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Stock Counts

Stock Counts make it easy to verify your inventory and keep quantities accurate, all directly in Sortly. With role-based permissions and real-time syncing across web and mobile, you can run a full audit or a quick cycle count without spreadsheets or manual errors.

Ultra
Premium
Enterprise

What are Stock Counts?

Stock Counts allow you to physically verify your inventory quantities directly in Sortly. With this feature, you can:

  • Create a new stock count and assign it to specific team members
  • Count and track quantities in real time across web and mobile
  • Compare expected vs. actual quantities and resolve discrepancies
  • Move stock counts through clear stages: Draft, then Ready to Count, then In Progress, then In Review, then Complete (or Voided)
  • Export detailed stock count reports for audits or offline use

Stock Counts make inventory verification simple, traceable, and collaborative, all within Sortly.

How to access Stock Counts

You can find Stock Counts in the Workflows tab on the web app or in the Sortly mobile app.

Stock Counts in the Workflows tab
💡 Only Owners, Admins, and Team Members on Ultra, Premium, and Enterprise plans can access Stock Counts. Limited Access users are excluded.

How to create a Stock Count

  1. 1Go to Workflows, then Stock Counts

  2. 2Click New Stock Count

    Creating a New Stock Count

  3. 3Enter a Stock Count name and optional due date

  4. 4Assign the count to a specific user or to "Everyone"

    Naming and assigning a Stock Count

  5. 5Click Create to save your draft. Once created, you can start adding items to your stock count

How to add and manage items

  1. 1Search to add items to the Stock Count. You can also enable Scanning Mode on the web app to scan to add

    Adding items to a Stock Count

  2. 2Click Save and your Stock Count will be in the Ready to Count status

Add multiple items to a Stock Count at once

You can add many items to a Stock Count simultaneously in several ways: from the Bulk Add Items option, from a Folder, or via Advanced Search.

Bulk Add Items

  1. 1Choose the Bulk Add Items option on the Stock Count creation page

    Bulk Add Items on the Stock Count creation page

  2. 2Select the items you want to add to the Stock Count

    Selecting items to add to a Stock Count

Via Advanced Search

  1. 1Navigate to Advanced Search and apply any needed filters to narrow down your items

  2. 2Click Apply Filters

  3. 3Use the bulk-select checkboxes to choose all the items you want to add

    Bulk-selecting items in Advanced Search

  4. 4In the bulk-edit bar, click Add To, then Stock Count

  5. 5Choose the quantity you want to add for each item and click Next

  6. 6Select whether to create a New Stock Count or add the items to an Existing Stock Count

  7. 7Confirm your choice, and the items are added

    Confirming items added to a Stock Count from Advanced Search

Via a Folder

  1. 1Go to the desired Folder in your inventory

  2. 2Follow the same process as the Advanced Search steps above

    Adding items to a Stock Count from a folder
💡 Edits and removals can be made while the count is in Draft, Ready to Count, or In Progress status. Items already counted or locked in review cannot be removed.
⚠️ If an item's quantity or unit of measure changes during a count, Sortly will flag the change and prompt you to review it before proceeding.

How to perform a Stock Count

  1. 1Open the Stock Count you created

  2. 2Select Ready to Count, then Start Counting

    Starting a count

  3. 3Start counting and enter actual quantities

    Entering actual quantities

  4. 4Sortly automatically compares expected vs. counted quantities. Save progress at any time. Counts sync in real time across web and mobile, and can be done collaboratively if assigned to multiple users

  5. 5Once counted, the stock count will be in the Submit for Review status

    Stock Count ready to submit for review

  6. 6If you need to resume the count, click Resume Count and continue

  7. 7Once fully counted, click Submit for Review. Doing this will lock your entries and mark this stock count as ready for review

    Submitting a Stock Count for review

How to review discrepancies

When the count status changes to In Review, Sortly calculates and displays all discrepancies.

Discrepancies shown in review
  • Net discrepancy shows overall variance (for example, +5 and -3 equals -2)
  • Absolute discrepancy totals all variances (for example, 5 + 3 equals 8 units off)

Only Owners, Admins, or Creators can resolve discrepancies or update final quantities. Once reviewed, you can mark the stock count as Complete or Voided.

If your Stock Count contains discrepancies, you'll need to resolve them before completing the count. Any items with unresolved discrepancies will not have their quantities updated.

To resolve discrepancies

  1. 1Click Update Quantity next to the item with the discrepancy found

    Update Quantity next to a discrepancy

  2. 2Review the changes and click Update Quantity

    Reviewing and confirming the updated quantity

  3. 3Once the discrepancy is resolved, you'll see Resolved next to the line item on the Stock Count

    A resolved discrepancy line item

  4. 4When all discrepancies are resolved, you can click Complete Count

⚠️ Once a Stock Count is completed, it can't be edited or updated.

How to complete or reuse a Stock Count

When a stock count is marked Complete, it becomes locked for edits. From there, you can:

  • Export your stock count as a PDF at any stage (Draft, In Progress, Complete)
  • Clone a stock count to reuse for recurring counts
  • View or share completed counts for audit purposes

Roles and permissions

Action
Owner
Admin
Team Member
Custom Role
Limited Access
Create
Yes
Yes
Yes
Depends
No
Assign
Yes
Yes
No
Depends
No
Add / Remove Items
Yes
Yes
If assigned
Depends
No
Perform Count
Yes
Yes
If assigned
Depends
No
Recount
Yes
Yes
If assigned
Depends
No
Edit After Completed
No
No
No
No
No
Export
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Void / Delete
Yes
Yes
No
Depends
No
Clone
Yes
Yes
Yes
Depends
No
Resolve Discrepancy
Yes
Yes
No
Depends
No

Depends means the action is available to Custom Role users only if their role permissions allow it. If assigned means a Team Member can perform the action only on counts they are assigned to.

Stock Counts on mobile

Follow these steps to create and complete a Stock Count from the Sortly mobile app.

How to create a new Stock Count

  1. 1In the mobile app, go to Workflows, then Stock Counts. Tap New Stock Count

    Opening Stock Counts on mobile
    Tapping New Stock Count on mobile

  2. 2Enter a name for your Stock Count. Tap Next

    Naming a Stock Count on mobile
    Continuing after naming a Stock Count on mobile

How to add and manage items

  1. 1Tap Add Items

    Add Items on mobile

  2. 2Add items by Searching, Scanning, or using Add to Stock Count. After adding items, tap Done. You can remove or add items by going into Manage Items, as long as the count is in Draft, Ready to Count, or In Progress. Items already counted or locked in review cannot be removed

    Managing items on mobile

Scan to Count

With Scan to Count, you can scan an item and directly enter or confirm its count by scanning a linked QR code or barcode, without needing to navigate the list manually.

To enable Scan to Count

  1. 1Navigate to your Stock Count

  2. 2Tap the gear icon in the top left corner

  3. 3Tap Scan to Count

  4. 4Toggle ON and tap Save

    Enabling Scan to Count, step 1
    Enabling Scan to Count, step 2

Once enabled, you can scan repeatedly to increase the count quantity.

Start counting items

  1. 1In the mobile app, tap Workflows, then Stock Counts

  2. 2Select the Stock Count you're ready to count

    Selecting a Stock Count to count

  3. 3Tap Ready to Count to begin

    Tapping Ready to Count

  4. 4Tap the red Barcode icon on the bottom right of the screen

  5. 5Scan the item barcode you would like to start counting

  6. 6After scanning, the item appears at the bottom of the screen, where you can either count quantities manually or continue scanning to increment the count quantity automatically

    Scanned item appears for counting
    Incrementing the count by scanning

  7. 7Once scanning is complete, tap Confirm & Count

    Confirm and Count

  8. 8Continue the above process until all items have been counted

  9. 9When all items have been counted, tap Complete

Manually count items

  1. 1From the Stock Count screen, tap Ready to Count. Assign the count to a team member (or "Everyone") and optionally set a Due Date. Tap Ready to Count again to begin the count

    Ready to Count screen on mobile
    Assigning and starting a count on mobile

  2. 2Once all items are counted, tap Submit for Review. This locks the entries and moves the count into review status

    Submit for Review on mobile
⚠️ Once you Submit for Review, your Stock Count will lock in your entries.
Stock Count entries locked after review

How to resolve discrepancies

  1. 1If you notice any discrepancies, you can tap an item to either Recount or Update Quantity

    Recount or Update Quantity on mobile
    Resolving a discrepancy on mobile

  2. 2If you're sure the posted count was correct but it doesn't match the system, perform an Inventory Count Adjustment and optionally add Transaction Notes to explain why the count was adjusted

    Inventory Count Adjustment on mobile

  3. 3If counted quantity matches the system quantity, the item displays Count Matched status

    Count Matched status, view 1
    Count Matched status, view 2

How to complete the Stock Count

Once all discrepancies are resolved, mark the Stock Count as Complete.

Completing a Stock Count on mobile
⚠️ After the count is marked complete, further edits are not allowed.
Stock Count completion confirmation on mobile

Frequently Asked Questions

Setup & access

Who can create a stock count?
Stock Counts are available on Ultra, Premium, and Enterprise plans. All users can create a Stock Count, except those with Limited Access permissions (Enterprise only).
Can I assign a stock count to multiple users?
Yes. You can assign a count to "Everyone" or to a specific user.
Can I perform counts on mobile?
Yes. Stock Counts are fully functional across web and mobile.
Can Limited Access users participate in Stock Counts?
Limited Access users (Enterprise only) cannot view, create, or participate in Stock Counts.

Managing items

Can I add items from multiple folders?
Yes, bulk add supports items across multiple folders.
Is there a limit to how many items I can count?
Yes, each stock count can include up to 250 line items.
Can I remove an item once added?
Yes, if it hasn't been counted and the stock count is not yet completed.
Will I be notified when the status of a Stock Count changes?

Yes. You'll receive an email notification in real time when the status changes, if you're assigned to the Stock Count or are an Owner on the account.

Status change notification example 1
Status change notification example 2
Status change notification example 3

Discrepancy handling & review

When do discrepancies appear?
During the In Review stage only, ensuring all data syncs properly. When the Stock Count is In Review, only Owners, Admins, or Creators can update the count.
Who can resolve discrepancies?
Owners, Admins, or Creators.
Do I have to update quantities to complete a count?
No, but doing so ensures accuracy and audit readiness.

Completion & reuse

Can I clone or reuse a stock count?
Yes, cloning allows you to repeat counts for the same area or items.
Can I export my stock count?
Yes, export as a PDF at any stage.
What happens after I complete a stock count?
The count is locked from edits but remains viewable and exportable.