# Counting inventory in the app

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.

For: Admins, Managers · On: iOS, Android · [Help Center](https://www.mays.app/help) › [Inventory](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory) · Last updated October 10, 2026 · Mays Team

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.

**Who:** admins and managers, when your plan includes Inventory. Employees don't see it; to have staff count a short list, see [Inventory-count and restock tasks](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/inventory-count-tasks).

**Where:** tap the box icon (**Inventory**) at the top of the screen. On iPhone it's on the **Tasks**, **History**, **Chat** and **Schedule** tabs; on Android, on the **Tasks** tab. It opens **Stock Counts**, with your drafts and submitted counts. If your role can also add vendor invoices, the box opens a short menu first (iPhone and Android): tap **Stock counts** (the other choices are **Add invoice** and **Invoices**, see [Vendor invoices](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/vendor-invoices)). If you run more than one location, pick the location at the top first.

## Start a count

1. Tap **+** (iPhone) or **Start count** (Android).
2. Under **Type**, pick **Full audit** or **Partial**. For a partial count, tick one or more **Categories**. On iPhone you can also tick **Specific items (optional)**.
3. Under **Flow**, pick **Guided** (shelf by shelf) or **Quick** (one list). You can switch at any time.
4. Tap **Start**.

![The New count sheet on iPhone with Partial selected, Dairy & alternatives ticked among the categories, and the list of specific items below](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__count-inventory-on-mobile__01-new-count.74fc2cd4cc.png)

To pick up a draft later, tap it in **Stock Counts**. On iPhone, swipe it to choose **Guided** or **Quick**; on Android, tap **Quick** or **Guided** on the row.

## Guided: shelf by shelf

Guided mode uses the zones and shelves set up on the web under **Inventory → Shelves**, and each item's **Home shelf**. See [Shelves and storage areas](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/shelves-and-storage-areas).

1. Pick the shelf you're standing at under **COUNTING ON THIS SHELF**.
2. Tap a category. Items that live on this shelf say **On this shelf**.
3. Tap an item and count it:
   - **Tap:** **+ 1** of the count unit, **+ 1 case**, a half-case button, **−** and **Undo**.
   - **Keypad:** type an amount in **Each** or in cases (**Case ×6**), or tap one of the 1 to 4 case buttons, then **Add**.
   - **Partial:** for an open container, pick **Empty**, **¼**, **½**, **¾** or **Full** (on iPhone you can also drag the level on the bottle), then **Add**.
4. Tap **Save · Next item**, or **Done with** the category on the last one.

Every tap adds to the shelf you picked and is saved straight away. **ALL SHELVES** shows the item's total across shelves.

![An item list in Guided mode on iPhone: Dairy & alternatives, 2/2 done, Oat milk counted at 14 cartons and Whole milk at 5 gallons, both On this shelf, with Scan, Speak and Photo buttons](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__count-inventory-on-mobile__02-guided-items.c7e8673b80.png)

![Counting Oat milk on the Walk-in · Top shelf in Tap mode: 8 cartons on this shelf, All shelves 8, with the + 1 carton, + 1 case (6 cartons), + 3 cartons and Undo buttons and Save · Next item](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__count-inventory-on-mobile__03-guided-counter.43f7fcf5fd.png)

![Partial mode for an open carton of Oat milk: 0.50 of one carton, a half-full bottle graphic, the Empty, ¼, ½, ¾ and Full buttons and Add 0.50 carton](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__count-inventory-on-mobile__04-open-container.5262f243d9.png)

## Quick: one list

Quick mode lists every item in the count with **−** and **+** buttons. Tap the number to type an exact amount. Use **Search items** and **Filters** (**Storage**, **Category**, **Subcategory**) to find items. Changes save after a short pause.

Items you haven't counted show a grey number, and their **−** is off. Counted items move to the top of the list.

## Counted, zero or not counted

- **To record that you have none,** type **0** in Quick mode. The item counts as zero, and submitting sets its on hand to 0. Guided mode only adds, so it can't record a zero.
- **Clearing the number** means the item isn't counted. It's left out of the count, and submitting doesn't change its on hand.
- **Tapping − down to nothing,** or **Undo** on the first tap, also puts the item back to not counted.
- **−** does nothing on an item, or a shelf, you haven't counted yet.

![Quick mode on iPhone: Search items, the Scan, Speak and Photo buttons, and Oat milk at 14 cartons and Whole milk at 5 gallons with minus and plus buttons, and Submit at the top](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/help__count-inventory-on-mobile__05-quick-count.262d1d2f38.png)

## Scan, speak or take a photo

- **Scan** a barcode. The item's own barcode adds one; a vendor's pack barcode adds a whole pack. On iPhone in Guided mode, only the item's own barcode works, and it adds one.
- **Speak** your counts, for example *"six cartons of oat milk"*. iPhone records in the app, in US English, and asks for microphone and speech recognition access the first time; Android uses the phone's own speech prompt.
- **Photo:** take a photo of a shelf and the AI suggests counts.

The results appear as suggestions. In Quick mode, and in Guided mode on Android, tap a suggestion to set that item's count. **In Guided mode on iPhone, matched counts are added straight away,** so check them. If nothing appears, the AI found no match or isn't available right now. Counting by voice or photo doesn't use AI credits.

## Submit

Tap **Submit**. In Guided mode you need at least one item counted, and you see **Count submitted** with the time taken, items and units. **Back to count** returns to your list of counts.

Submitting works exactly as on the web: each counted item's on hand is set to your count. See [Running stock counts](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/stock-counts).

## Good to know

- **Stay online.** There's no offline mode. Each change saves as you go; a change that fails to save isn't retried, even though the screen still shows it. On a weak connection, check the count on the web before you submit.
- **Don't correct a shelf-counted item in Quick mode.** Quick mode saves a separate line, and the shelves and that line are added together when you submit. Fix it in Guided mode instead.
- **Submitted counts can't be opened or deleted in the app.** Use the web.
- **Count whenever suits you, at close included,** even if your POS takes sales out of stock. Sales made before you submit aren't taken out again overnight. See [POS mapping and automatic depletion](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/pos-mapping-and-depletion).

## Related articles

- 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: [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: [Inventory at a glance](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/inventory-overview) — Inventory tracks what you stock, what it costs and what you use, from items and vendors to counts, orders, invoices and waste. It's part of the Pro plan.
- Mobile apps: [A tour of the app](https://www.mays.app/help/mobile-apps/mobile-app-tour) — What's where in the Mays app — the Tasks, History, Knowledge, Chat and Schedule tabs, your profile, the notification bell, the extras managers get, and how a shared kiosk tablet differs.
- Mobile apps: [Installing the Mays apps](https://www.mays.app/help/mobile-apps/install-the-apps) — Get the Mays app on iPhone, iPad or Android — where to download it, which phones it runs on, what it asks permission for, and how to sign in the first time.
- Inventory: [Inventory-count and restock tasks](https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/inventory-count-tasks) — Add an Inventory Count task to a checklist so staff count a short list of items. Anything under its minimum becomes a Restock Order task for managers.
- 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.

## Still need help?

Send us a support request and a real person on the Mays team will get back to you.

[Contact support](https://www.mays.app/contact?topic=support) · [Call +1 (561) 286-3939](tel:+15612863939)

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/help/inventory/count-inventory-on-mobile