> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.decodahealth.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Taking Inventory

> Count your stock on hand and reconcile it against the system in one pass, with a draft that saves as you go.

## What Taking Inventory Does

**Take Inventory** lets you walk your shelves, enter what you actually counted, and update the system to match — all from one screen. When you submit, the system creates the stock adjustments for you, so your on-hand numbers reflect reality.

Start a count from the **Stockroom** by clicking **Take Inventory**. You'll need the **Manage Inventory** permission.

## Starting a Count

When you start a count you can choose a **location** to count, or leave it on **All locations** to count everything you have access to. The system takes a snapshot of the current on-hand quantity for each item the moment you start — that snapshot is what you'll compare your physical count against.

<Info>
  You'll only ever see the locations you're assigned to. Virtual locations (like telehealth) aren't included, since they don't hold physical stock.
</Info>

## Entering Your Counts

Each row shows an item, its location, the **system quantity** (what the system thinks you have), and a box to type the **counted quantity** (what you actually counted). As you type, the **difference** appears next to each row so you can see where things don't line up.

* Leave a row blank if you didn't count it — blank rows are left untouched.
* Enter **0** if you counted none.
* Use the search box to jump to a specific item or location in a long list.

Your work **saves automatically** as a draft while you count. If you close the screen or get interrupted, you'll see a **Resume in-progress count** banner on the Stockroom when you come back. Only the person who started a count can resume it.

## Reasons

Every count needs a **default reason** (for example, "Monthly stock count") before you can submit — this is recorded on each adjustment so there's a clear audit trail. If a particular item changed for a different reason, you can type a **per-row reason** to override the default just for that row.

## Submitting and Reconciling

When you click **Submit count**, the system compares your counted quantities against what's on hand right now and makes the adjustments needed so the system matches your count.

<Warning>
  If someone else changed a quantity while you were counting, you'll see a **drift warning** listing those items after you submit. The adjustment is still applied so the system matches your physical count — the warning is just letting you know the number moved since you started.
</Warning>

If an item needs to go **up** but the system has no record of where it came from (no shipment and no supplier for it at that location), the count won't submit until you resolve those items — this prevents closing a count that couldn't be fully applied.