Concepts

Tasks

Settings

Creating a Count Sheet

You should periodically check that your inventory balances are accurate using a physical count of the items on hand. Any difference between the value of the inventory in APM and the value of the actual quantity on hand must be recorded in the general ledger. When you need to adjust your inventory following a physical count of stock, you can post the difference to an account such as Inventory Shrinkage Expense.

Warehouse Inventory Groups

Inventory counts are based on warehouse inventory group balances. This means that you count the quantity of an item associated with a warehouse and specific inventory group. In most cases, each warehouse item has a balance in one inventory group per warehouse. In this case, a single count is entered.

However, sometimes there may be multiple inventory groups for the same warehouse and item: a regular inventory balance and a consignment inventory group, for example. In these cases, you must enter two counts: one for each inventory group.

ABC Codes

You can set up ABC codes for warehouse items. These codes specify how often an item should be physically counted. There are generally-accepted formulas to determine how to rank items, but usually you use a combination of the number of inventory turns and the item’s value. An “A” item could be an item with a low annual usage but a high value, or it could be a high annual usage, but a low-value item. Either way, the yearly cost is high, making it an “A” item. “A” items should be counted more often than “B” or “C” items because monitoring these items more closely can result in significant cost savings. A “C” item is the opposite of an “A” item, in that it has a low yearly cost.

Count Groups

You can use count groups to filter and sort warehouse items to be counted on count sheets. Count groups are created in the site’s Inventory settings. Each warehouse item can be assigned to one count group. When you create a count sheet, you can select a count group from which to select items to count. Alternatively, you can view count sheet items by count group.

Count Sheets

A count sheet is a report that lists parts to be counted. You can print the count sheet, count the items, and then enter the results into the system.

Once the count has begun, the items identified on the count sheet are locked in APM and cannot be issued from inventory. Any transactions for the items are held until the count has been completed.

After you have entered the results, you can process the count sheet. APM then uses adjustment transactions to update the inventory values.

Sequencing Count Sheet Items

When items are added to a count sheet, APM assigns them sequence numbers based on the warehouse properties. That is, items can be ordered either by count group and pick sequence or by inventory location. You can change the order of the items on the count sheet using the sorting properties of the “Count sheet items by count sequence” configuration. When they are in the required order, click Order as Sorted. APM re-assigns the sequence numbers to match their order in the table.

Note: Once the count sheet has been downloaded to a mobile device, the sequence numbers cannot be changed in APM Mobile Count Sheets.

For information about counting serialized resources, see Counting Serialized Resources.

To Create a Count Sheet

1.	In the Site window, select the Resource Management view and then the Inventory tab.

2.	On the Warehouses tab, double-click the warehouse that you want to count materials in. The Warehouse window appears.

3.	Select the Count Sheets view. Current count sheets are listed. For example:

4.	Click New. The New Count Sheet dialog appears.

5.	Enter the count sheet identification and details:

Setting Name

Description

Countsheet name

Enter a description for the count sheet.

Counted by

The employee who will be performing the count. Only employees designated as warehouse clerks in the selected warehouse (on their employee records) are available for selection.

Planned count date

The date that you are planning to do the count.

Adjustment reason to use

The default adjustment reason for any changes to inventory amounts. For example, if you are performing an annual inventory count, you could select a reason called “Annual count”. The adjustment reason that you select determines the account segment that will be used on any adjustment transactions created as a result of the count. Adjustment reasons are set in the site’s inventory settings. If your warehouse properties are set to review adjustment transactions before they are posted, you may be able to change the charging information on these transactions.

6.	Enter the criteria for selecting the parts to be counted. You can use any combination of the criteria listed in this section to include or exclude items to count.

Setting Name

Description

Category

The resource category of the items to be counted. Only items included in the selected resource category, or in the descendents of the category (in the resource category hierarchy) will be included on the count sheet. If this box is blank, all categories will be included.

ABC classification

The ABC classification of the inventory items to be counted. Only items with the selected classification will be included on the count sheet. If this box is blank, all classifications will be included.

Items not counted since

The cut-off date for items that need to be counted. Click the calendar to select the appropriate date. This date will usually be the last count date of the previous fiscal year and will not normally change for the count sheets generated during the current fiscal year.

Resource type

The resource type of the items to be counted: Material, Tool, or Both. Material: Choose this option to count only material resources. Tool: Choose this option to count only tool resources. Both: Choose this option to include both materials and tools in the count.

Primary storage location - From

The storage location from which you are starting the count. For example, if you are counting locations “A” to “E”, enter “A” in this box. The system will select items with primary storage locations that start with the characters entered here. You can enter up to 50 characters.

Primary storage location - To

The end-range of the storage locations being included in the count. The system will include items up to, but not including the location entered in this box. For example, to include locations from “A” to “E”, enter “F” in this box. The system will select items up to the primary storage location that starts with the characters entered here. You can enter up to 50 characters.

Count group

The count group of the items to be counted. Only items with the selected count group will be included on the count sheet. If this box is blank, all groups will be included.

Inventory group

The warehouse inventory group where the items to be counted are located. If you select an inventory group, only the items in this group will be counted. For example, if your warehouse contains a regular inventory group, and a consignment inventory group for supplier A, you may want to count only the items in the regular inventory group.

Percentage of Items

The percentage of items that should be counted. For instance, if 100 items were selected using the other criteria, and this value were 20%, then only 20 of the 100 will be counted. The final selection of the 20 items is purely random. This percentage should remain constant throughout the year, so that 100% coverage can be attained. A value of 20% implies that a count will be conducted 5 times per year, thus obtaining 5 x 20%, or 100%, coverage.

7.	To create the count sheet, click OK. APM selects the parts using your criteria and opens a new count sheet.

8.	If you want to change the list of items on the count sheet, click Select Items to Count. The Change Selection Criteria dialog appears. Enter the new selection criteria and click OK.

9.	When the list of parts is correct, you can begin the count.

•	To assign the count sheet to a mobile device, see Assigning Count Sheets to a Mobile Device.

•	To do a manual count, click Begin Count. APM locks the items identified on the count sheet so that they cannot be issued from inventory. Any transactions for the items are held until the count has been completed.

Note: If you clicked Begin Count too soon, you can return the status of the count sheet to “Prepared”. To do this, from the Tools menu, select Undo Begin Count.

Tip: To export the count sheet, right-click in count sheet list and select Export to Excel. APM opens Microsoft Excel and inserts the contents of the count sheet into a spreadsheet.

10.	When you are finished counting the items, you can enter the count results and process the count sheet. See Entering and Processing Inventory Count Results.