Turning year-end counts into year-round control
For many warehouses, the new fiscal year starts with a sense of relief. The annual physical count is finished, numbers are reconciled, and finance finally has clean inventory values to work with.
But too often, that accuracy is temporary.
A few weeks into Q1, counts drift again. Adjustments creep back in. Teams start second-guessing the system. By midyear, inventory accuracy is once again “close enough,” and the cycle repeats.
The new fiscal year is one of the best opportunities you’ll have to reset inventory accuracy—but only if you treat year-end counts as a starting point, not a finish line.
Why Year-End Counts Don’t Fix Accuracy on Their Own
Annual physical counts are designed for financial reporting, not operational health.
They give you a snapshot in time, but they don’t address why inventory drifted in the first place. Receiving shortcuts, skipped scans, unclear locations, rushed picks, and delayed corrections all resume as soon as normal operations return.
If nothing changes after the count, accuracy will erode again—sometimes faster than before, because teams assume the numbers are “good now.”
The real value of year-end counts is the clean baseline they provide, and from there, accuracy becomes a process, not an event.
Q1 Is the Best Window You’ll Get All Year
There’s a reason Q1 is such a powerful moment for inventory improvement.
Budgets are fresh. Leadership is paying attention. Teams are more open to change before peak seasons hit.
Waiting for things to “slow down later” almost never works—later usually arrives with more orders, more pressure, and less patience for change.
Even small adjustments made early in the fiscal year compound over time, meaning fixing one recurring accuracy issue in January can prevent hundreds of downstream problems by December.
Turn the Physical Count Into a Cycle Count Plan
Instead of filing away the results of your annual count, use them to shape how you manage inventory going forward.
Look at where the biggest variances occurred. Was it fast-moving SKUs? Specific zones? Certain shifts or processes? Those patterns tell you exactly where accuracy breaks down during the year.
From there, build a cycle counting plan that reflects reality:
- Count fast-moving items more frequently
- Rotate through locations instead of counting everything at once
- Make counts short, frequent, and routine
When cycle counting becomes part of daily operations, accuracy stops being disruptive and starts being sustainable.
Fix the Process Gaps That Cause Drift
Inventory errors rarely come from bad intentions. They come from unclear or inconvenient processes.
Q1 is the right time to tighten the moments where errors begin:
- Receiving items before locations are ready
- Putaway happening without confirmation
- Picks completed but not recorded immediately
- Adjustments delayed until “later”
The goal isn’t perfection, it’s consistency. The easier it is to follow the correct process under pressure, the more accurate your inventory will stay throughout the year.
Align Accuracy With Financial Expectations
Inventory accuracy isn’t just an operations concern—it directly affects financial confidence.
When finance trusts inventory numbers, forecasting improves. Purchasing decisions become calmer. Conversations shift from questioning reports to planning next moves.
Using the new fiscal year to align operations and finance around accuracy expectations helps prevent friction later. Agree on what “acceptable accuracy” actually means, how it’s measured, and how issues are addressed when numbers drift.
Make Accuracy Visible, Not Abstract
Accuracy improves when teams can see it, and one of the easiest ways to add accuracy to your warehouse is with low-cost, handheld Warehouse Management Systems. These hand-held tools provide means for faster inventory “moves” that immediately update your inventory in real-time.
Posting cycle count results, tracking trends over time, and sharing wins reinforces that accuracy matters beyond audits. It also helps teams understand how their daily actions affect the bigger picture.
When accuracy is visible, it becomes a shared responsibility instead of a silent expectation.
Small Fixes Beat Big Overhauls
Resetting inventory accuracy doesn’t require ripping out systems or launching massive initiatives.
Often, it’s small, targeted changes:
- One clearer receiving step
- One extra scan at a problem location
- One recurring count added to the schedule
Those changes, implemented early in the fiscal year, prevent months of compounding errors.
Start the Year With Control, Not Cleanup
The best inventory teams don’t spend the year chasing corrections. They build habits that prevent problems from piling up in the first place.
Using the new fiscal year to reset inventory accuracy turns year-end counting into something more valuable than a compliance task. It becomes the foundation for better decisions, calmer operations, and fewer surprises all year long.
If accuracy is treated as a living process instead of a once-a-year fix, the benefits last far beyond Q1.