Inventory glossary

What is Cycle count?

Cycle count is the practice of counting a small subset of your inventory on a regular schedule instead of counting everything at once.

For a small Shopify store, counting all stock at once is slow and disruptive. Cycle counting spreads the work out. You check a handful of SKUs each week or month, fix any mismatch between the count and what Shopify shows, and move on.

Use cycle counts on your best sellers most often, since errors there hurt the most. Slower movers can be checked less frequently. This keeps your inventory numbers accurate without shutting down the stockroom for a full day.

Example

A candle store has 40 SKUs. Instead of counting all 40 at year end, the owner counts 8 SKUs every Monday. Over 5 weeks, all 40 get checked. If the system shows 30 units of a lavender candle but only 27 are on the shelf, the owner adjusts the count to 27 and looks into the 3 unit gap.

Common mistakes

  • Counting the same easy SKUs repeatedly and skipping awkward or bulky ones.
  • Not recording why a count was off, so the same error repeats next cycle.
  • Letting cycle counts slip when the store gets busy, which defeats the purpose.

Cycle count and SteadyShelf

Accurate stock numbers from regular cycle counts make SteadyShelf's sales forecasts and reorder suggestions more reliable, since they depend on correct current stock levels.

SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.

Related terms

Physical inventory count · Inventory accuracy · Inventory adjustment · Perpetual inventory · Inventory shrinkage

Full inventory glossary

FAQ

How often should a small store do cycle counts?

There is no fixed rule. A common approach is to count best sellers every week or two and slower items monthly or quarterly, so every SKU gets checked a few times a year at least.

Is cycle counting the same as a full stocktake?

No. A full stocktake counts everything at once, usually once or twice a year. Cycle counting checks small groups of SKUs continuously throughout the year.

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