Writing the count instructions: ten points that must be included

On count day everyone asks the same question: "What exactly did we agree?" Verbal agreements hold until the first special case, and then every team has its own answer. Written count instructions replace those agreements with a single document that everybody knows and to which the record and the auditor later refer. It does not have to be long. For a mid-size warehouse six to eight pages are enough, provided the right points are in it. Here are ten that must not be missing.

The ten points

1. Purpose and scope: which warehouse, which areas, which method (year-end, sample or perpetual) and which goods are explicitly excluded, for example third-party goods.
2. Cut-off time: the date and hour from which the stock is fixed, including the document cut-off for goods receipts, goods issues and transfers.
3. Persons responsible: count manager, count leader and count teams by name, plus a deputy in case of absence.
4. Zones and sequence: zone plan, counting route, start and end time per zone.
5. Preparation: what must be tidied, labelled and set aside in the warehouse, and by when.
6. Counting procedure: first count without target quantity, independent second count, third count on deviation, rules for corrections on the sheet.
7. Special cases: blocked stock, third-party goods, goods in transit, opened cartons, goods measured by weight or length, damaged goods.
8. Count sheets: numbering, issue, return and the gap control at the end.
9. Differences: tiers or thresholds, recount, clearing, approval of the correcting entry.
10. Completion: inventory record, signatures, filing and the deadline for reporting to head office.

How each point should be worded

Instructions are not a policy. They do not describe what should apply in principle but what will be done on this day in this warehouse. Write short statements with names and times: "The count teams receive their sheets from the count leader at 06:30", not "Sheets are to be issued in good time". Every sentence should answer who does what by when. Avoid phrases such as "if possible" or "as a rule". Where an exception is conceivable, name it and say who approves it.

Decisions that arise on count day need a name and a telephone number: who decides on doubtful goods? Whom do I call if a zone is not accessible? Without these details teams wait until somebody turns up.

A suggested outline

• Cover page: warehouse, cut-off time, version, date, approval.
• Chapters 1 to 10 as above, half a page to a full page each.
• Annex 1: zone plan.
• Annex 2: team list with contact details.
• Annex 3: specimen of the count sheet and the issue log.
• Annex 4: glossary of the working languages.

A fictional timetable with illustrative values: draft 21 days before the cut-off date, agreement with head office and auditor up to 14 days before, approval by management 10 days before, briefing of the teams 2 days before. Instructions that are only finished the day before will not be read by anyone.

Versions and changes

If something changes after approval, for instance because an area is moved, there is no verbal exception but a new version with date and a note of the change. On count day only the valid version is on display, older ones are collected. All versions go into the file later, because the auditor will ask for the status at the time of the count.

One rule helps in particular: whatever the instructions do not cover is decided by the count leader and added in writing on the same day. In this way the instructions grow with practice, and the next count starts from a better version.

In short

Good count instructions answer in advance what would otherwise be discussed on count day. AuditMaster prepares written count instructions for every assignment along this outline. You review and approve them before the first counter enters the warehouse.