In short: Inventory is all the stock in your shop and storeroom waiting to be sold, with its quantities and cost at any moment. In Arabic it is المخزون.
The full guide: Shop inventory management
Work it out now: Stock days
Inventory is everything you own that is waiting to be sold: on the shelves, in the storeroom, and on its way from the supplier. Each item has a quantity, a cost price and a selling price. Inventory value is usually measured at cost: inventory value = quantity × cost price, added up across all items. That number is money you have already paid out and not yet recovered, so it matters to know what it is today.
In a grocery or supermarket in Amman, stock comes in with purchase invoices from distributors and goes out with every sale. When your system deducts quantities on each sale and adds them on each delivery, you know the real balance without counting every day. Ghalleh deducts stock with every sale, its Low button lists what is running out, and its stock-in-numbers screen shows your total stock value at cost and how many days each item will last.
Valuing stock: at cost or at selling price?
| Method | Formula | When it helps |
|---|---|---|
| At cost | Quantity × cost price | To know the cash tied up on the shelf, and in your accounts |
| At selling price | Quantity × selling price | To estimate what you would take if everything sold |
| The difference | Selling value - cost value | Expected profit you have not made yet |
Shortages and overstock
Watch for two things: shortages and overstock. A shortage means a customer leaves without buying. Overstock means cash sitting on a shelf. Keep an eye on items that are not moving, and record returns and damaged goods right away so the system matches the shelf.
Run a physical count regularly too, because even the most careful system drifts from reality over time, especially on small, expensive items.
A shop example
A small supermarket in Zarqa holds 40 boxes of tea at a cost of JOD 2.250 each and 60 bags of rice at JOD 6.500 each. The tea is worth JOD 90 and the rice JOD 390, so these two items alone tie up JOD 480 of the shop's money on the shelf.
Common questions
What is inventory in Arabic?
المخزون. A stocktake, or stock count, is الجرد.
Should inventory be valued at cost or at selling price?
Usually at cost, because that is the money you actually paid. Selling price gives an expected value that includes profit you have not made yet, which is useful only for comparison.
How often should I check my inventory?
Follow quantities daily in your system, and do a full physical count every one to three months depending on the size of the shop, with quicker counts for expensive or fast-moving items.