How to run a stocktake that survives contact with the shelf
Freeze first, then walk.
A count is only meaningful against a snapshot. Write down (or freeze, in software) the expected quantities before you start - counting against a moving register produces variances nobody can explain a week later.
Count blind where it matters.
For high-value or frequently-wrong items, hide the expected number from the counter. People anchor on what the sheet says they should find; a blind count finds what's actually there.
Walk places, not lists.
Order the sheet by shelf and bin, not alphabetically - you walk each location once, top to bottom, and nothing gets skipped because it was filed under the wrong letter. This is why ItemTally counts are scoped to a folder: one place, one sheet, done.
Post the variances the same day.
The gap between counted and expected is the whole point of the exercise. Review each variance, attach the reason (breakage, usage never recorded, theft, miscount) and post the corrections while memory is fresh - a count sheet older than a day is archaeology.