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How to stop stock from disappearing
Missing stock is rarely one big theft. It is small leaks: unrecorded sales, damage and miscounts. Here is how to find and fix them.

When the shelf says 8 and your book says 12, the gap is money. Most of the time it is not theft: it is records that did not keep up.
Where stock usually goes
- Unrecorded sales on busy days.
- Damage and expiry nobody wrote down.
- Miscounts at delivery.
- Theft, less often than people think.
A simple weekly routine
- Pick your 10 fastest sellers.
- Count them at the same time each week.
- Record any difference as an adjustment with a reason.
- Look for the same product appearing again and again.
| Item | Counted | Expected | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice 5kg | 12 | 14 | -2 |
| Peak Milk tin | 40 | 40 | 0 |
| Indomie carton | 6 | 7 | -1 |


Frequently asked questions
How often should I count stock?
Count fast sellers weekly and everything else at least once a month.
Writes Zuru’s guides and spends her Saturdays in markets asking shop owners what slows them down.
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