software by shop type.

How often should a small shop count stock?

A full count at least once a year (for the financial year closing), and a small rotating count of one category every week works best for most shops.

What is a good minimum stock level?

Average daily sale multiplied by the supplier’s delivery time in days, plus a small buffer. Review it before festivals.

How do I reduce dead stock?

Stop reordering items that have not sold in 60–90 days, display or bundle them, return them to the supplier where possible, or clear them with a discount shown on the bill.