# Cycle count sheet

> Count a section of stock properly without closing the shop.

- Source: https://storestandards.com/tools/cycle-count-sheet/
- Kind: Printable template
- Updated: 2026-08-15
- Author: Freya Lindqvist, Engineer, Store Standards

- Download (A4): https://storestandards.com/templates/cycle-count-sheet-a4.pdf
- Download (US Letter): https://storestandards.com/templates/cycle-count-sheet-letter.pdf

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## What is on the sheet

One page, twenty lines, and a column order that matters.

The top holds the date, the section or bin, and who counted. Then twenty
lines with SKU, description, a wide box for the counted figure, a box for the
system figure and a box for the difference.

The counted column comes before the system column on purpose. Fill the system
figure in afterwards, from Shopify, once the counting is done.

## Count blind

A counter who can see the expected number will find the expected number. Not
dishonestly, just because 47 and 48 look alike when you already know which
one you are looking for.

So the sheet has no system figures printed on it. You count what is there,
write it down, and only then compare. It is a small thing and it changes the
answer more than anything else on this page.

Note the time you counted next to the section. If something sells while you
are working, the timestamp turns an argument into an explanation.

## What to count, and how often

Frequency follows value and speed, not the alphabet.

Count your twenty fastest sellers every week. Count high value lines monthly.
Work through everything else over the year, a section at a time. Done that
way, [cycle counting](https://storestandards.com/glossary/cycle-counting/) replaces the annual
[stocktake](https://storestandards.com/glossary/stocktake/) entirely, and it finds problems while they
are still fixable.

A bin or shelf is the right size for one sheet. Counting by
[bin location](https://storestandards.com/glossary/bin-location/) rather than by product means you count
what is in front of you rather than walking the shop for each line.

## After the count

Put the differences through the
[stock accuracy scorecard](https://storestandards.com/tools/stock-accuracy-scorecard/) to see how the
section rates. If you want the gap in money, the
[shrinkage calculator](https://storestandards.com/tools/shrinkage-calculator/) will give you that.

Then find the cause before you adjust. An adjustment with no reason next to it
is the same error waiting to happen again next month.

## Questions

**What is cycle counting?**

Counting a small part of your stock often, instead of counting all of it once a year. It finds errors while somebody can still remember what caused them, and it does not need the shop shut.

**Why is the system figure column blank?**

Because you should fill it in after counting, not before. A counter who can see the expected number tends to find it. Counting blind is the only way to get an honest figure.

**What should I count and how often?**

Your twenty fastest sellers every week, your high value lines every month, and everything else across the year. Value and speed decide the frequency, not the alphabet.

**Do I need to stop selling while I count?**

No, and that is the point. Count a section that is not being picked, and note the time you counted so any sale in between can be explained rather than argued about.

**What do I do with the differences?**

Adjust the stock, then find the cause. An adjustment with no reason written next to it is a number that will be wrong again next month for exactly the same reason.