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Inventory audit checklist

An audit of the controls behind your stock record, not a full count. Check 20 controls across goods in and returns, storage, rotation and quarantine, location accuracy, cycle counting, adjustment approval and system access. Then count a sample of lines in each zone: scan the label for the SKU, enter the system and counted quantity, and the form works out each variance. The result is a control score with a rating, sample accuracy and the absolute variance, with actions and sign-off. To count every line, use the stock take template.

For internal auditors, finance teams, warehouse and operations managers who need to show that stock controls work, with evidence and photos.

The checks work anywhere. The note on keeping stocktake records is UK law (Companies Act 2006); elsewhere, follow your local accounting rules.

20 named control checks, each with what acceptable looks like
Sample counts by warehouse zone, with the SKU and location from a label scan
Variance per line, the likely cause, and a note to recount before any adjustment
Control score %, a rating, sample accuracy % and absolute variance as live tiles
Actions with a priority, owner and due date, and sign-off by the auditor and the warehouse manager

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What should an inventory audit checklist cover?

An inventory audit is useful when it shows which stock controls work and which do not, backed by evidence: a receipt traced to its order, an adjustment with its approver, a sample line counted blind against the system.

Last updated 28 October 2026. Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 28 October 2026 against Companies Act 2006, section 386, duty to keep accounting records and GOV.UK, running a limited company: company and accounting records.

How to audit inventory controls

Agree the scope and the procedure you are auditing against before you start.

Set the scope
Record the warehouse, the stock in scope, the period you are reviewing and how you chose the sample lines.
Test goods in and returns
Pick a few receipts and returns from the period and follow them from the delivery note to the stock system.
Walk the stores
Look at quarantine and damaged stock, rotation, location labels, unbooked pallets, consignment stock and access to the stores.
Test the system
Sample adjustments and write-offs for approval and reasons, check the cycle count plan, and compare the system user list with staff.
Count a sample
In each zone, scan the label, count blind, then enter the system quantity. Record a cause for every variance.
Score and act
Read the control score, rating and sample accuracy, write the conclusion, and set actions with owners and dates.

What makes an inventory audit useful

Sample lines counted

Aisle F, F-04-01, wall plugs box of 100. System 85, counted 91, variance +6. Cause: stock in the wrong location. Six boxes from a return on 9 Oct put away here but booked to F-04-02. Recount confirmed 91.

Fictional example. Record the actual evidence and approved arrangements for your job.

A common recording mistake

Looking at the system quantity before counting, or netting overs and unders so a 4 short and a 6 over look like a variance of 2.

What happens next

Recount each variance line, agree any adjustment with someone other than the counter, and set a date to re-test the controls that needed action.

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Every question in the inventory audit checklist template

An inventory audit checklist for the controls behind the stock record: 20 named checks on goods in and returns, storage, rotation and quarantine, location accuracy, cycle counting, adjustment approval and system access, then sample counts by zone with the SKU from a label scan, system and counted quantity and the variance. Shows a control score with a rating, sample accuracy and the absolute variance, with actions and sign-off. 7 sections and 103 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.

Make it your own: every question is editable

This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.

Details you only enter once

Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.

Project: the project name
Site or warehouse address: the site address, from the space or the project
Organisation: the project's customer

Audit details

ProjectShort answer
Filled in from the project in SiteSurvey.
Fills in from the project name
Site or warehouse addressShort answer
Fills in from the site address, from the space or the project
OrganisationShort answer
Fills in from the project's customer
Location (GPS)Short answer
Audit date*Date
Auditor*Short answer
Warehouse, stores or stockroom*Short answer
The stock location being audited, for example Main warehouse, Unit 4.
Stock controller or warehouse manager*Short answer
Stock systemShort answer
The warehouse or stock system and module, for example the WMS name.
Procedure audited againstShort answer
Your stock control procedure, with its reference and revision.
Period reviewed fromDate
Period reviewed toDate
Stock in scope*Tick all that apply
- Raw materials and components
- Finished goods
- Spares and consumables
- Third-party or consignment stock
- Returns and quarantine
How the sample lines were chosen*Choose one
- Random from the stock system
- High-value lines
- Fast movers
- Lines with recent adjustments
- Mix of the above
CheckThis audit tests the controls that keep stock records right: how stock is booked in, stored, moved and adjusted, with a sample count to see whether the controls work. It is not a full stocktake. Use the stock take template for that.
GuidanceUK companies. A company that deals in goods must keep, as part of its accounting records, statements of stock held at the end of each financial year and the stocktakings they were prepared from (Companies Act 2006, section 386(4)).

Goods in and returns

GuidanceMark each control Acceptable only if you saw evidence: a record, a system entry or the practice on the floor.
Goods received matched to a purchase order and delivery note before booking inChoose one
Acceptable: no receipt booked without an order reference; unmatched deliveries held until resolved.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Receipts booked on the stock system within the time the procedure setsChoose one
Look at a few receipts from the period and compare the delivery time with the booking time.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Quantity and condition checked at goods in, with shortages and damage reported to the supplierChoose one
Acceptable: the goods-in record shows the check and any claim raised.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Customer returns booked in and inspected before going back to sellable stockChoose one
Returns held in a returns area until inspected and graded.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Returns to suppliers and credit claims recorded and followed upChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Photos: goods-in area and any findingPhotos

Storage, rotation and segregation

Damaged and quarantined stock held in a marked area and blocked on the systemChoose one
Acceptable: a labelled quarantine area, and the stock cannot be picked.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Stock rotated first in, first out, or first expired, first out for dated stockChoose one
Look at the dates on the front and back of a few pick faces.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Out-of-date or obsolete stock removed from pick faces and recordedChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Every location labelled, and labels match the system location codesChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Stock in the location the system showsChoose one
Check a few lines from the system to the shelf, and a few from the shelf to the system.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
No unbooked stock in aisles, marshalling lanes or overflow areasChoose one
Pallets waiting to be put away are booked to a holding location.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Third-party or consignment stock marked and kept apart from own stockChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Stock areas secure, with access limited to authorised staffChoose one
Doors, cages and high-value stores locked; keys or codes controlled.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Photos: locations, quarantine area and any findingPhotos

Stock system and adjustments

Stock adjustments approved by someone other than the person who made themChoose one
Pick a few adjustments from the period and check who raised and who approved them.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
A reason recorded for every adjustment, and adjustments reviewed by managementChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Write-offs and scrap authorised and recorded before disposalChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Cycle count programme in place and on scheduleChoose one
Compare the counts planned for the period with the counts done.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Count differences investigated and recounted before adjustmentChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Issues to production, jobs or despatch booked against an order or job numberChoose one
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Access to the stock system limited by role, and leavers removedChoose one
Ask for the user list and compare it with staff on site.
- Acceptable
- Action needed
- Not checked
- Not applicable
What needs doing, or why not checkedNotes
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Last year-end stocktake records kept and available?*Yes or No
The count sheets or count export, the reconciliation and the final stock statement.
WarningYear-end stocktake records were not available. A UK company that deals in goods must keep the statements of stocktakings behind its year-end stock figure (Companies Act 2006, section 386(4)(b)). Find them or record why not.
Shown when “Last year-end stocktake records kept and available?” is No
Reports looked atPhotos
Optional. For example an adjustments report or user list export.

Sample counts

GuidanceCount each sample line yourself, blind if you can: write down the count before you look at the system quantity. A line is accurate only if the count matches the system exactly. If your procedure allows a tolerance, note it in the line.
Zones sampled
Repeat for each zone. Each one asks:
- Zone or area*Short answer
  For example Aisle C, high-value cage, bulk floor.
- Sample lines counted
  Repeat for each line. Each one asks:
  - Scan the location or product labelScan a label: sku or item code, barcode, location code, batch or lot
    Optional. Scan the data plate or label to capture the numbers.
  - SKU or item code*Short answer
  - DescriptionShort answer
  - Bin or location*Short answer
  - Unit of countShort answer
    For example each, case of 12, kg.
  - System quantity*Number
  - Counted quantity*Number
  - Variance (counted less system)Worked out by the form
    Shown when “Counted quantity” is answered and “System quantity” is answered
  - Absolute varianceWorked out by the form
  - Likely cause*Choose one
    - Not yet known
    - Receipt not booked or booked wrong
    - Pick or issue not booked
    - Stock in the wrong location
    - Damage or write-off not booked
    - Unit of measure error
    - Other
    Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
  - What was foundNotes
    For example the recount result, the stock found elsewhere or the transaction that explains it.
    Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
  - Photo of the locationPhotos
- Lines counted hereWorked out by the form
- Lines with no varianceWorked out by the form
- Net variance hereWorked out by the form
- Absolute variance hereWorked out by the form
Lines countedWorked out by the form
Lines with no varianceWorked out by the form
Lines with a varianceWorked out by the form
Sample accuracy %Worked out by the form
Net variance (units)Worked out by the form
Absolute variance (units)Worked out by the form
Every difference counted as a positive number, so overs and unders do not cancel out.
CheckSample lines have a variance. Recount them, find the cause and agree any stock adjustment with someone other than the counter before it is posted.
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant

Control score

Controls acceptableWorked out by the form
Controls needing actionWorked out by the form
Not checkedWorked out by the form
Control score %Worked out by the form
RatingWorked out by the form
GuidanceScoring used on this form (our own, not a standard): control score = acceptable / (acceptable + needing action) x 100, ignoring not checked and not applicable. 90% and over Good, 75 to 89% Needs improvement, under 75% Poor.
CheckSome controls were not checked. Say why in each one, and cover them at the next audit.
Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
Audit conclusion*Notes
Two or three sentences: which controls work, which do not, and what the sample count showed.

Actions and sign-off

Controls needing actionWorked out by the form
ResultWorked out by the form
Actions
Repeat for each action. Each one asks:
- Action*Notes
- PriorityChoose one
  - Before the next count
  - Within 30 days
  - Before the next audit
- Who will do it*Short answer
- Due byDate
- Status*Choose one
  - Open
  - In progress
  - Done, checked
- Photo when donePhotos
  Shown when “Status” is “Done, checked”
Actions still openWorked out by the form
Decision*Choose one
- Controls working: no action needed
- Controls working once the listed actions are done
- Controls not working: re-audit after the actions
Next audit dateDate
Summary for the warehouse managerNotes
Auditor nameShort answer
Auditor signature*Signature
Warehouse manager nameShort answer
Warehouse manager signatureSignature

See it filled in

A completed inventory audit checklist report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.

See completed form (PDF) ↗

Inventory audit checklist FAQs

Is an inventory audit the same as a stocktake?

No. A stocktake counts every line to get the stock figure. An inventory audit tests the controls that keep the stock record right, and counts a sample of lines to see whether they work. This form is the audit. For a full count, use the stock take template.

Do UK companies have to keep stocktake records?

Yes, if the business deals in goods. Section 386(4) of the Companies Act 2006 says the accounting records must contain statements of stock held at the end of each financial year and the statements of stocktakings those figures were prepared from. GOV.UK lists stock at the end of the financial year, and the stocktakings used to work it out, among the accounting records a limited company must keep.

Sources: Companies Act 2006, section 386, duty to keep accounting records and GOV.UK, running a limited company: company and accounting records.

How is the control score worked out?

Each control is marked acceptable, action needed, not checked or not applicable. The score is acceptable divided by acceptable plus action needed, times 100, so not checked and not applicable items do not count. The bands are our own, not a standard: 90% and over is Good, 75 to 89% Needs improvement, under 75% Poor.

What is sample accuracy and absolute variance?

Sample accuracy is the share of sample lines where the count matched the system exactly. Absolute variance adds up every difference as a positive number, so 4 short on one line and 6 over on another is 10, not a net 2. The form shows the net figure as well, because both tell you something.

How many lines should I sample?

The form does not set a number or a tolerance. Use your own audit procedure. You can pick random lines from the system, high-value lines, fast movers, lines with recent adjustments or a mix, and the form records which basis you used so the next audit can repeat it.

Can I scan barcodes with the form?

Yes. Each sample line has a label scan that reads the SKU, barcode, location code or batch from the label with your phone camera in the SiteSurvey app. You can also photograph the location, and every photo is stamped with the date and time. The finished audit is a PDF report you can share by link.

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