Counting Inventory (1 of 3) Creating and Printing Your Count Sheets

This is the first step of doing an inventory: creating the count sheet. You can count straight into the screen from a laptop as you walk, or print the sheet and count on paper — both are covered below. Entering and finalizing counts is covered in Part 2. Tip: counting goes much faster if your storage locations are set up correctly, because the sheet can be sorted to match the order you actually walk the room.

Count at a consistent time that matches the inventory date

A closing inventory is the stock at close of business — so count after close (or before opening the next morning), not in the middle of service, and not while a delivery is being put away. Counts taken at random times can't be compared period to period.

1

Click Count Inventory on the main toolbar.

2

The Inventory Calendar opens, showing previous inventories. Click New.

3

The Create Inventory Wizard asks a few questions — answer them as below.

4

Click Finish. Your count sheet appears, ready to go.

"On which date should this inventory be recorded?"

The date this count applies to. Unless it's your very first inventory, this is a closing inventory — stock at close of business. Don't worry too much: the date can be changed afterwards.

"Are multiple count sheets required?"

Leave as No for a normal count. Only tick it if you're splitting the inventory into pieces (different people counting different areas). Each sheet then has to be summarized separately.

"What kind of inventory count is this?"

Five options:
• All Items — everything tracked. Anything left blank counts as zero, so you must count it all.
• Key Items — just your key list (a top 30, top 100…). Anything not on the sheet is calculated from sales and purchases instead.
• Category — one or more categories (Food, Beer…).
• Group — one or more groups (Meats, Produce…).
• Hot List — a short list you've built to watch problem items.

Be careful with "All Items"

Every item on that sheet needs a number. Anything you skip is recorded as zero, not "unknown" — and a false zero throws your variance right off.

Count directly on screen (common here)

Take the licensed laptop with you and type counts straight into the open sheet as you walk. No copying numbers from paper later — one less place for a typo. The laptop must be a licensed Optimum Control workstation on the Resort corporate network (corporate Wi-Fi is fine; guest Wi-Fi will not work). Save often as you move between areas — Wi-Fi gets weak in walk-ins, and unsaved counts on a dropped connection are counts you do again.

Count on paper, then enter

Print the sheet (below), walk the shelves with a pen, then type the counts in at the workstation. Perfectly fine — just make sure whoever types it in can read the handwriting, and enter promptly so stock doesn't move in between.

1

With the inventory open, choose your View (Sort By).

2

Click Print on the inventory toolbar.

3

Choose a print option: Count Sheet (Current Grouping) — just what's on screen now — or Count Sheet (All Groupings) — the complete sheet.

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.