How to perform a stocktake

Swim has a unique stock take page that allows you to complete a full in store stocktake as well as selected partial stocktakes. The guide below is a complete run through of all things stocktake.

How to start a full store stocktake:

1. Navigate to the Stock menu and select Stocktakes

2. From the main stocktake screen click on Load all.

Swim will now load all stock items considered in stock into the stocktake for you, at this point you can begin scanning items into the stocktake. Unlike previous stocktake pages, there is no need to click into a scan box, the entire stocktake page allows you to scan items in. Simply pick up your scanner and begin scanning items in store. Note that should you not use a scanner you can manually enter the stock number of the items into the filter box and press enter to mark them as scanned, alternatively you can also use the tick box system to manually mark multiple items as scanned.

Items scanned into the stocktake will be visible in the scanned heading to ensure you can clearly see what has been entered into the stocktake. Should you be unsure if you have scanned an item you can use the filter box in the bottom left corner to complete a manual search by entering the items stock number. Alternatively, Swim will not allow you to scan the same item twice so simply scan an item again to be entirely sure. 

How to complete a partial stocktake:

1. Navigate to the Stock Menu and select Stocktakes

2. From the main stocktake screen click on Load Selected

3. Use the headers to create your own stocktake by departments, categories or locations. Note you can create a stocktake from all three sections by simply ticking on the relevant departments, categories or locations you wish to stocktake.




Stocktake headings, what do they mean?

All- Shows all items loaded onto the stocktake based on your selections.
Unscanned- Shows all items you have yet to scan into the stocktake, if you have scanned all items in store then this section also doubles as a missing stock section before you investigate and mark them as missing.
Marked- Displays all items you have marked for review before closing off the stocktake, this includes broken or missing stock tags, transferred pieces, returned to supplier stock, inactive items and genuinely missing pieces.
Scanned- All items that you have already entered into the stocktake
Exceptions- Shows errors you have made that Swim has prevented, these should always be reviewed. Exceptions can be created by scanning items that are not considered in stock and items that are not within the scope of the stocktake you have loaded.

Marking items as inactive or returned to supplier

You can adjust a stock items location to inactive or returned to supplier by clicking on the tick box to the left of a stock item, this will open a pop up window that allows you mark the piece as inactive or returned to supplier. Note the item will not have its location changed until the stocktake is marked as finished.

How to handle missing stock

Missing stock is displayed within the unscanned tab, once you have scanned all items within your store into the stocktake page you should review the unscanned tab to investigate why these items were not found.

After investigating in store, should the items be genuinely missing you will need to print a missing stock list for your own records. Simply click on the unscanned tab and then select the print or export button in the bottom right corner. Note both the print and export buttons will work for any stocktake header you click on so be sure you are on the correct unscanned tab before printing.

Once you have printed your missing stock report the items should then be marked as missing for the records retained in Swim. To mark the items as missing click on the tick box next to each item and from the drop down menu select missing. The item will then be moved into the marked tab.

How to fix exceptions

Reviewing the exceptions tab is as vital as finding missing stock, you must clear all exceptions where relevant before closing off your stocktake. When an exception is shown you will be prompted with two options, a fix icon and a removal icon. The fix icon will resolve the issue as to why the item did not scan in the first place, this could be that the item was incorrectly on deposit or the piece is located in a different store in Swim as opposed to it's physical location. The fix icons changes are automatic and once resolved the item will be added into the scanned tab straight away. It is important you action exceptions before you close a stocktake off, as exceptions are not included in your scanned or missing stock totals. Should you review an exception and determine a fix is not necessary you can click the remove icon (X) and the piece will be excluded from the stocktake and removed from the exceptions list, no changes are made to the item.

Negative or zero quantity on hand items

You can now decide whether to include or exclude quantity items in your stocktake that have zero stock on hand or negative amounts showing. New stocktake utilities settings can be found under Utilities>Stock>Stocktake, these settings will allow you to turn on or off negative quantity items from showing in your stocktake. Note you MUST enable or disable the setting BEFORE loading your stocktake, should you leave the negative items showing in your stocktake you can still exclude them from your missing stock report under Reports>Stock>Stocktake Listings.

Changing how the stocktake is displayed

Groupings allow you to group the stocktake visually by department, category, location or just on an individual item basis. By using groupings such as category or department you gain access to live progress bars that make it clear and easy to see how you are progressing with the stocktake. To change the stocktake grouping simply click on the grouping drop down menu and then select the relevant grouping, you can change this setting at any point during an open stocktake.

Stocktake tips and tricks

You can filter the stocktake by form type by making use of the filter box in the bottom left corner of the stocktake page. Simply type in the first letter of any form type to filter the relevant stocktake page by that form type. Example: Should you only want to display rings in your stocktake page simply type “r” without the quotations into the filter box.

Images are now displayed next to each stock item, to enlarge the image simply click on the image thumbnail to open the image pop up window.

Stock that was not present in the Swim system when a stocktake was started can be side loaded into the stocktake through the use of a barcode scanner. Stock that you have entered into Swim after a stocktake has begun will not appear in the open stocktake, to add these items simply scan the barcode of the newly created items and an exception will be created within the stocktake. Next click on the exceptions tab and next to the item you scanned click on the fix button, this will add the item to the stocktake and automatically mark the item as scanned. For quantity stock you can proceed to the scanned tab and update the quantity on hand as normal.

All stocktakes are now archived and stored in Swim for later viewing, this means you can go back and open up a previous stocktake at any point in time. Archiving also stores the stocktake reports, this allows you to print stocktake reports after a stocktake has been closed, no more missing reports!