Stocktaking – more important than you think?

2 mins

Tedious, time-consuming and frustrating. These are the words that go through most peoples minds when it’s time for a stocktake. But along with closing a financial year, doing an inventory is an essential annual activity.

Taking Stock

By counting your inventory, you get a picture of the total value of the stock your practice holds. Your accountant will need this value for the annual accounts. It also provides a good view of the financial health of your veterinary practice. 

Key reasons why you should do a stocktake:

1. Because you’d like to get an insight into what products you have in your practice:
   • Do you have the right number of products?
   • Do you have unsold products?
   • Do you have expired products?
2. Is the financial value of your stock (and therefore practice) correct?
   • Your auditor will need this value for your accounts.
   • Are the stock figures held in Animana reliable?
   • You want to start the new year with a clean account.

Tips for a smooth stocktake:

1. Count the stock at a quiet time.
   • Finding a quiet moment in your practice might be a challenge, but being disturbed by customers or other activities can lead to errors in stock counting.
2. Count the stock by product group.
   • By counting the stock per product group, differences are usually easier to spot and to adjust in Animana.
3. Find your ‘system’.
   • Should one person do the count or several? You may find someone to volunteer, and it can be wise to have one person responsible – distraction-free. On the other hand, if everyone puts their hands to the wheel, the job will be done quickly.
4. What works for your practice?
   • Make it as easy as possible for yourself! Animana works on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. Stock lists can be printed for manual checks, but it saves time if you immediately update the stock live in your Animana account.
5. Ask your suppliers for help.
   • Ask suppliers if they can provide stock lists or overviews of your orders – this can help as a comparison.

Also interesting

If you would like to get started with your stocktake right away, please read more on our extensive Knowledge-base:

• How do I determine the value of my stock?
• How do I perform an inventory of the stock at the end of the book year?