Free waste and loss log

About this document

A waste and loss log records stock that left without being sold — broken, expired, missing — with the date, quantity and reason. It's the memory your next inventory count will need when the numbers don't line up.

When to use it

• Something breaks, spoils or expires and gets pulled.
• A count came up short and the reason is known.
• Loss events you want dated rather than remembered.

Getting it right

• Log at the moment of tossing, not at day's end — reasons evaporate by closing time.
• Use consistent reason words (damaged, expired, spill, count error) so patterns surface when you scan a month.
• Watch for repeats: the same item wasting weekly is a stocking or storage problem wearing a paperwork costume.

It's a record of what happened, not a valuation — what the losses were worth, and how they sit in your books, is your accountant's territory.

Part of Keep the store stocked — the whole situation, connected.

Common questions

Is a waste log worth it in a small shop?

It's what turns count variances from mysteries into lookups. The smaller the shop, the faster that pays off.

Who should log entries?

Whoever tosses it logs it — the initials column keeps that honest without making it accusatory.

Do tiny amounts count?

Set your own threshold, then apply it every time — a rule applied always beats a better rule applied sometimes.