Your Complete Audit Checklist
Print this checklist or save it on your phone. Follow it every time you audit, and you will never miss a critical step.
Pre-Audit (Day Before)
- Schedule the audit and notify all participating employees
- Process all pending returns, exchanges, and receiving
- Ensure all recent sales are recorded in the POS
- Organize shelves and storage areas
- Return misplaced items to their correct locations
- Charge devices (phones, scanners, tablets)
- Print count sheets or sync your audit app with current Clover data
- Assign zones and roles to each counter
Audit Day Setup (30 Minutes Before)
- Brief the team on the process and expectations
- Distribute equipment (scanners, count sheets, pens)
- Confirm zone assignments
- If using blind counts, verify that expected quantities are hidden
- Set a target completion time
- Sweep fitting rooms, back counters, and return areas for uncounted items
During the Count
- Count systematically: left to right, top to bottom, front to back
- Count items where they are -- do not move them
- Open all boxes and count contents (do not assume full)
- Check behind and under displays
- Count back room and storage separately from sales floor
- Flag items you cannot identify or that are not in the system
- Set aside damaged items and note them separately
- If interrupted by customers, mark your place clearly before helping
- Do not rush -- accuracy matters more than speed
Reconciliation (Immediately After Count)
- Compare physical counts to POS records
- Flag all discrepancies
- For significant discrepancies, have a second person recount
- Categorize each discrepancy (theft, damage, admin error, vendor, unknown)
- Calculate total shrinkage value (at cost and at retail)
- Update Clover inventory to match physical counts
Post-Audit (Within 48 Hours)
- Document results in your loss report
- Investigate significant discrepancies
- Identify patterns across this and previous audits
- Communicate results to management and staff
- Update audit schedule if frequency needs to change
- Schedule the next audit
- Celebrate accuracy improvements
Consistency is the key. Follow the same checklist every time, and your audits will become faster, more accurate, and more valuable with each iteration.