Cut-off on count day: closing receipts and issues

A noticeable share of the differences found after a count come not from lost goods but from the time gap between documents and physical movement. A warehouse is alive: even during a count someone may take goods out or bring them in, while documents in the books are entered hours or days late. So every stock count must be tied to one specific moment. That moment is called the cut-off, and preparing for it in advance removes most differences.

What a cut-off is

The cut-off is the date and hour at which the books and the physical state of the warehouse are compared. All movement up to that moment should be in the books, and anything after it belongs to the next period. A count may last several hours or days, but the book balance is "frozen" at one moment. Otherwise you compare goods in motion with a still picture and naturally get a difference.

For a warehouse that cannot stop, such as a shop or an online-retail stockroom, the cut-off is applied zone by zone. When counting of a zone begins, a cut-off hour is set for that zone while the other zones carry on working. Each zone has its own hour, and these hours are written in the log.

The four most common situations

• Goods arrived, no receipt document. They are in the warehouse but not in the books: the report shows a surplus.
• Document entered, goods not yet arrived. They are in the books but not in the warehouse: the report shows a shortage, although the goods are on the road.
• Goods handed to a customer, no issue document. They are not in the warehouse but are in the books: another false shortage.
• Transfers between branches. One side has sent, the other has not yet received: the goods are visible in neither place, or are counted twice.

An example: 50 boxes arrived in the morning, but the document was entered in the evening. If the count takes place in the middle of the day, the report shows those 50 boxes as a surplus. The goods did not vanish or multiply, the document just lagged behind.

Add returned goods to the list: they may be back in the warehouse but not yet documented.

The cut-off routine

1. Set the count date and hour in writing and tell the bookkeeper.
2. Before the cut-off moment, close all receipt and issue documents, that is, post them in the books. List the documents left as drafts.
3. Record goods in transit separately: coming from a supplier and sent to a branch. This list helps explain differences after the count.
4. Limit movement during the count: in the zone being counted, no goods are received or issued. If that is unavoidable, record such operations in a separate notebook with date and time.
5. After the count, post documents created after the cut-off in the usual way.

Taking the book balance correctly

The book balance you give the contractor must reflect the state at the cut-off moment, not the day after the count. In 1C a balance for a given date and time can usually be obtained, but check this with your accountant in advance. If you keep records in Excel, save a copy of the file under a separate name before the count, for example "balance at start of count". Even if the file later changes as documents are entered, reconciliation will use the original.

Be careful with backdated documents. A document entered after the cut-off with a "past date" changes the balance and breaks the report. Avoid it where possible, and if you do it, write down the reason.

After the count: separating cut-off differences

When the report is ready, compare the list of differences with the cut-off log and the list of goods in transit. Many rows will close by themselves: "document was late", "was on the road". The remaining differences need real investigation: a genuine shortage or surplus. This way you do not spend investigation time on false rows.

Conclusion

The cut-off is a quiet but vital part of a count. Set the date, close the documents, record goods in transit and keep a log of movements after the cut-off. Before a count, StockCheck agrees the moment at which the book balance should be taken and helps compare the list of differences with the log.