Prepare inventory for a clean migration
Opening stock should give your team a reliable starting point. Clean product records, agree the cutover time and separate physical stock from unfinished purchasing and sales documents.
A worked record to reuse
Example opening-stock worksheet, preserving the guide’s examples. Warehouse approves quantity by product and location; finance approves the valuation policy and totals. Track open receipts and deliveries separately and retain the cutover time and count evidence.
| Record | Quantity, pieces | Opening-stock treatment |
|---|---|---|
| SKU-DEMO-A physical stock | 100 | Include 100 received units |
| Open purchase for SKU-DEMO-A | 40 | Separate incoming receipt; not on hand |
| Unshipped sale for SKU-DEMO-A | 15 | Separate sales commitment; do not deduct physical stock |
| SKU-DEMO-PACK: 3 boxes × 12 | 36 | Location A: 20; location B: 16 |
Use your own records to work through the example and identify the next action.
1. Make one product list
Give each product a unique code. Remove duplicate records after checking whether they represent different variants, pack sizes or units. Agree a base unit, category and location structure. Identify which products need lot numbers or serial numbers before preparing quantities.
2. Prepare an opening-stock sheet
Use these columns: product code; description; variant; location; unit; quantity; lot or serial where applicable; unit cost; count date; reviewer. Keep numeric quantities separate from unit names. “12 pieces” in one cell is harder to validate than quantity 12 and unit pieces in separate columns.
For example, three boxes containing 12 pieces each should be imported as 36 pieces when the base unit is pieces. If two warehouses hold 20 and 16 pieces, prepare two location rows rather than a single unexplained total.
3. Keep open documents separate
Suppose 100 pieces are physically present and a purchase order has 40 more due next week. Opening stock is 100; the outstanding receipt is separate. A customer order for 15 pieces that has not left the warehouse is also an open document, not a reason to reduce the physical count before shipment.
Agree with finance which cost method and opening values apply. Stock quantity and stock value need separate checks; a correct count can still carry the wrong cost.
4. Rehearse and reconcile
- Import a small representative sample before the full file.
- Check duplicate codes, missing locations and invalid units.
- Compare quantity totals by product and location with the signed count.
- Review valuation totals with finance.
- Confirm which open receipts and deliveries will continue after cutover.
5. Control the changeover
Set a cutover time, name the person who approves the opening balances and record movements after the count. Keep the source export, cleaned sheet and reconciliation together. Datrylo implementation can coordinate the import and stock workflow around these agreed records.
Explore the connected workflow
Count inventory with fewer surprises
A useful stock count explains the difference between what is on the shelf and what the system records. Plan movements, count consistently and investigate before approving an adjustment.