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Inventory Counts

The Inventory Counts option is used to record how much of each raw item current in inventory on a specific business day. Accurate inventory counts are critical because they determine the actual usage of each raw item, which is then used to report raw item variance, and to determine the amount of product to order.

Inventory Count Form Overview

A labeled overview of the Inventory Counts utility.

1

Date

The business date of the inventory. The business date is not always the same as the calendar date. Make sure to select the correct business date for the inventory count, especially if performing the inventory count after 12 a.m. In this case, the business date is typically one day before the calendar date.

2

View

This filter displays only the inventory items marked to be inventoried as Daily, Weekly, or Period. Items inventoried Daily also appear on the Weekly or Period filters. The same is true for Weekly items showing with the Period filter applied.

3

Validate

Checks if the inventory counts added are significantly different from the expected on-hand amount. If there is a significant difference, the inventory item is highlighted. For significant differences, it is recommended to recount the inventory item in each location.

4

Location

The area in the site where inventory is located. Typical locations are Stock Room, Cooler, or Freezer. Locations are defined by a Xenial Back Office Administrator.

5

Inventory Item

Displays the item that is to be inventoried in this location. It is possible to determine which items show up in each location, and the sequence of the items, using the Inventory Count Settings form.

6

Packaging

Shows the different ways to count the inventory item in the selected location. Each inventory item allows up to 3 different packaging units. These typically represent the Order Unit (e.g. Case), the Inner Pack size (e.g. Sleeve), and the smallest counting unit (also called the Unit of Measure (UOM)). When taking an inventory, type the amount on hand for each counting unit, if any.

Packaging sizes are defined by the Xenial Back Office Administrator.

7

Count

The number of items in inventory at this inventory location in the packaging unit specified. Type full or partial amounts (e.g. .5 Case for half a Case). If there is no inventory for one of the packaging sizes, skip this item (leave it blank), or type a 0.

Things to Know

What happens if inventory counts are added for an incorrect date?

Selecting the correct business date for the inventory is essential in calculating actual usage. A common issue occurs when the manager adds the “calendar date” of an end-of-day inventory, instead of the business date. Make sure to add the business date of the inventory. If a count has been added for an incorrect date, change the date using the techniques outlined in Change Inventory Counts and save the inventory count.

Is it possible to remove inventory items from counts?

The best way to reduce the time it takes to record the inventory is to keep the inventory count form up to date. This means removing old items, and sequencing the inventory items by inventory location. To learn more, reference Inventory Count Settings.

Is it possible to add more than one inventory per day? What if mid-day counts appear at the end of the day?

Xenial Back Office only keeps one inventory count per day, but these counts can be updated for a second (or more) count. Adding a second count for the same day, is just updating the counts from the prior inventory. This new count replace the existing ending inventory amount with the updated quantity, if it changed.

There are only a few item on the inventory count form? How can the rest of the items be displayed? Is it possible to limit the full list of inventory items to view the Daily items only?

The items on the form are filtered by the “View” option. To see more items, change the view from Daily to Weekly or Period. To see fewer items, change the view to Daily.

How can an inventory item be added to the Daily Count form?

Each inventory item has a default inventory count frequency that is set by the Xenial Back Office administrator. Contact them and request a change to the inventory count frequency.

Some packaging units are missing (e.g. inner packs)? How can they be added?

Many inventory items have some sort of inner-pack inside a case. Using these to count inventory will make the inventory more accurate, and quicker to count. If there are missing packaging units, like an inner-pack, contact a supervisor or back office administrator.

Inventory Counts - Instructions

Step by step instructions for Inventory Counts are provided here:

Search Inventory Counts

Food Inventory Counts Search Criteria

  1. To search for a specific site, type the Store # or Store Name into the Search field.

  2. Select the box next to the target site(s) in the Store List. To select all sites in the Store List, select the box to the left of Store # at the top of the list.

  3. With the target site(s) selected, select the calendar icon in the date selector to choose a date range for the search.

  4. In the calendar popup, adjust dates as needed and select Apply.

    It is also possible to select Period/Week, Today, or Yesterday as the search date or date range. Once the desired date range is configured, select Apply.

  5. Select Search. Any records that match the Search Criteria will display in the utility to the right.

Add Inventory Counts (Take Inventory)

Food Inventory Count

  1. Select Add Inventory Count.

  2. Select the site.

  3. Select the date this inventory count was made, if different from the current date shown.

  4. Next to View, select Monthly (or Period), Weekly, or Daily. A list of inventory locations displays on the right and items for locations display on the left.

  5. Select the Location of the target inventory items.

  6. For each item, add the Count. Add counts for all inventory units (case, inners, UOM) for an item, such as Case, Bag, and Each. Type fractions as decimals. For example, type .5 for half a bag.

    Tips

    1. If a field has a zero quantity, either type a zero or leave the field blank.

      Xenial Back Office has an option that will estimate the on-hand value for inventory items that have blank values everywhere they are counted.

    2. Because premiums and other non-product items come in varying case counts, always add them in UOMs.

    3. The Validate button on the Inventory Count screen compares counted items to what is expected to be in stock, and helps to pinpoint amounts that fall outside an expected variance. To use this option, add a percentage value for inventory items through the Food option Inventory Count Reasonability Percentage. Contact Xenial Back Office Client Services to enable this option.

  7. After completing the entry for the Location listed, select the next Location to continue adding inventory counts.

  8. Select Save.

Change Inventory Counts

Food Inventory Count

  1. A list of sites and inventory dates displays. If the inventory count date needed is not listed, then follow this procedure:

    1. Select the site from the Search Criteria.

    2. Navigate to the Date Selector at the bottom of the Search Criteria.

    3. Select or add the needed date. If unaware of the exact date, add a date range.

    4. Select Search. A new list will display.

  2. Select the entry to change. Or, select the vertical ellipsis next to the entry and select Change.

  3. Make all necessary changes to the inventory counts. It is also possible to change the date and/or the View if either was incorrect.

  4. Select Save to save changes and exit or select Cancel to exit without saving any changes.

Delete Inventory Counts

Food Inventory Count

Use the Delete option to delete the entire inventory count for a site for a date. To delete only part of the counts, use the Change option and make deletions there.

  1. If the desired inventory count date is not listed, then follow this procedure:

    1. Select the site.

    2. Navigate to the Begin Date and End Date fields at the bottom left of the window.

    3. Select or add the needed date. If unsure of the exact date, add a date range.

    4. Select Search. A new list displays.

  2. Select the vertical ellipsis next to the desired date. Select Delete.

  3. The screen displays a confirmation popup asking if this is the Inventory Count to delete.

  4. Select Yes.

Inventory Count Cost Adjustment

Importante

If the "First In First Out" (FIFO) pricing method is enabled by the Xenial Back Office Administrator, the ability to adjust inventory item costs is only available for items with a specified cost of $0.00.

Permission to adjust inventory item costs is restricted in Security.

Food Inventory Count

To adjust the cost of counted inventory items:

  1. Search for the inventory count record (if necessary).

  2. To the right of the count record on the list, select the 3-dot menu.

  3. From the popup menu, select Cost to open the Inventory Count Cost Adjustment screen.

    • The associated store, inventory count date, and inventory count frequency are specified at the top of the screen. These values cannot be edited.

  4. Set the Show Zero Cost Items Only toggle to the desired option:

    • Yes - Only list items with a specified cost of $0.00.

    • No - List all items regardless of the specified cost.

  5. From the Cost dropdown, select the desired option:

    • Order Unit Cost - (default) Display the specified order unit cost for each listed item.

    • UOM Cost - Display the specified Unit of Measure (UOM) cost for each listed item.

  6. Adjust the Order Unit Cost or UOM Cost of each listed item as needed. The name of the editable cost column is determined by the selection from the Cost dropdown.

    • The respective packaging information for each item is displayed in the UOM / Case column.

  7. Select Save.

Inventory Count Settings

Food Inventory Count Settings

Use this utility to change the inventory form to accommodate new items, change locations of stored items, or change packaging measurements.

  1. Select the site.

  2. Under the Counted Items tab, inventory items are listed under each inventory location configured for this site.

    For each inventory location, select the inventory items in that location and how they should be counted: by Cases, Inners, or UOMs.

  3. Use the Additional Daily Items tab to create a customized site list of counted items. Select items that should be counted daily in the Item Description column and toggle the Count Item column to Yes.

  4. Select Save.

Copy Inventory Count Settings

After Inventory Count Settings have been saved, it is possible to copy them to other sites.

  1. Select Copy.

  2. Select the Destination Stores and/or Destination Store Groups.

  3. Select Copy again.

Inventory Count Settings (Short Form)

Food Purchases

If a purchase order is saved with an inventory item that does not have countable options configured in Inventory Count Settings, then a popup will appear asking if this inventory item should be setup to be counted. Select Yes to display an Inventory Count Settings screen for the inventory item.

  1. Inventory items that have been added to purchases that have not been configured for counting are listed under each inventory location configured for this site in the Inventory Count Settings screen.

  2. For each inventory item listed, select the location to count this item in its packaging: Cases, Inners, or UOMs.

  3. Select Save.

  4. The screen will return to the Purchases menu. It should now be possible to save a purchase that contains the item that was previously unconfigured. Because the new items now have locations and packaging count settings defined for them, they will no longer show a prompt to add those settings in the future.