How to Reduce Stock Losses Using POS Software
By Site admin ·
Stock loss, often called shrinkage, is the gap between the stock you should have and the stock you do. It comes from theft, errors, damage, expiry and unrecorded movements. A POS cannot stop every loss but it makes most of them visible.
Know where losses come from
- Process errors: deliveries not booked, items sold without scanning, wrong prices.
- Expiry and damage: goods that spoil before they sell.
- Internal theft: voids, discounts and returns used to hide removals.
- External theft: shoplifting.
Controls that help
- Receive every delivery in the system against a purchase order.
- Restrict sensitive actions: only authorised roles can discount, void, change prices or adjust stock. See employee management.
- Review the audit log for patterns, such as one cashier with many voids.
- Use shifts so cash differences point to a cashier and a time.
- Watch expiry and discount or return short-dated stock early.
- Count regularly by section and compare to the system. Investigate differences with the movement history before adjusting.
Make adjustments accountable
Every adjustment should have a reason and a user. That discourages quietly writing losses off.
Measure it
Track the value of adjustments and write-offs month by month. If it rises, look at the movements for the products and users involved.
Read about stock movements and adjustments and inventory management.
See it in practice
BluNext POS is built in Kenya by BluChip Solutions. Request a demo or talk to our team about your business.