Inventory

Inventory is where you count your stock, record what was wasted, move stock between places, and see what your stock is worth. You count what is on the shelf, Spensa remembers it, and managers get a clear picture of stock and value without anyone building a spreadsheet.

What this is for

• Count the stock in a place like the walk-in fridge or the bar
• Save those places as storages, so the next count is ready for you
• Count with several people at once, each in their own storage
• Count in several units at the same time, like "2 cases + 3 bottles"
• Record waste, spoilage, staff meals, breakage, and giveaways
• Add stock to a storage by hand
• Move stock from one storage to another, when enabled for your company
• Finalize a count to lock it, then export it as a CSV or Excel file
• See the value of your counted stock in Analytics
• Count on the phone, even without internet

Where to open it

On the web, open Inventory in the left sidebar. The page has two tabs:

• Activity shows everything that happened: counts, waste, added stock, and moves, newest first.
• Storages shows your saved counting lists.

On the phone app, Inventory is in the main menu. It has the same Activity and Storages views and a New entry button.

Everything in Inventory belongs to one location. Some screens may say "establishment" - that is the same thing as a location.

Access and permissions

• Owners, admins, and managers at the company level can do everything: count, manage storages, record waste and movements, finalize counts, and reopen them.
• Team members with the User role can see inventory and storages and record waste, moved stock, and added stock. They cannot count and cannot finalize.
• Team members with the Viewer role can look at inventory and storages but not change anything.
• Location managers can count, manage storages, record waste and movements, finalize counts, and reopen them.
• Staff members can count and record waste, moves, and added stock. They cannot change saved storages and cannot finalize a count - the review page tells them to ask a manager.
• Location staff with a viewer role do not see inventory at all.
• You can fine-tune all of this with custom roles. See Team and permissions.

Storages: saved lists for the places you count

A storage is a saved list of what belongs in one place, like "Walk-in fridge", "Bar", or "Dry store". Count a place once and save it as a storage. The next time, the list is ready and you only fill in the numbers. Storages can hold products and recipes.

On the Storages tab, each storage shows its name, its location, how many items it holds, and when it was last counted. You can expand a card to preview the first items, and start a count there right away with Start inventory count. You can search storages, sort them by name, item count, or creation date, and filter by location on the company-wide page.

Create a storage

1. Open the Storages tab.
2. Click New storage.
3. Type a name, for example "Walk-in", "Bar", or "Dry store", and pick the location.
4. Confirm to create it.

Each name must be unique within its location. You can have up to 64 storages per location.

Storages also get created in other places: while starting a count (type a new name), on the finalize review (save a one-off area for next time), through sheet import, and when you add stock (the received items join the target storage's list).

Edit a storage

Open a storage from the Storages tab. You see its items, its location, and when it was last counted. If a count is running there right now, a note says so, with a Resume link that takes you straight into it.

Click Edit to change the storage:

• Rename it.
• Click Add items to pick products and recipes from your catalogue, up to 50 at a time. A storage holds up to 1,000 items.
• Select items and remove them.
• Drag items into the order that matches your shelves. You can switch between Manual order and A-Z, and reset back to your manual order.
• Click Add section to split the list into sections, like "Top shelf" or "Freezer". Sections can be renamed, moved, and deleted. When you delete a section, its items stay in the list and move into the previous section.
• Set How to count per item (see below).

Only managers can create and change storages. Staff members count against them but cannot change the saved lists.

How to count (managers)

For each item in a storage, a manager can set which units it is counted in: whole cases, open bottles, loose pieces, and so on. You can set up to 6 counting units per item and see a preview of how the counting screen will look. If the packaging is not set up yet, you can do that right there with Set up packaging. Only units that fit the product's packaging can be used.

This is connected to the Product Catalogue: the product's unit structure decides which counting units are available. If a count needs "open bottles", "cases", grams, or litres, set that on the product first or use Set up packaging from the storage item.

Delete a storage

Open the storage and choose Delete storage. Past counts keep their names and numbers, so you lose nothing that was already counted.

Import storages from a sheet or photo

If you already have counting sheets on paper or in a file, you can turn them into storages without typing everything in. This works on the web, on the company-wide Inventory page.

1. Open the Storages tab and click Import from file/photo.
2. Pick the location and add your files: up to 10 files, PDF or image, each up to 20 MB.
3. Spensa reads the sheets and matches the items to the products in your catalogue. You can watch the progress while it works.
4. Review the result. Matched items are ready to place. For unmatched items, you can link each one to an existing product or add a product from your catalogue.
5. Put the items into storages. You can create a new storage or add items to an existing one.
6. Click Save all storages.

If you upload sheets that were imported before, Spensa warns you and shows when each file was imported. You can still choose Upload anyway. If you change your mind about the whole import, choose Discard batch.

Reading sheets counts toward your monthly allowance for automatic document reading. If the allowance is used up, the remaining sheets cannot be read this month.

Record something new

At the top of the Inventory page there is a button for new entries. It says New count when counting is the only thing available to you, and New otherwise. Spensa asks what you would like to record:

• Count - record what is in a storage right now.
• Move - move stock from one storage to another. You only see this when it is enabled for your company.
• Add stock - record stock received or added manually.
• Waste - record stock that was thrown out or lost.

You only see the choices you have permission for.

Start a count

1. Click New and choose Count. You can also click Start inventory count on a storage card in the Storages tab.
2. Pick the location. If a count is already in progress there, a banner says "A count is already in progress." with a Continue button that opens it. You can still start a new one if you need to.
3. Pick the storage you want to count. You can search the list. If the place has no storage yet, type a name and start the count in a new storage. Spensa creates it and takes you straight to counting.
4. If someone is already counting that storage in another open count, Spensa asks what to do. Join that count puts you into their count. Count it anyway starts your own.

The counting screen

The counting screen shows one storage at a time as a calm checklist, in the order the items sit on your shelves. Everything you enter saves by itself. There is no save button, and you lose nothing by leaving the page. The screen shows how many items you have counted out of the total.

1. Go item by item. Type the quantity you see, or use the plus and minus buttons.
2. Leave an item blank if you did not count it. Blank means "not counted". If a shelf is truly empty, type 0. Zero is a real count.
3. Add a note to an item if something needs explaining.

Counting in several units at once

If an item is set up with more than one counting unit, you get one field per unit. To count "2 cases + 3 bottles", type 2 in the cases field and 3 in the bottles field. Spensa adds it up and shows the total. You can use up to 12 unit lines per item.

Managers can open How to count on an item right from the counting screen to change its counting units. If units change while you count, the affected rows ask you to re-check, and Spensa converts what you already entered where it can.

Finding items

• Search finds anything in your whole catalogue, not just this storage.
• Filter by category, supplier, or section. You can also show only uncounted items, only products, or only recipes.
• Sort by shelf order, name, supplier, or category.

Counting a place without a saved list

If you count in a brand-new or empty storage, Spensa offers your recently ordered products so you are not staring at an empty page. A scope choice controls what is suggested: items ordered in the last 30 days (the usual choice), the last 60 or 90 days, the items on your order templates, or your entire catalogue. Spensa remembers your choice for next time. Search always looks through everything, whatever the scope.

Adding items while you count

Found something on the shelf that is not on the list? Click Add items and pick products or recipes from your catalogue, up to 50 at a time. They join your count as uncounted rows. This never changes the saved storage. You decide about that later, on the review page.

Removing items

You can remove any item from the count. If the item is on the saved storage list, Spensa treats this as a suggestion to remove it from the storage too, and you decide on the review page. Managers also get a stronger option that removes the item from the saved storage right away.

Counting recipes

Recipes can be counted too. A recipe with a batch size is counted in batches, and Spensa shows how much one batch is. Other recipes are counted in pieces. Recipe rows never show any cost or price.

More storages and more people

Open the storage switcher at the top of the screen to see every storage in this count with its progress, jump between them, open the All storages overview, or click Add storage to count. You can keep up to 5 unfinished storages open at once in one count. The same "already being counted" question appears if someone else is counting the storage you add.

Several people can count in the same count at the same time, each in their own storage, and every storage shows who counted it.

You can also remove a storage from the count through its details menu. A count must keep at least one storage. Removing the last one deletes the whole count.

Finish a storage

When a storage is fully counted, mark it done.

1. Click Complete storage.
2. If some items on the list are still blank, Spensa asks whether to continue with uncounted items. Continuing records them as "not counted". If you have not entered anything at all, you can delete this storage count instead. If the storage has no items at all, Spensa asks whether to remove it from the count.
3. The storage is marked done and becomes read-only. Click Reopen storage if you need to change something.

After you finish a storage, Spensa takes you to the review page.

Review and finalize

Finalizing closes the count and locks the numbers. It is a manager step. If you cannot finalize, the page tells you to ask a manager.

The review page shows how many items were counted across how many storages, and when the count started. Every storage must be finished before you can finalize. If some are still in progress, a warning shows how many. Each storage has its own card with its state, who counted it, how many items it has, and a link back to it.

On the review, you also decide what happens to your saved storages:

• New items: items you counted that are not yet on the saved storage are listed per storage and checked by default. Checked items are added to the storage when you finalize, so the next count already includes them. Uncheck any you do not want to keep.
• Removals: items you marked for removal while counting are listed and checked by default. Checked items are removed from the saved storage.
• Save these storages for next time?: if you counted in a one-off place without a saved storage, tick the box and give it a name. Spensa saves it as a storage with everything you counted.

These storage choices only appear if you are allowed to manage storages.

Open Review all items counted to double-check the full list. It is grouped by category, shows totals per unit and per storage, and can be searched.

When everything looks right, click Finalize count. The button reads Save & finalize when you also selected storage changes. You need at least one counted item, or at least one removal, before you can finalize.

What finalizing does

• The count is locked. Its quantities become the fixed record for that day.
• List items nobody touched are recorded as "not counted", so you can always tell counted-as-zero from skipped.
• The storage changes you chose on the review are applied.
• Managers at that location, plus company admins and managers, get a notification that the count was completed.

Reopen a finalized count

Managers can reopen a finalized count with Reopen inventory. Spensa explains what happens before you confirm: the whole count opens again, including finished storages, and the recorded values are no longer locked until you finalize again. The checklists refresh to the current storage lists and keep what was already counted. Managers are notified again when you re-finalize.

While a count is still open, you can reopen and re-finish individual storages as often as you need. You can also rename an open count.

Record waste

Use this whenever stock leaves the kitchen without being sold: spoiled goods, a dropped tray, a staff meal.

1. Click New and choose Waste.
2. Pick the location and the waste kind: Waste, Spoilage, Staff meal, Breakage, Giveaway, or Other. You can add a comment to note why.
3. Find the items and enter how much was lost. The fields work like on the counting screen, including several units at once. Recipes can be recorded as waste too.
4. Save. The whole batch appears as one entry in the Activity feed.

Waste is not tied to a storage. You simply record what was lost.

Add stock

Use this to record stock that arrived or was added outside the normal flow.

1. Click New and choose Add stock.
2. Pick the location and the storage the stock goes into.
3. Find the items and enter the amounts. If something is completely new, create it on the spot with New product right from the search.
4. Save.

Anything you add also joins that storage's saved list automatically, so it shows up in the next count. If the storage is already at 1,000 items, Spensa asks you to remove some first.

Move stock between storages

Moving stock is only available when it is switched on for your company. If you do not see it, it is not enabled for your company.

1. Click New and choose Move.
2. Pick the location, the storage the stock comes from, and the storage it goes to. They must be different.
3. Enter the amounts and record the move.

The move appears as one entry in the Activity feed. If some items cannot be recorded, they stay on the screen with a plain reason, for example an item that needs its counting unit set up first. Fix them and try again.

On the web, the quantities you type on the waste, move, and add stock pages stay on your device until you record them. You can step away and come back without losing work. Picking another location clears them.

The Activity feed

The Activity tab is the history of everything: counts, waste, added stock, and moves, newest first. Scroll to load more.

• Filter by type (All, Counts, Waste, Add stock, and Moves when moving is enabled), by time (This month, Last 30 days, All time), and by location on the company-wide page.
• Count entries show the location, the status, the storages included, the start date, and who counted. In progress means the count is still open and can be updated. Finalized means it is complete and its numbers are locked.
• Click a waste, move, or add stock entry to see its details: the items with a per-unit breakdown, the date, who recorded it, and the comment. From there you can delete the whole entry. The person who recorded it, or a manager, can delete it.
• To delete several entries at once, click Edit, select them, and delete up to 100 in one go. Deleting cannot be undone, and a deleted count is gone for good.

If your Inventory page is still empty, Spensa helps you start. With no products yet, it points you to Upload invoice first, because your product catalogue is built from invoices. Once you have products, you can start your first count from right there with New Inventory and watch the short "See how it works" explainer.

Stock value, exports, and history

People who count never see prices. Prices and values appear only in exports, in Analytics, and on product pages.

Spensa values a finalized count by itself. For each product, it uses the latest known price: the price from your most recent finalized invoice (with line discounts applied) or the latest price entered by hand on the product, whichever is newer. Price times counted quantity gives the value. Products without any known price show as unpriced.

Export a finalized count

1. Open a finalized count from the Activity feed.
2. Open the menu in the header and choose Export as CSV or Export as Excel.
3. Confirm. Spensa builds a file with every item in the count, including last known prices and total values.

The file has one row per product, with the amounts from all storages added up: supplier item code, product name, category, supplier, packaging, unit, price per package, counted quantity, and total value. Recipes are not included in the file. Only finalized counts can be exported.

Stock value in Analytics

The Analytics page has an Inventory tab. It shows the stock value of each finalized count for a location, up to the last 24 counts and usually the last 12, broken down by product category, with a ranking of the biggest categories in the latest count. Products without a price are pointed out. The chart always uses each product's latest price, so it shows how your stock amounts change over time, not old prices.

Inventory history on the product page

Every product page has an Inventory History card. It shows how much of that product was counted across your finalized counts, for the last 30 days, 90 days, a year, or all time.

Inventory on the phone

The phone app is built for counting where the stock actually is, even in a cellar with no reception.

• Counting works without internet. Counts are created and edited fully on your phone. Once you have opened a storage's list once, you can count it offline any time.
• Entries wait in a queue and send by themselves. When you are back online or open the app again, queued counts and entries are sent automatically, and Spensa shows a short message while sending.
• The queue keeps trying for 24 hours. After that, automatic sending pauses. You can always send by hand: the failed counts screen lists them with Retry, Retry all, and the option to delete one.
• Finalize when online. You can go through the review while offline. Spensa warns that only the quantities entered so far will be saved, and Finalize when online finalizes the count as soon as you are connected. A count that lives on the web needs internet to review and finalize on the phone.
• Waste, added stock, and moves work offline too. Rows queue on the phone and send automatically, with the same 24-hour window and a manual retry from the list. Creating a brand-new product needs internet.
• Some things need internet: browsing storages you have not opened yet, adding catalogue products to a count, exporting, and reopening a finalized count.

The review on the phone works like on the web, including "Save these storages for next time?" and a per-storage choice whether newly counted items are added to the saved storage. The "already being counted" question with Join that count and Count it anyway appears on the phone as well. Managers can also browse and edit storages on the phone, including sections and How to count.

Small differences from the web: the phone shares counts as a CSV file (Excel export is web only), the stock value chart is web only, and importing sheets is web only. If an item's counting units were changed while your phone was offline, Spensa may not be able to save that item and tells you how many items were affected.

How this connects to other parts of Spensa

• Products - everything you count is a product from your catalogue. A product's packaging setup drives its counting units and its value.
• Invoices - your latest invoice prices give counted stock its value, and new companies build their catalogue by uploading invoices first.
• Orders - counting suggestions come from what you ordered in the last 30, 60, or 90 days.
• Order templates - counting suggestions can also come from the items on your order templates.
• Menu costs - recipes with a batch size can live in storages, be counted in batches, and be recorded as waste. Batch sizes are set on the recipe in Menu Costs.
• Point of Sale - till sales never change your stock. Counting is how stock levels are set.
• Analytics and Home - the Inventory tab shows the stock value of your finalized counts.
• Notifications - managers get a notification when a count is finalized.
• Mobile app - counting and recording waste work on the phone, even without internet.
• Team and permissions - custom roles let you choose exactly who may count, manage storages, and finalize.
• The assistant - you can ask the assistant about your storages, counts, and waste.

Good to know

• You can have up to 64 storages per location. Each storage holds up to 1,000 items, products and recipes together.
• Storage names can be up to 64 characters, count names up to 256, and notes up to 512.
• You can add up to 50 items at a time to a storage or a count.
• Each item can have up to 6 counting units per storage and up to 12 unit lines in one count.
• Quantities go from 0 to 1,000,000, with up to 4 decimal places.
• You can keep up to 5 unfinished storages open at once in one count.
• Counting saves in the background in groups of up to 200 items, and finalizing saves up to 2,000 items in one go.
• Waste, moves, and added stock are recorded in groups of up to 100 items on the web, and larger batches are split automatically. The phone sends queued entries in groups of 50.
• Sheet import takes up to 10 files at once, PDF or image, each up to 20 MB.
• You can delete up to 100 activity entries at once.
• The Analytics chart shows up to 24 finalized counts, 12 by default.
• Queued phone entries send automatically for 24 hours. After that, retry by hand from the failed counts screen.
• Blank and zero are different. Blank means the item was not counted. Zero means you counted and found none.
• When a storage joins a count, Spensa keeps a copy of its list as it is at that moment. Changes a manager makes to the storage meanwhile do not shift your count. When you reopen the storage or the count, the list refreshes and keeps what you counted.
• Spensa gently steers you toward one open count per location at a time, but you can always start another.
• You can edit your own counting. Changing what someone else counted needs a manager.
• Deleting a storage never touches past counts. They keep their names and numbers.
• Finalizing does not freeze prices. Values are always calculated from each product's latest known price, so reopening a count changes quantities, never price history.