Shop guide

The stock record and the shelf count.

Understand the difference before you correct a quantity.

Tharasu AI · Shop guide

Recorded stock is the quantity in your records. Physical stock is what you count in the shop at a particular time. They can differ, even when the screen displays a precise number. Keep the item, unit and count time clear before comparing them.

A quantity is only as useful as its starting point

If you began with a checked count, then recorded incoming goods and outgoing sales, the remaining quantity has a useful basis. If the opening quantity was never entered, a blank or unknown value should not be read as zero.

A zero can mean a genuinely empty shelf. In some systems it can also be a limit on the stored value. Ask what the number means in the system you use.

Compare the same item in the same unit

Check the product variant, pack size and unit. A box, a packet and a single piece are not interchangeable. For goods measured by weight or volume, use the same unit in the count and the record.

Pause or note sales and deliveries during the count. Otherwise you may compare a shelf count from one moment with a record from another.

Work through a mismatch before overwriting it

1. Count the item again and check nearby storage locations.
2. Confirm the starting quantity and unit used in the record.
3. Check whether incoming goods were recorded once, with the right quantity.
4. Check the saved sales, including whether a bill is still a draft or was confirmed.
5. Look for unrecorded returns, damage or other movements that your process needs to handle.
6. Keep a note of the difference and its explanation before an authorised person corrects the record.

A mismatch is a reason to investigate. The number alone does not establish theft, a particular error or who caused it. Do not erase the history merely to make the figures look equal.

Know the limits of the tool

Some tools maintain a detailed movement history; others keep a current quantity with a narrower set of changes. Ask which operations are recorded and which need a separate process. Do not assume supplier management, costing, returns or physical verification from a stock number alone.

Read the receiving and recorded-stock explanation for the product-specific scope. This guide does not certify a physical count or provide a stock audit.

Keep the next check practical

Choose one item with a clear unit and a checked starting count. Follow its incoming goods and confirmed sales, then compare the record with the shelf at a known time. Expand the routine only after the people using it understand what each figure means.

Editorial sources and scope

Shopify’s stock-count documentation distinguishes a physical count from the on-hand record. This supports the general distinction; Shopify’s product functions are not Tharasu AI capabilities.