How to Track Kirana Stock Without Expensive Software
A manual + sheet method to track stock, catch shrinkage and reorder before you run out.
June 2026 · By Rajni Sharma
Why most kirana owners don't track stock
The common reason is 'too many SKUs'. A typical kirana carries 300–800 SKUs. But you don't need to track every item — track your top 50 by value. These usually account for 80% of your revenue.
The ABC method
A items (top 20% by revenue) — track daily. B items (next 30%) — track weekly. C items (bottom 50%) — track monthly or on visual check. This cuts the tracking workload by 70% without losing accuracy where it matters.
Opening stock + purchases − sales = closing stock
This is the only formula you need. Every morning, note opening stock for A items. Add what you received (from purchase invoice). Subtract what you sold (from the cash memo). The difference is your closing stock.
Shrinkage: where the money goes
The gap between calculated and actual stock is shrinkage — expired goods, pilferage, damaged items, or billing mistakes. A 2-3% shrinkage is normal. More than 5% means you have a problem to investigate.
Set a reorder point for each item
Don't reorder when stock hits zero — reorder when it hits a threshold (e.g. 10 units of Amul butter). The AgenticVani Kirana CRM has a reorder-level column that turns red when you're running low.
Everything here comes ready-made inside AgenticVani — one-time ₹499, no monthly fee.
See Kirana CRM →