Inventory Audit Checklist

2025-11-02 · 10 min read

Physical audits are tedious. Skipping them is more expensive. Here is the checklist we give every customer before their year-end count.

Two weeks before

Freeze new SKU creation.

Reconcile all open POs and pending GRNs.

Print location-wise count sheets or load them on mobile devices.

Brief the audit team — pairs of two, one counter, one verifier.

Stop inter-branch transfers.

Pick and dispatch all pending orders.

Print barcode labels for any unmarked items.

Lock the system from new transactions during count windows.

Count by location, not by SKU.

Photograph any damaged or expired stock.

Verifier signs each sheet/screen before submission.

Generate variance report.

Investigate variances above 2% before adjusting.

Adjust stock with proper GL coding for shrinkage.

Schedule the next cycle count for high-variance items.

Mobile-based audit worksheets, real-time variance dashboards, photo capture, and audit-trail adjustments with full GST treatment.