Manual stocktakes are for counts where a scanner isn't practical: small cycle counts, spot checks on a single vendor, or stock that has no barcodes. Instead of scanning, you work through a product list and confirm or correct each quantity by hand.
There's one important difference from barcode stocktakes: manual counts sync to Shopify as you go. Each time you confirm or correct an item, that item's stock is updated in Shopify straight away — there is no separate review-and-apply step at the end.
This guide assumes you've already created a stocktake with the Manual type. If you haven't, start with Getting Started with Stocktakes.
Scoping the count
Manual stocktakes are made for focused counts, so use the options in the create window to keep the list manageable:
Vendor or supplier — limit the count to a single vendor's or supplier's products.
Variant limit — cap the list at 25, 50, 100, or 250 variants, or include everything with All.
The product list
Opening a manual stocktake shows its product list, preloaded from your catalog. For each item you'll see the product, variant, SKU, and its current Available and On hand quantities (you can add more columns in the table options).
To find your way around:
Search by product name, SKU, or barcode.
Filter by Counted, Uncounted, All, or Needs sync.
Sort by product name, SKU, or barcode.
Counting an item
Count the units physically on the shelf.
Find the item in the list.
Compare what you counted with the quantity shown for the stocktake's inventory mode (On hand or Available — whichever you picked when creating it).
If it matches, select the thumbs up. EasyScan records the count and confirms the quantity in Shopify.
If it doesn't match, select the thumbs down and type in the quantity you actually counted. EasyScan saves the correction and updates Shopify immediately.
A couple of notes:
The first time an item is counted, EasyScan records the stock figure it had at that moment, so exports and history always show what the difference was when you counted.
If an item isn't stocked at that location in Shopify yet, EasyScan asks whether to activate it there first — confirm, then enter its count.
The Log tab
The Log tab lists every saved count — product, variant, barcode, when it was counted, and the quantity. It's a full audit trail of the session.
Finishing the count
When you're done, select Count complete. Items you never counted are left completely unchanged in Shopify.
If any counts failed to sync — a flaky connection mid-count, for example — the stocktake stays editable for exactly those items. Filter by Needs sync, re-save them, and the count can then complete cleanly.
Count sheets and exports
Export CSV and Print PDF produce a count sheet of everything counted so far, using the columns you've enabled in the table options. Up to 2,500 rows download straight to your browser; from 2,500 up to 25,000 rows, EasyScan emails you the CSV instead.
Tips
Keep manual counts small. A vendor scope plus a variant limit makes a count you can finish in one sitting — the heart of a good cycle-count routine.
Count when stock isn't moving. Manual corrections write to Shopify immediately, so pick quiet hours where you can.
Use barcode stocktakes for big counts. If you're counting a whole location, scanning is faster — and it lets you review every discrepancy before anything changes in Shopify.