Inventory management for small business in Pakistan
Reorder levels, dead stock, FIFO and stock counts explained for a Pakistani shop or godown, with simple numbers and what software should do.
Munshi Team · 15 Oct 2026 · 2 min read
Ask a shop owner how much stock they have and you usually get an honest answer: "a lot". Ask how much of it has not moved in six months, and they do not know. That gap is where the money is stuck. Inventory management is just the habit of knowing.
Four ideas that do most of the work
1. Reorder level
For every item, decide the number at which you order more. A simple rule:
Reorder level = what you sell in a day × days the supplier takes to deliver + a little extra
If you sell 20 packets of a biscuit a day, the dealer takes 3 days, and you keep 20 extra: 20 × 3 + 20 = 80. When stock falls to 80, order.
2. Dead stock
Anything that has not sold in 90 days is tying up cash. Once a quarter, list it, then return it to the dealer, put it on offer, or stop buying it. Most shops find 10-20% of their stock money in this list.
3. First in, first out
Sell the old stock before the new, especially anything with an expiry date: medicines, food, cosmetics. Put new stock behind the old on the shelf, and in the software, sell from the oldest batch first.
4. Count, then compare
Count your stock (a few shelves a week is easier than everything at once) and compare it with what the books say. The difference is shrinkage: theft, damage, wrong billing. See how often a small shop should count stock.
What software should do
- Show the stock of every item, live, as you sell and buy
- Warn you when an item reaches its reorder level, and make the order list
- List dead stock and slow movers
- Handle batches and expiry where you need them
- Let you count with a phone and post the difference
- Show stock value at cost, so you know what your shelves are worth
In Munshi
Munshi's inventory management software keeps stock live from billing and purchases, makes a reorder list from levels you set, shows slow and dead stock, and lets you count shelf by shelf from a phone. If you are starting fresh, pick a ready-made items list for your kind of shop and only add prices and quantities. Start free.
Try it free in your own business
Start with your mobile number. No card, no installation.