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TradeBroken

Counting stock for a shop

Training module 3: taking a booking, doing a blind count and what the certificate means.

Shops count their stock to find out what's really on the shelf. When the count needs to carry weight, for a loan for example, the shop can book you to do it. Your counts are what a lender trusts, so do them carefully.

How you get a count#

  1. A shop invites you from its Booked counts page. You get a text, and it shows on your Bookings with a badge.
  2. Open it: the shop, the branches and their addresses, the day and how many days, and what you'll earn.
  3. Accept or Decline (a reason is optional; the shop sees it). You can pull out later as long as the shop hasn't paid.
  4. The shop pays up front. Only then do you get access to those branches, and one count per branch is set up for you.

Doing the count#

Sign in, then pick the shop from your account (you count in the shop's own screens).

  1. Open the count and tap Start. That fixes the list of products to count.
  2. Go location by location: scan the location's QR code, then enter what's actually on the shelf for each item. Enter 0 for an item that isn't there.
  3. Found something that isn't on the list? Add it.
  4. When every line has a quantity, Submit.

Counts are blind. You see names, SKUs and locations, never what the system expects. Count what you see; don't guess. The shop may sell while you count: that's fine, each quantity is compared with the system at the moment you enter it.

After you submit#

  • The shop's owner checks the count and approves it. You can't approve your own count.
  • If something looks wrong, they send it back and may mark lines to check again. Recount those lines and submit again.
  • When every count is approved, the booking is complete and your access to the shop ends.

The approved count gets a certificate that says "Independent relationship manager", with a code anyone can check on TradeBroken's verification page.

What you never see#

You never see a shop's stock levels, costs, prices, sales or money, before, during or after a count. If a shop asks you to look at their books, you can't: that's by design.

Counts not booked through TradeBroken#

A shop owner can also give you access by your code, for chosen branches up to a set date, and set up a count themselves. Any payment is then between you and the shop, and the certificate doesn't say independent. Only a booking through TradeBroken gives the independent certificate.

More on the shop's side: Booking an independent count.