# Weekly inventory count sheet template: shelf-to-sheet order, units and par

*Guides · Mays Team · April 12, 2026*

![Mays cover card: Weekly inventory count sheet template: shelf-to-sheet order, units and par — Walk the room once, in order, and write the number where your eyes are](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/blog__weekly-inventory-count-sheet-template__cover.91bc873205.png)

An inventory count goes wrong in small ways. Someone counts the oat milk in cartons and someone else in cases. The dry storage list is alphabetical, so the counter walks back and forth across the room. A half-used bag of flour gets written down as "1". None of these is a big mistake, but together they make your weekly number worthless.

This post is the **sheet**: how to lay it out so the count goes shelf by shelf, what columns it needs, and the conventions that make two people's counts agree. How to set the par levels on it, what to count daily and how to order from it are in our guide to [café inventory: par levels, counts and ordering](https://www.mays.app/blog/cafe-inventory-par-levels-counts-ordering).

## Shelf-to-sheet: the one layout rule

**The sheet lists items in the order they sit on the shelves, and the shelves in the order you walk the building.** Not alphabetically, not by vendor, not by category.

To set it up once:

1. **Walk your route** with a clipboard: front of house, the bar, the reach-ins, the walk-in, the freezer, dry storage. Pick the order that doesn't double back.
2. **Number the shelves** in that order, and put a small label on each (*W1: walk-in, left, top*). The same number goes on the sheet.
3. **Write down what's on each shelf**, left to right, top to bottom, in that order.
4. **Give every item one home shelf.** If the same item lives in two places (cups at the bar and in dry storage), list it on both shelves and add the lines up.
5. **Move the product, not the sheet.** When something moves for good, change the sheet that week.

A count in shelf order goes faster, and a missing line stands out: there's an empty space on the shelf where a line on the sheet has no number.

## The columns

| Column | What goes in it | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shelf | The shelf number | Keeps the walk in order |
| Item | Name as your vendor sells it | So orders match invoices |
| Count unit | The unit on the shelf: carton, bag, bottle, sleeve, lb | Everyone counts in the same unit |
| Pack | How many count units in a case or pack | Turns cases into count units |
| Full packs | Unopened cases or packs | Counted separately |
| Loose | Opened or single count units, partials in tenths | Counted separately |
| **Total** | Full packs × Pack + Loose | The number that goes in your system |
| Par | Your par, in count units | So the order is one look away |
| Below par? | ✓ when Total is under Par | The order list builds itself |
| Note | Damaged, out of date, moved | For the manager |

**Full and loose counted separately** is the trick that fixes most count errors. Nobody multiplies in their head on a ladder in the freezer. Do the math at the desk afterwards.

## The printable sheet

Print the header once, then one block per zone. Shelves in walk order; items in shelf order.

**Location** ________ **Date** ________ **Counted by** ________ and ________ **Start** ____ **End** ____

### Zone: walk-in cooler

| Shelf | Item | Count unit | Pack | Full packs | Loose | Total | Par | Below par? | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| W1 | Whole milk | gallon | 4 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| W1 | Oat milk | carton | 6 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| W1 | Half and half | quart | 12 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| W2 | Cream cheese | lb | 10 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| W2 | Butter | lb | 36 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| W3 | Eggs | dozen | 15 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

### Zone: dry storage

| Shelf | Item | Count unit | Pack | Full packs | Loose | Total | Par | Below par? | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| D1 | Espresso beans | 5 lb bag | 1 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| D1 | Drip beans | 5 lb bag | 1 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| D2 | 12 oz hot cups | sleeve of 50 | 20 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| D2 | Hot lids | sleeve of 100 | 10 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| D3 | Flour | 50 lb bag | 1 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

*The items and pack sizes are examples; use your own.*

At the bottom: **Signed** ________ **Entered into the system by** ________ **on** ________.

## The counting rules

Put these on the back of the sheet:

- **Count what's there.** Never copy last week's number because "it never moves".
- **Partials in tenths.** A half-full bottle of syrup is 0.5. For bulk products that matter (flour, coffee beans), weigh the open bag and write the weight as a fraction of the full bag.
- **Zero is a number.** An empty shelf spot gets a 0, not a blank. A blank means "didn't count".
- **Count before the delivery is put away**, or after it's all put away. Never in the middle.
- **Same day, same time, every week.** Before opening on a Monday works for most cafés; so does right after close on Sunday. Whatever you pick, it has to be the same, so this week compares with last week.
- **Two people if you can:** one counts out loud, the other writes. It's faster, and the writer catches "wait, is that cases or bottles?"
- **Spoiled or out of date?** Pull it, log it as waste, and don't count it. Our [food waste log](https://www.mays.app/blog/cafe-food-waste-log) has the form.

## The big-swing check

Before you file the sheet, compare each total with last week's:

> **Expected = last week's count + deliveries received − what you threw out (waste log)**

You can't subtract what you sold without recipe data, so this isn't a full variance. It's a sanity check. If the oat milk was 30 last week, 24 came in and none was wasted, a count of 8 means you used 46 cartons this week. If you usually use about 40, fine. If you usually use 20, count that shelf again before you believe it.

Flag anything that's off by more than a few units on an expensive item. Recount it the same day, while the shelf still looks the same.

## From the sheet to the order

Every line with a ✓ in **Below par?** goes on the order: par minus total, rounded up to full packs. If a vendor delivers twice a week, the par has to cover the gap; the worked example in the [par levels guide](https://www.mays.app/blog/cafe-inventory-par-levels-counts-ordering) shows how. The [vendor order guide](https://www.mays.app/blog/vendor-order-guide-template) keeps each vendor's cutoff and minimum on one page.

## Where Mays fits

- **Your walk, as shelves.** Under **Inventory → Shelves**, add each zone and shelf and number them in the order you walk. Then give each item its **Home shelf**. See [Shelves and storage areas](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/shelves-and-storage-areas).
- **Counting shelf by shelf on a phone.** Managers and admins count in the Mays app. **Guided** mode takes them shelf by shelf and marks the items whose home shelf it is **On this shelf**; when the count is submitted, an item counted on several shelves is added up. See [Counting inventory in the app](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/count-inventory-on-mobile).
- **Cases and units without the math.** Each item has a count unit and alternate units, like a case of 6. Count in either, and Mays converts to the count unit. See [Inventory items](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/inventory-items).
- **The big-swing check, done for you.** When a count is submitted, each item shows **Expected** (the last count, plus deliveries, minus waste, sales and transfers since) and the **Variance**. See [Running stock counts](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/stock-counts).
- **Par and the order.** Pars are set per location on **Inventory → Stock**, with a **Below par only** filter, and **Order to par** fills in an order up to par, rounded to full packs. See [Stock on hand](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/stock-on-hand) and [Purchase orders](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/purchase-orders).

What Mays doesn't do yet: there's no printable count sheet. The count list on the web isn't in shelf order (its **Storage** filter uses storage names from an import, not your shelves), so for a paper count, print this template and type the totals in afterwards. Counts can't be approved yet either, so the **Approved** column stays empty.

## Same route, same units, same day

Lay the sheet out the way you walk, count full and loose separately, write a zero when it's zero, and check the big swings before you order. Four weeks in, the count takes half the time and the numbers mean something.

[**Start your free trial**](https://go.mays.app/register): 30 days, every module, no card needed. Or [book a walkthrough](https://www.mays.app/book?from=blog-weekly-inventory-count-sheet-template) and we'll set up your shelves and first count with you.

## Related help articles

- Inventory: [Shelves and storage areas](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/shelves-and-storage-areas) — Set up each location's zones and shelves and give each item a home shelf, so your team can count shelf by shelf in the Mays app, in the order they walk the store.
- Inventory: [Counting inventory in the app](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/count-inventory-on-mobile) — Managers and admins can count stock in the Mays app, shelf by shelf or from one list, by tapping, typing, scanning barcodes or saying the count out loud.
- Inventory: [Running stock counts](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/stock-counts) — A count records what's on your shelves. Submitting it sets each counted item's stock on hand and shows how far it was from what Mays expected.
- Inventory: [Stock on hand](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/stock-on-hand) — See what a location has on hand right now, set each item's par level and spot what's below par. Counts, deliveries, waste, sales and transfers keep it current.
- Inventory: [Inventory items](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/inventory-items) — Items are what you count, order and cost, like a carton of oat milk or a pound of espresso. Each has a count unit, other units such as a case, and vendor prices.
- Inventory: [Placing purchase orders](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/purchase-orders) — Build orders from your par levels, send each vendor a PDF purchase order by email, and check what arrived against what you ordered.

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/blog/weekly-inventory-count-sheet-template