Stock Take Sheet
Count stock area by area and see the variance beside the count, so a stock take produces a number you can act on rather than a vague reassurance.
WT-07 1 page
Warehouse and logistics · WL-23
Stock Variance Investigation Sheet
A free printable stock variance investigation form — system and counted quantities, the checks made before adjusting, what was found and who authorised it.
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One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Stop a count difference being adjusted just to make the numbers agree. The same checks are walked every time and the cause written down before anyone touches the system.
Who it is for
Stock controllers, stores supervisors and anyone who signs off adjustments after a cycle count or a stock take turns up a line that does not match.
How to use it
- Fill in the line, the location and both quantities, and work out the difference and its value using your own unit value.
- Write in the tolerance that applies under your stock policy, and whether this variance is over it.
- Work through the checks in order, ticking each one and noting what it showed beside it.
- Write the cause once it is found, the adjustment made, and who authorised it.
- Note what will stop it happening again, then close the sheet with a date.
What is on the sheet
One page, top to bottom:
Printed under the title: One line whose count does not match the system — the two figures, the checks made before anyone adjusts anything, what was found, and who signed the adjustment off.
Your tolerance, your sign-off. No tolerance is printed here: what size of difference triggers an investigation, and who may authorise an adjustment, is set by your own stock policy, and there is a blank for it. The sheet is the order to check things in, so the system is corrected for the real reason and not just to make the numbers agree.
Write-on lines: Investigation ref · Site / store · Date raised · Raised by
The variance
Write-on lines: Part / SKU · Description · Location(s) · Count came from · System quantity · Counted quantity · Difference (+ / −) · Unit value (your figure) · Tolerance (your policy)
Checks made before adjusting — tick each once done; note what it showed
- Recounted by a second person, blind to the first count
- Neighbouring bins and overflow locations checked
- Unit of measure compared on count and system
- Goods-in receipts not yet booked on checked
- Picks and despatches not yet confirmed checked
- Transfers in or out still in transit checked
- Returns, quarantine, damaged, held and scrapped stock checked
- Recent adjustments on this line reviewed, and by whom
Outcome
Write-on lines: Cause found · Adjustment made (qty) · Adjustment ref · Adjustment authorised by · Action to stop it recurring · Closed on
Ruled lines: Notes
Questions
Why is there no tolerance printed on the sheet?
Because the size of difference that matters depends on what the stock is worth and how it is used, and that is set by your stock policy, not by a printed form. There is a blank for the tolerance that applies so it is on the record each time.
Do I need to do every check for a small variance?
The list is the order that finds most causes fastest — a second count, the bin next door, the unit of measure, then paperwork not yet booked. How far down it you go for a small difference is your call; tick what you did and leave the rest blank so the next person can see it.
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