How to run an inventory count by category in Count & Commit

Before you start

Make sure your catalog is synced and your products have categories assigned in the Merchant Hub. Count & Commit uses your locally synced catalog, so category filtering and tracking badges keep working if you go offline mid-count.

Step 1: Open a counting session

1. On your Station, open the Count & Commit flow.

2. Start a new counting session. The session tracks your progress until you commit it.

3. You see the full product list for your Outlet, with no counts entered yet.

Step 2: Filter by category

Counting the whole store at once is chaotic. Filter by category to work through one section at a time.

1. Tap the Category selector at the top of the product list.

2. Pick the category to count first, for example "Beverages" or "Back Bar".

3. The list updates to show only products in that category.

A product in more than one category appears under each of them, but never twice within one category view. If a category shows no products, a message confirms there are no countable items there: either the category is empty or all its products are excluded from counting.

Step 3: Read the eligibility badges before you count

Every product card shows its counting status up front:

• No badge and active input fields: the product is tracked and ready to count.

• Exclusion badge with a reason: the product cannot be counted this session. The reason is on the card, for example "Inventory tracking disabled" or "Not eligible for this count type". Move on.

You will never enter a count only to have it discarded silently.

Step 4: Count your products

For each eligible product in the category:

1. Tap the product card to open the count input.

2. Enter the quantity you counted on the shelf.

3. Confirm the entry. The session records it immediately.

Products with inventory tracking disabled have their input fields disabled from the start.

Step 5: Switch categories and keep counting

When one category is done, go back to the Category selector and pick the next. Your session keeps all previous counts; switching categories resets nothing. You can also filter by tracking status to see only tracked or only untracked products within a category.

Step 6: Understand sessions versus reports

Tap the info icon in the session header for the short version, which is this:

• A session is your live, in-progress count. It is editable and nothing has been committed to inventory yet.

• A report is created when you commit the session. It reconciles your counted quantities against expected quantities and updates your inventory records permanently.

You can leave a session open, step away and come back. When the count is complete and accurate, commit it. That is when the report is generated and inventory updates.

Tips for a smooth count

• Count offline if you need to. Filtering, badges and tracking indicators all work from the local catalog.

• Do not commit until you are done. A committed session becomes a locked report. If you missed a category, start a new session.

• Check exclusion reasons before assuming a product is missing. It may be in another category or excluded from counting; the badge tells you which.