Freezing and checking the book stock from 1C at the cut-off time

A count is only as meaningful as the figure it is compared with. Anyone who pulls the book stock from 1C days later is comparing the warehouse of Saturday with a stock of Wednesday. In between, goods receipts have been posted, issues recorded late and documents back-dated. The book stock at the cut-off time must therefore be frozen: as a file with date and time that does not change afterwards. This article shows how to do it and how to check the extract. Report names and fields differ depending on the 1C configuration; your 1C administrator knows the right reports.

Why freeze it?

In the system the stock changes all the time, and not only through new movements. Documents with an old date that are posted later also change the stock at the cut-off time retroactively. An example: a goods receipt from Friday is not posted until Monday, but with the Friday date. The report "stock on Friday, 18:00" shows a different figure on Saturday than on Tuesday. Without a frozen file you will no longer know later which figure the count was compared with.

When to take the extract

• After the document cut-off: all goods receipts, issues and transfers up to the cut-off time are recorded and posted. In 1C only posted documents affect the stock; drafts do not count.
• At the agreed cut-off time: date and hour are stated in the count instructions and in the report parameters.
• Before the count starts, so that the extract cannot be "improved" afterwards.
• If possible with a lock on changes for the period up to the cut-off time. Ask your administrator whether and how it can be set up.

What the extract must contain

• Item number and description, as kept on the rack.
• Unit of measure, so that carton and piece are not mixed up.
• Warehouse and, where kept, bin location.
• Batch and expiry date for the relevant goods.
• Quantity per line. The value is useful for the analysis but does not go to the count teams.
• A header with report name, cut-off time, author and time of creation, ideally supplemented by a screenshot of the report settings.

Blocked stock, consignment goods, goods in transit and third-party goods should be shown separately and not hide in the free stock.

Plausibility check in six steps

1. Negative stock: these are posting errors and are listed.
2. Units: do piece, carton and pallet fit the master data?
3. Duplicate item numbers, or the same item under two numbers.
4. Zero stock with movements in the recent period: there is often goods lying there after all.
5. Arithmetic check: opening stock plus receipts minus issues gives the closing stock.
6. Total comparison: does the total value agree with the account in the general ledger? Accounting clears any deviations.

A fictional example: an extract has 4,215 lines. The check finds 37 negative stock levels, 12 conspicuous units and 9 duplicate item numbers, together 58 lines or about 1.4 per cent (37 + 12 + 9 = 58; 58 ÷ 4,215 ≈ 0.014). These 58 lines are cleared before the count or marked as known anomalies. Otherwise they turn up later in the difference list as apparent counting errors.

Filing and evidence

Save the file write-protected in the project folder, with a fixed name made up of the cut-off date and time. A copy goes to controlling, and the file details are stated in the inventory record. Later report runs never overwrite the file. Whoever has to show later how the extract came about needs only three things: the file, the report settings and the name of the person who created it.

In short

A frozen, checked book stock is the fixed point against which every difference can be measured. AuditMaster reconciles the counted quantities with an extract from 1C or your ERP system. As a rule one file at the cut-off time is enough; we do not normally need direct access to your system.