Few things lose a customer faster than taking their money and then saying the item is finished. On the other side, stock that sits unsold for months is cash you cannot use. Stock control, also called inventory management, keeps you in the middle: enough of what sells, not too much of what does not. It is one of the most common requirements in Ghanaian shop and sales adverts, often alongside cash handling and stock reconciliation.
The stock record
A stock record tracks each product with a few numbers:
- Opening stock: how many you had at the start.
- Stock in: how many you received or made.
- Stock out: how many you sold, gave away, or lost to damage.
- Closing stock: what should be left. Opening stock plus stock in, minus stock out.
You can keep this in a notebook or a simple spreadsheet with one row per product.
Count and compare
Your record tells you what should be there. A physical count tells you what is actually there. Comparing the two is called reconciliation. If the numbers do not match, find out why: a sale you forgot to record, a damaged item, a mistake, or theft. Count often enough to catch problems early. Many small sellers count their fast moving items every week.
Know when to reorder
For each product, decide a : the number at which you order more. Base it on how fast the item sells and how long your supplier takes. If you sell about ten tubs a week and new stock takes a week to arrive, reorder when you have about ten or a few more left, so you never run out while waiting.