How to run a cycle count in SyteLine

Short answer

A SyteLine cycle count runs through five forms in order: Cycle Count Setup, the Item/Warehouse settings that decide when items get counted, Cycle Count Generation (creates the count records and prints the count sheets), Cycle Count Update (enter what was counted), and Cycle Count Posting (updates on-hand quantities and creates the adjustment journal entries). Run the Cycle Count Variance Report before posting, because it's your audit trail. While an item has Count in Process set, its inventory can't be changed, so count and post promptly.

The process at a glance

Step	Form	What it does
1	Cycle Count Setup	Sets the cycle details and which items are included
2	Item/Warehouse	Per item and warehouse: what triggers a count, and how often
3	Cycle Count Generation	Creates count records and prints the count sheets
4	—	People count, using the sheets
5	Cycle Count Update	Enter the counted quantities
6	Cycle Count Variance Report	Shows the differences before anything posts
7	Cycle Count Posting	Posts counts to on-hand and creates the adjustment journal entries
8	Cycle Count Purge (optional)	Removes unposted records you no longer need

Step 1: Cycle Count Setup

Enter the cycle details and the items involved, then click Process.

Step 2: Decide when each item is counted (Item/Warehouse)

On the Item/Warehouse form, select the item and warehouse and set:

Cycle Type: tick the inventory activities that should trigger a count.
Cycle Freq: the number of days between counts. It's only needed when the cycle type is day frequency.

SyteLine maintains three fields itself:

Count in Process: set while a count is open for the item.
Cycle Trigger: set when the item is due; cleared when its count completes.
Last Count: the date of the last count. You can change it by hand to move the next count date.

Important: while Count in Process is set, the item's inventory can't be changed until the count is complete. A count that's generated and then forgotten for a week stops shipping and receiving on those items. Generate only what you can count and post quickly.

Step 3: Generate the count

On Cycle Count Generation, set the count sheet options and click Process. SyteLine:

creates a cycle count record for every location, lot and serial number of the triggered items, each with the status Not Counted
prints the count sheet, sorted by location or by item, with space to write the counts

The generation report can't be reprinted, because rerunning it would generate records again. If you lose the sheets, print the Cycle Count Sheet Report instead.

Sort by location for the people counting. It saves a lot of walking.

Step 4: Count

Counters record what they physically find. A few rules make the numbers trustworthy:

Count what's there, not what the sheet expects. Ideally the sheets shouldn't show the system quantity at all.
Freeze movement in the locations being counted until counts are entered, or count at a quiet time.
Record lots and serial numbers exactly as they appear.

Step 5: Enter the counts (Cycle Count Update)

On Cycle Count Update, filter to the item and enter the counted quantity:

For lot-tracked items, specify the lot.
If the item's stockroom location or lot location doesn't exist yet, SyteLine asks whether to create it. Answer carefully. A "new location" is sometimes a typo.

Saving updates the record's status.

Step 6: Review the variances

Before posting, run the Cycle Count Variance Report. It compares counted quantities with what the system expected, and it's the audit trail for every adjustment the posting creates.

Look hard at:

Big variances on high-value items. Recount before posting.
Items that are always out. That points to a process problem, not a counting problem: unrecorded issues, wrong units of measure, receipts put away in the wrong location.
Whole locations empty or doubled. Often a location typed wrong at Step 5.

Step 7: Post

On Cycle Count Posting, click Process. SyteLine posts the counted quantities to on-hand and creates the journal entries for the adjustments.

Then check for records with the status Exception. These didn't post because of an error. They're easy to miss, and the item stays in the count until you deal with them.

If you've generated counts you won't complete, Cycle Count Purge clears the unposted records.

The mistakes that cause trouble

Generating too much at once. Every generated item is locked by Count in Process until posted.
Posting without the variance report. You lose the easy audit trail, and finance will ask.
Ignoring exceptions. Unposted counts sit there and keep the item in count.
Creating locations to make a count fit. A count is a chance to find put-away errors, not hide them.
Recounting by "adjusting" outside the cycle count. Manual adjustments during an open count muddy the audit trail.

FAQ

How do I do a cycle count in SyteLine?

Set it up on Cycle Count Setup and Item/Warehouse, generate the count on Cycle Count Generation, enter counts on Cycle Count Update, run the Cycle Count Variance Report, then post on Cycle Count Posting.

Why can't I move inventory on an item in SyteLine during a count?

The item has Count in Process set. Its inventory can't change until the cycle count is complete.

How do I reprint a SyteLine cycle count sheet?

The generation report can't be reprinted. Use the Cycle Count Sheet Report instead.

Why didn't some SyteLine cycle counts post?

Records with the status Exception didn't post because of errors. Review and correct them, then post again.