Stock register format for a shop: columns and example

Short answer: a stock register has one line per item per period with opening stock, received (purchases), sold, returned, damaged, and closing stock. Closing stock = opening + received + returned - sold - damaged. Count the shelf now and then and compare it with the closing figure; the difference is your stock loss.

The columns

Worked example

These figures are only to show the arithmetic.

Cooking oil 5 L, for one week: opening 20, received 24, returns 1, sold 30, damaged 1.

Closing (book) = 20 + 24 + 1 - 30 - 1 = 14. You count the shelf and find 12. The difference is 2 tins: either two sales were not billed, or two tins went missing. Two tins a week on one item adds up quickly across a whole shop.

How often to count

You do not need to count everything every day. Count fast sellers and costly items weekly, the rest monthly, and everything once before Eid or the year end. Our guide on stock counting explains a quick way.

Value of stock

For zakat, a loan or selling the shop you need the value, not just the quantity: closing quantity x cost price for each item. Use the price you paid, not the selling price.

When the register gets too slow

A paper register only works if every sale and every purchase is written into it, which is hard on a busy day. Inventory management software updates stock with every bill and every dealer bill by itself, lets you count with the phone camera, and shows the difference and the value at once.

Start free and get your stock list ready from a ready-made list for your kind of shop.