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Counting Inventory (2 of 3) Entering Your Counts and Finalizing

Creation date: 7/22/2026 4:52 PM    Updated: 7/27/2026 8:47 AM   counting inventory entering counts finalize inventory oc pro optimum control summarize
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Optimum Control · Counting Inventory · Part 2 of 3
Entering Your Counts and Finalizing
Where the numbers go in and the inventory gets locked.
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This works the same whether you're typing counts in from a paper sheet or entering them directly on a laptop as you walk the shelves. It covers entering counts, the three count columns, summarizing, and finalizing.
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The golden rule: count what's actually there
The fastest bad habit in inventory is copying last period's numbers because "it's about the same." It isn't — and one invented count poisons two periods at once (this period's closing and the next period's opening). If a number goes on the sheet, it's because someone physically counted it just now. And on an All-Items count, a blank becomes a zero, not an "unknown" — go count it rather than leaving it.
⌨️  Entering your counts
1
Click Count Inventory on the main toolbar and open your inventory.
2
Choose the same View (Sort By) you counted in — Location, Group, Category, or Custom.
3
Type your counts into the right columns (explained below).
💡 Two keys make this much faster:Enter moves down to the next item; Tab moves across to the next count unit for the same item.
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Save before you step away
Don't leave hard-won counts sitting unsaved on an open screen at a shared workstation. Counting on a laptop as you walk? Save each time you finish an area — Wi-Fi can drop in walk-ins and back corners, and a lost connection with unsaved counts means recounting.
📊  The three count columns
Each item has up to three columns, because you might have a full case, part of a case, and loose units all at once:
Purchase Unit
The whole pack size you buy it in (e.g. a full case).
Count Unit (Split Unit)
The split-case unit (e.g. individual bottles out of the case). This is the column most people use most of the time.
Pak Unit
The pack unit within the pack size.
Partial amounts are fine and expected. Enter 1.75 bottles, 0.5 box, and so on. Don't round to whole numbers — that's a common source of variance.
💡 Counting preps (batch recipes)? They show up in whatever location you assigned them, and their columns work differently: batch unit in Purchase Unit, batch yield in Split/Case, recipe unit in Pak. Check which column you're in before typing.
✅  Summarize the count
1
Click Summarize Counts on the inventory toolbar.
2
The system converts and values everything into each item's reporting units.
3
The Inventory Summary appears for you to review.
💡 Actually review this screen. It's your last easy chance to catch a fat-fingered number. Anything wildly high or low in value is usually a decimal in the wrong place or a count in the wrong column.
🔒  Finalize the inventory
Once the summary looks right, click Finalize.
Finalizing locks the count in and makes it available to reports. Until an inventory is finalized, it isn't complete — on the Inventory Calendar, dates showing no value haven't been finalized.
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Finalize before you run reports
Reporting on an unfinalized count gives you numbers you can't trust.
🧾  Want a record of what you counted?
After entering and saving, you can print a Worksheet (Print → Worksheet) — your counts plus an approximate valuation. A useful sanity check for spotting something absurd, like thousands of dollars of one item in a single location.
The worksheet is a quick check, not your final numbers. For real inventory values, use the inventory reports or the Usage Summary in the Reporting window.
➡️ Next: Made a mistake? You can still fix a finalized count — see Counting Inventory (3 of 3) — Fixing a Count After It's Finalized.
🆘  If something goes wrong
Program problem — errors, crashes, failed saves, a report that won't run → TracRite support at Support@tracrite.net (they know their software best).
"How do I / why does my data look like this?" — missing items, vendors, recipes, or numbers that look off → your F&B manager or executive chef. These are operational questions, not software faults.
Hardware, network, a lost license, or OC missing from a workstation → that's the short list Argus IT handles.
See Optimum Control — Common Issues and How to Get Help (KB-210001) for the full "who to contact for what" breakdown before reaching out.
ArgusIT KB# 210004 · Tags: optimum control · oc pro · inventory · entering counts · summarize · finalize
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