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Mobile Device Stocktake Procedure

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Introduction

This manual explains the procedure to carry out a stocktake using a mobile stocktake device and how to process this in the Merac back office software. Please note, all stock adjustments and purchase orders should also be checked and processed as required prior to doing the stocktake. 

During this procedure the stock levels of the stock items involved are first reset to zero. The new count is then carried out on the mobile device and then uploaded to the Merac back office software. This stock count can then be checked and amended in Merac, before it is accepted and then finalised as the new stock holding. You will also be able to run a report to get  the stocktake variance, which will give the difference (variance) between the stock level immediately prior to starting this process and the new stock count figures you entered.

Please note if you need a copy of what the current stock levels were before doing the stocktake, then please ensure you run and print or save the required stock reports before starting this stock taking process. These can be found in Reports, then Stock Reports in the Merac and the main reports are covered at the end of this guide.

Please Note:

If you do not currently have stock take scanners and wish to enquire about the cost of hardware, setup and training then please contact your Account Manager. In order for these devices to receive updated product files and also to be able to upload (send) the stocktake counts from the device back to Merac server, they will need to be connected to a wi-fi network, so that the device can communicate to the relevant server. N.B. your own IT provider is responsible for connecting the device to the correct wi-fi network (one that can connect to Merac database server) and for supporting any issues due to problems with your wi-fi network. However if your IT team have issues connecting the device to to a wi-fi network then please raise a ticket with the Merac support team. If the device has already been set up and tested by our Support Team, then please ensure that the device has connection to the correct wi-fi network and the signal strength is good (before you try receive or send data (e.g. update the product file or send back the count to Merac).
 

Opening the Stocktake Screen. 

After logging into Merac back office software, click on:

1. ‘Setup’ then 2. ‘Stock’ then 3. double click the ‘Stock Receipt/Take’ button.

The process of starting any stocktake in Merac is to first reset the stocktake count of all stock items to zero.

This process is referred to as a ‘zeroise’ of the stock and is explained in the following section.

 

Performing a Zeroise

Please note, you must carry out this process before you start your stock take count. 

Click on the ‘Start Stocktake/Zeroise’ button. 

The following screen will appear. You now must select which specific stock records are to be zeroise’.

 

  • Select the required ‘Stock Location’ from the dropdown menu for which this stocktake is being carried out.
  • Select the required ‘Stock Group’ from the dropdown menu (select either a specific group or ‘All groups’).
  • Select the required ‘Supplier’ from the dropdown menu (select either a specific supplier or ‘All suppliers’).
  • Select the required ‘Valuation Group’ from the dropdown menu (select either a specific group or ‘All groups’).

In the box under the text ‘Please enter a meaningful name for this zeroise/stock take’, it is recommended to include information on what was counted, such as the count date and the name / initials of the person responsible. For example, you may enter the for this zeroise / stocktake as Main Store 01/01/20 John Smith, as doing this will enable you to find this stocktake zeroise more easily later for reporting / auditing purposes.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Please note the zeroise is designed to be done as the first process, before you start the stock take count. When you carry out this process the software record the date of time you did this automatically. However, if you did forget to do the zeroise, then you can do this retrospectively but you will need to do this within 30 days. Merac only allows a date up to 30 days in the past to be selected for retrospective zeroises and this option will also not allow future dates to be selected.

Only do this with extreme caution as if you do this process incorrectly, then it can adversely affect stock levels.

If you are in any doubt about this process then please log a ticket with our Support team before using this option. 

If you forgot to zeroise and are happy do this retrospectively then click the box next to the 'Change Zeroise Date/Time' option so that it is ticked.  You will then see some additional warning text and a date and time selector appear. Click on the dropdown arrow to the right of the date and time selector,  then a calendar will pop up. Use this to select the required date. 

Next click on the hours so they are highlighted blue, then using you keyboard enter the required time in hours (in 24 hour clock format) when this zeroise should have been done. Then click on the minutes and enter the required time in minutes using your keyboard when the zeroise should have been done.  Please check the date and time is selected is correct before you proceed as Merac could not advise when this date / time should be. 

Now double check to ensure all the data selected / entered in the below screen is as required.

 

Please read the warning / disclaimer text at the bottom of the screen. Next click on the the tick box to the right of this warning message so it becomes ticked, to confirm you wish to proceed (the 'Ok' button at the bottom of the screen cannot be clicked until this box has been ticked). Alternatively if you are not happy to proceed at this point you can click 'Close' on the above, then 'Close' on the next screen. You can then do any checks you may need to do, then re-start the process from the start of this user guide.

N.B. at this point we recommend that you note down the name of the above zeroise and the specific date and time that you carried out this zeroise, as this may be required later to get your stocktake variance report.

Next click on the ‘Ok’ button at the bottom of the above screen to proceed.

You will now see the following screen - click the ‘Ok’ button.

At the bottom of the screen you will the progress of the zeroise. You must wait for this to finish.

If you force close the software or shutdown your computer while this is happening this is likely to cause stock quantity issues.

Once the zeroise has completed you will see the following message, click the ‘Ok’ button.

You will now be back at the screen shown below.

 

You have now performed a ‘zeroise’ for the selected criteria, which is the start of the stocktake process

Click on the ‘Close’ button to exit the above screen.

 

Entering a Stocktake

As how to access the software can vary depending on your device, specific screenshots are not included in this guide.

On your mobile stocktaking device open the stocktaking software so you see the below screen.

 

Wait for this process to finish, and the following screen will show.

It is critical that you check whether the both the date and time showing here are correct. 

If not, touch the ‘Update’ button. The device will then show the message ‘Updating......’ 

Once the device has updated with the correct date click on ‘Proceed’.

Enter the PIN you have been provided (which is the same as your till PIN) and click ‘Ok’.

Now touch ‘Data Tasks’.

You will see the following message, now touch the ‘OK’ button.

On the below screen touch the ‘Go’ button that is located to the right of ‘Refresh Stock Codes’.

You will then see the message ‘Updating Records....’ (under Refresh Stock Codes on Handheld’ text).

You must wait until you see the ‘Update Complete’ message (under ‘Refresh Stock Codes on Handheld’ text).

Next touch the ‘Close’ button.

At the following screen touch the ‘Stock Take’ button.

Touch the dropdown arrow , which is found to the right of word ‘Source’.

Important: from the drop-down list ensure you pick the specific stock location that this stocktake is for.

Click on the required stock location and then check the correct stock location is now showing as selected.

Next touch the ‘Continue’ button.

You will see the screen shown below.

Scan the item's barcode. The item’s details will be now showing on screen.

Please note if there is no item barcode or the barcode will not scan, the pop-up keyboard can be used to enter the code. To access the pop-up keyboard keyboard, click on the keyboard icon in the bottom left corner of the above screen. Use this pop up keyboard to type in the item code, then press the enter key on this keyboard to find the item.

Hint: if you want to keep the pop-up keyboard in view, then type in the item code, but do not press the enter key on the pop-up keyboard.  Instead type in the item code then press the enter icon on the below screen. That is the icon located to the under the bottom right hand corner of the 'Scanned Code' box. This will keep the pop-up keyboard in view.

Use the number keypad to enter the required number counted, which will appear in the ‘Quantity’ box.

Check the quantity is entered correctly, then press the ‘Save’ button.

You will see that the ‘Scanned Code’ box is now blank again, waiting for you to scan and enter the count for the next item. Repeat the procedure to scan, enter and save the count for all the stock items you want to count.

 

Once all items are counted, touch the ‘Exit’ button.

You will now see the following screen.

Please note at the message at the top of the screen showing ‘Active Stock Take in Progress’.

At this point you can press the ‘Scan Items’ button to continue scanning and entering the stock counts.

Alternatively, you can review the count using the ‘Scanned Details’ option, as explained in the following section.

 

Editing a Stocktake

You can review the count you entered on the device by pressing the ‘Scanned Details’ button.

 

The following screen will then be displayed.

You can view the count here and check the correct number of each stock item was entered.

If you have incorrectly entered the quantity of an item, press the item so it is highlighted.

Tap in the ‘Stock’ box.  You will now need to adjust the quantity

This can be done by accessing a pop up keyboard by clicking the 'ABC' button (in the top right of the above screen) 

Using the pop-up keyboard, key in the required quantity and press the Enter key on the pop-up keyboard.

Check the required quantity now shows in the ‘Stock’ box. Next press the ‘Update’ button.

At the following screen, press the ‘Ok’ button.

Alternatively, if you wish to delete an item from this count click on it so that it is highlighted.

Press the ‘Delete’ button.

At the following screen, press the ‘Ok’ button

Once the stock levels have been checked / amended in this screen, click the ‘Cancel’ button to exit this screen.

You will now be back at the following screen.

The count data on the device now needs to be sent to the server, so it can be viewed and processed in the Merac software

 

Sending the Data to the Server

The next process sends the stocktake from mobile device to the Merac server.

This means the stocktake can then be processed from any machine with the Merac back office software on it.

This process requires the device to be connected by wi-fi to the correct wi-fi connection please check this first.

If unsure whether your device has a wi-fi connection or is connected to the correct wi-fi connection, check with your IT team.

When you are ready to send the data to the server, press the ‘Data Tasks’ button.

At the following screen touch the ‘Ok’ button.

To the right of the text ‘Upload Collected Data to Server’ touch the ‘Go’ button.

You will see the message ‘Attempting To Connect’. 

Now wait until you see the ‘Upload Completed’ message. Next touch the ‘Ok’ button 

You will now be at the screen shown below

The stock count has now been uploaded to your Merac server.

Please note at this point the stock count has not updated the stock levels in the Merac back office software). The stocktake needs to be selected and loaded into Merac, where you can check and amend the count before accepting it as your new, starting stock level. The selected stocktake is then finalised to enable you to obtain the variance report for this specific stocktake. All these processes are explained in the following sections.

 

Loading the Stocktake into Merac 

Login to the Merac back office software.

Click on 1. ‘Setup’ then 2. ‘Stock’ then 3. then double click on the ‘Stock Receipt/Take’ button.

 

You will now see the below screen. In the ‘Configure Stock Take Options’ section of the screen, select the

‘Stock Take Scanner’ option from the ‘Data Source:’ dropdown.

Now under the ‘Upload Data’ section:

(i)  Select the ‘Stocktake’ option by clicking on it so it is selected.

(ii) Click on the dropdown arrow (to the right of 'File name’) and select the relevant stock take you just uploaded

      N.B. if you have multiple stock take devices the each stock take starts with a number (prefix) that is specific to that device.

(ii) After selecting the required stocktake filename, click the ‘Upload and Complete Stocktake’ option.

You now must wait until the stocktake count data shows in the bottom half of this screen.

You can now view, amend, delete and add items to this stock count. This is covered in the following sections.
 

Adding Items to the Stocktake

If you notice an item is missing from the stocktake, then click on the ‘Add new Line’ option so that it is selected.

Then click the binoculars button.

Now use the search screen to find the item, e.g. type in a description (or code) then press the ‘Search’ button.

Click on the item you want to add to the stocktake so that is highlighted yellow, then click ‘Use Selected Item’.

Type in the required amount of stock you want to add in  ‘Quantity’ box.

Click on the tick button to accept the quantity of this item.

Repeat as required until all missing items have been added to the stocktake.

Deleting items from the count data is covered in the next section. 

 

Deleting Items from the Stocktake

You can also delete an item from the stocktake at this point if required. 

To do this click on the item so that it becomes highlighted yellow.

Now click on the ‘X’ button and this item (and any count for it) will be deleted from the stocktake.

Repeat as required to delete the necessary items from the stocktake.

You can also edit the quantity of an item that has a count in the above screen, this is covered in the next section.

 

Amending the Stocktake Count

Alternatively, you can amend the quantity of an item that is already in the stocktake.

To do so, click on the required item so that it is highlighted yellow.

Now click on the ‘Update Line’ option here, so that it is selected.

Next type in the required count figure in the ‘Quantity’ box.

 Finally click on the tick button to accept the new quantity.

How to accept this checked / amended this stock take count in the Merac software is covered in the next section.

 

Accepting the Stocktake Count

Only once you are totally sure that all the stocktake figures are correct, click on the ‘OK’ button to proceed.

At the next screen there is another ‘Ok’ button that must be clicked to confirm you want to proceed.

Now you must wait for the stocktake to be uploaded and processed, which may take several minutes!

Do not close the ‘Merac’ software until the following screen appears!

Once the above screen appears, click on the ‘Ok’ button.

Please note at this point the stock holding figures of the stock items for the specific stock location, item group(s) and supplier(s) that you specified in this stocktake have now been updated with the count figures you entered. You can see this by running the relevant reports (see Stocktake Reports section below for the main stock reporting options).

Once you are satisfied the count data has been successfully sent to the ‘Merac’ software, you can delete this from the mobile device. This is explained in the following section, however please not this may not be required if you are on the latest version of the software as this process happens automatically, but it is good practice to do this to ensure a stock take is not left on the device. 

 

Deleting a Stocktake from the Device

For some versions of the software this process may not be required as the stock take file is deleted automatically. However, it is worth carrying out this process to ensure any stock take is not left on the device for the next user.

Please note this process will permanently delete the stock count data from the device! But please be aware this process will also permanently delete any stock transfer, or purchase order data that is held on this device, so please make sure any data that is required is checked and sent to the server before carrying out this process.

On the device you need to press the ‘Data Tasks’ button (as shown below).

At the next screen, press the ‘Ok’ button.

Press the ‘Go’ button to the right of the text ‘Delete Collected Data From the handheld’

 

You will now see the message, click ‘Yes’ to confirm you wish to do this and proceed to the next step.

N.B. if you follow the next step the stock count data will be permanently deleted from the mobile device! 

You will now see the warning message as shown below.

Click ‘Ok’ to proceed (see the above warning) and the stock will permanently delete the stocktake from the device.

You will now see the following screen.

Click on the ‘Ok’ button to close this message box.

You are now back at the screen shown below.

The device is now ready to carry out another stocktake by following the same procedure.

 

Finalising the Stocktake

N.B. if you have finished counting all the stock for this location then you can now finalise the stock take.

If not, then you would now follow the process as detailed in the previous sections to carry out all the other counts for the same stock location (i.e. you are using the device to do multiple, small counts that are part of one stocktake count).

You would then only carry out the finalise only after you have uploaded all the counts into the Merac software for this specific stock location. This means that when you do the finalise, the software will recognise that all these stocktakes are for the same location and add them together to get the total stock count for this stock location.

Please note that this additional process to finalise the stocktake is not mandatory (as the stock figures of the items you have entered a count for have been updated at this point), but it is highly recommended as:

  • This checks for any items that were zeroised and no count was entered but they have been sold since the zeroise.
  • This allows you to more easily get your stocktake variance report, as you can select any finalised stocktake by selecting its name from a dropdown in the relevant report (as opposed to having to manually select dates and times).

N.B. you can still get a stocktake variance report if you do not do the finalise. However, to get this report you would need to have noted down the date and time of both the specific zeroise and stocktake count!

To start the process, click ‘Finalise Stocktake’.

Select the name of the relevant zeroise you want to finalise, using the dropdown menu.

Although it is recommended to do any stocktake while you are not trading, a stocktake on a mobile device can be done while you are trading. If any stock items appear in this screen it means the stock items listed were:

(a) zeroised and (b) did not have a count entered for them and (c) have been sold since the zeroise!

If no stock items are listed in this screen:

Click the option ‘Don’t post anything just mark the stock-take as complete’ and click ‘OK’.

You will then see the message ‘Stocktake Finalised’ in the centre of the screen. Click ‘OK’ to close this message.

If stock items are listed in the above screen, there are 3 options:

(1) Click the option:    Record a zero stock take for the above items

                                    (the last item was sold since the stock location was zeroised therefore I couldn’t count it)’

This option will do exactly as it suggests, a zero will be entered as the count for the listed stock items.

(2) Click the option:    ‘Don’t do anything just mark the stock take as complete’

This means that the stock quantity of these stock items will remain exactly as they are currently.

N.B. as there have been sales after the zeroise, this may mean that the stock quantity of these stock items has gone 

negative! If you want to check / amend this stock quantity before finalising the stocktake, go to point 3 (below).

If either option (1) or (2) were selected, then the next step is to click the ‘Ok’ button (at the bottom of the above screen).

At the next screen that shows the message ‘Stocktake Finalised’, click ‘Ok’ again.

You have now finalised the stocktake, so click the ‘Close’ button to exit the above screen (at the bottom of the screen).

(3) Instead of proceeding, at this point you may want to first check the stock history of these stock items.

If so, please take a screenshot of the stock items listed in the above screen and save it in your preferred software.

Click the ‘Close’ button on the above screen and then check the stock levels and history of the items in question.      

You may want to go and re-count the stock of any items at this point, or you could use the stock reports to check the history for these stock items (in Report > Stock Reports). Many reports are available to check the history of stock movements but e.g. the ‘Stock Audit Trail’ report could be run for the required stock location, then use the search facility in the report to find the required stock items (see Stock Reports section below for more details on reports).      

After running any reports to check the stock quantity and history, you may also want to update the quantity of any stock item(s) to be as required. This can be done using the ‘Stock Adjustments’ functionality (Setup > Stock > Stock Adjustments) in the usual way update the quantity of each stock item to be as required.

Once all the stock levels are checked / adjusted go back to the start of Finalising the Stocktake section and follow the process again.

Once the finalise has been carried out, you are now ready to view the relevant stock take reports.

 

Stocktake Reports

We recommend that you now go into Reports > Stock Reports and print off the various reports that you require.

The main reports that most customers run after carrying out a stocktake are detailed below: 

‘Stock Take Variance (Landscape)’ Report

N.B. if you carried out the stocktake as per this manual and finalised it then use this report to get the variance for this stocktake. This is found in Reports > Stock Reports > Stock Take Variance (Landscape).

Pick the required stocktake that you want to see the report for from the ‘Zeroise ID’ dropdown below.

Print hard copies, view, or export the report as usual.

N.B. if you did not finalise the stocktake, then this report cannot be used to get the stocktake variance.

If so, then you would need to use the ‘Stock Variances’ report (see below).

‘Stock Variances’ Report

If you have not finalised a stocktake you must use this report to get the stocktake variance.

This report is found in Reports > Stock Reports > Stock Variances.

N.B. in order to run this report to get any meaningful data, you must have made a record of the following:

  • The date and time you carried out the relevant zeroise (see Section 2). *
  • The date and time of the last count entered for this specific stock take. **

Pick the specific ‘Stock Location’ and ‘Stock Group’ (latter if needed) to be as required.

To get the variance you would need to set the:

  • ‘From Date/Time’ to immediately before the zeroise date/ time.
  • ‘To Date/Time:’ to immediately after the ‘Date and Time of Stocktake’ you selected.

Print hard copies of the report, or view, or export it as usual.

Stock Valuation Report

This report can be used to find the current stock valuation data for the selected parameters (shown below).

This report is found by clicking Reports > Stock Reports > Stock Valuation Report

Select the parameters from the above screen and then view, print or export the report as required.

Please note select the ‘Detailed Information’ option to see the information for each stock item.

N.B. the ‘Summary Information’ view will only show the total stock value for each ‘Stock Group’.

Stock Audit Trail

This report can be used to find the detailed audit trail of every individual stock movement that happened for the selected parameters (shown below). This report is found by clicking Reports > Stock Reports > Stock Audit Trail

Select the parameters from the above screen and then view, print or export the report as required.

Stock Movements

This report can be used to find a summary for each stock item of the various stock movement types.

The parameters that can be selected when running this report are shown below.

This report is found by clicking Reports > Stock Reports > Stock Movements.

Select the parameters from the above screen and then view, print or export the report as required.

N.B. ensure you select the required costing from the ‘Stock Cost Basis:’ dropdown before running the report.

Footnote:

If you cannot see any one of these reports, then first contact the relevant colleague at your organisation that is responsible for setting up and maintaining the ‘Users’ and ‘Security Groups’ in the Merac’ software. They may need to change / edit the ‘Security Group’ you are in to enable you to see the above reports.

If you still cannot see the above reports, or you have issues when running these reports then please log a ticket with our Support Team detailing the issue, the name of the reports and the username you are logging on to Merac with and they will be able to assist. If there are any error messages, please include those in the support ticket detailing which report the error message was for and ideally a screenshot of the report parameters selected (like the above screenshot example)