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Inventory, explained
Practical guides on stock, purchasing and valuation, from the team that builds StockBold.
LatestStock control12 October 2026 · 4 min read
ABC analysis: give each product the attention its value deserves
A few products hold most of your stock value. ABC analysis sorts them into three classes so you can set different reorder rules, count frequencies and buffers for each.
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Stock control
ABC analysis: give each product the attention its value deserves
A few products hold most of your stock value. ABC analysis sorts them into three classes so you can set different reorder rules, count frequencies and buffers for each.
Warehouse
Barcodes for your warehouse: which kind, when to print your own, and why a phone is enough
Barcodes stop typing errors as they happen. The difference between EAN, UPC and your own codes, when you need GS1 numbers, how to print labels, and scanning with a phone.
Production
Bill of materials for a small workshop: from a parts list to a costed finished product
A bill of materials is the recipe for a product you assemble. How to write one, what it does to component stock, how to cost the finished item, and the mistakes to avoid.
Warehouse
Shelf positions and bin locations: organise a warehouse so anyone can find anything
Knowing a product is in the warehouse is not the same as knowing where. How to code shelves, decide which products to track by position, and keep the positions true.
Stock control
Cycle counting vs the annual stocktake: keeping stock accurate without closing
A yearly count finds errors months after they happen. Cycle counting finds them in weeks. How each works, how to plan a counting rhythm, and how to post the differences.
Stock control
Dead stock: how to find it, what it costs you and how to clear it
Stock that has not moved in months is cash you cannot spend. How to spot dead stock early with age and turnover, work out what it costs, and six ways to get rid of it.
Purchasing
Economic order quantity: the formula, a worked example, and when to ignore it
Order often and pay for every order, or rarely and pay to hold stock. How to calculate the EOQ, turn it into cover days, and when minimum orders make it pointless.
Warehouse
Receiving goods: a checklist for deliveries, shortages and faulty stock
Most stock errors are born at the receiving door. How to check a delivery against its order, record partial and over deliveries, and claim faulty goods from the supplier.
Stock control
Inventory accuracy and shrinkage: how to measure them and the controls that work
Stock records drift from reality a little every day. How to measure accuracy and shrinkage, where the losses come from, and the five controls that stop most of them.
Costs and valuation
Inventory carrying cost: the formula, a worked example and how to lower it
Holding stock costs 20% to 30% of its value a year, in capital, space, handling and lost value. How to work out your own rate and use it to decide how much to order.
Stock control
Eight inventory KPIs that matter when you hold fewer than 5,000 products
Most KPI lists are written for retailers with a thousand stores. The eight figures a company with one or a few warehouses should track, with formulas and frequency.
Stock control
Inventory turnover: how to calculate it and what a good number looks like
Inventory turnover is how many times a year your stock is used up and replaced. The formula, a worked example, days of inventory, and what to do about a slow product.
Production
Kits and bundles: how many can you build, and what it does to component stock
A kit is a product made of other products. How many you can assemble today, when the components should leave stock, and how to stop a kit hiding a shortage.
Stock control
Min-max inventory: setting a minimum and a maximum for every product
The simplest replenishment rule that still works: order at the minimum, order up to the maximum. How to set both numbers from usage and lead time, with a worked example.
Warehouse
Multi-location inventory: tracking stock across a warehouse, a shop and a van
The second location is where spreadsheets break. How to keep a quantity per site, record transfers so totals never drift, and decide which location each order ships to.
Warehouse
Product codes and SKU naming: rules that still work at 10,000 products
A product code is read by people, scanners and imports for years. Rules for codes that stay unique and sortable, with examples, and the mistakes that cost most later.
Purchasing
The purchase order process: from a need to a paid invoice, step by step
A purchase order is a promise to pay. Seven steps from raising it to paying it, who should do each one, and the controls that stop duplicate orders and wrong invoices.
Stock control
Eight signs you have outgrown your inventory spreadsheet, and how to move without losing data
A spreadsheet runs stock well until it does not. The signs it has stopped working, what to clean before moving, and how a CSV import carries products and opening stock.
Comparisons
StockBold vs Cin7 Core: a full order-to-cash suite or a focused stock system
Cin7 Core runs sales, warehouse, manufacturing and accounting links for mid-sized operations. StockBold covers stock and buying only. Where each one is stronger.
Comparisons
StockBold vs inFlow Inventory: purchasing control or order management
inFlow runs sales, invoicing and online shops as well as stock. StockBold stops at the warehouse and goes deeper there. Where each one is stronger, feature by feature.
Comparisons
StockBold vs Katana: assembling products or running a factory
Katana is a manufacturing system with inventory attached. StockBold is an inventory system with assemblies built in. Where each one is stronger, feature by feature.
Comparisons
StockBold vs Sortly: when a photo-and-folder tracker stops being enough
Sortly is quick to start and easy to like. StockBold does less with photos and far more with costs, suppliers and valuation. Where each one fits, feature by feature.
Comparisons
StockBold vs Zoho Inventory: depth in the warehouse or breadth across channels
Zoho Inventory sells through more channels than almost anything. StockBold does less selling and more buying, valuing and controlling. Where each one is stronger.
Purchasing
Supplier lead time: how to measure it from your own orders and shorten it
Lead time decides when you reorder and how much buffer you hold. How to measure the real figure from your own orders, use the average and the spread, and shorten it.
Purchasing
Forecasting supplier payments from your purchase orders
Ordered stock is committed cash. How payment terms turn orders into due dates, how to forecast by supplier and month, and how to keep firm figures apart from estimates.
Stock control
Who should see what: permissions for a stock system that more than one person uses
Once two people share a stock system, who can do what becomes a control. The four separations worth keeping, who needs to see values, and how to set roles.
Costs and valuation
Year-end inventory: a checklist for the count, the valuation and closing the year
The stock figure in your accounts depends on a few weeks of preparation. What to clear before the count, how to count and value on the right date, how to lock the year.
Costs and valuation
FIFO, LIFO or average cost: how each one values your stock
The same purchases give three different stock values depending on the costing method. One worked example shows why, and what to consider before you choose.
Purchasing
How to set a reorder point: lead time, safety stock and cover days
When to reorder and how much to order come down to three numbers. The formulas, one worked example, and how to choose each number for your products.
Costs and valuation
Landed cost: what a unit really costs once it reaches your shelf
The supplier's price is only part of what stock costs you. How to add freight, duty and insurance to each unit, and why the way you split them matters.
StockBold compared
Feature-by-feature comparisons with the tools people look at next to us, including where each one is stronger.
- vsCin7 CoreA full order-to-cash suite or a focused stock systemCin7 Core runs sales, warehouse, manufacturing and accounting links for mid-sized operations. StockBold covers stock and buying only. Where each one is stronger.
- vsinFlow InventoryPurchasing control or order managementinFlow runs sales, invoicing and online shops as well as stock. StockBold stops at the warehouse and goes deeper there. Where each one is stronger, feature by feature.
- vsKatanaAssembling products or running a factoryKatana is a manufacturing system with inventory attached. StockBold is an inventory system with assemblies built in. Where each one is stronger, feature by feature.
- vsSortlyWhen a photo-and-folder tracker stops being enoughSortly is quick to start and easy to like. StockBold does less with photos and far more with costs, suppliers and valuation. Where each one fits, feature by feature.
- vsZoho InventoryDepth in the warehouse or breadth across channelsZoho Inventory sells through more channels than almost anything. StockBold does less selling and more buying, valuing and controlling. Where each one is stronger.
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