Before You Start
The Part Counting Tool's Full Inventory Count feature lets you count all available parts in your dealership and reconcile any discrepancies between your physical count and what Blackpurl shows on record. Read the following important rules before you begin.
Critical Rules for a Full Inventory Count
Count available quantities only. Do not count any part that is committed on a Customer Order.
You can continue selling parts during the count. There is no need to adjust the count session or any part record to account for sales made while counting is in progress.
You can continue receiving parts into stock during the count. However, do not count any newly received parts as part of your stock count.
The adjustment date is the session creation date. When you finalize the count, Blackpurl uses the date the Count Session was created — not the finalization date — for adjustment entries to part records and for the journal sent to your accounting package.
Prerequisite
Your dealership must have already created a new Part Count Session for a Full Inventory Count before following this article. For a full overview of the Part Counting Tool and instructions on creating a new Part Count Session, see Part Counting Tool — Overview and Setup.
How to Prepare for Your Full Inventory Count
A well-prepared dealership makes the count process significantly faster and more accurate. Work through the following checklist before starting your count session.
Don't leave preparations to the last minute. Give yourself time to get everything in order before the count begins.
Tidy your parts areas. Put everything away, go through your service area, confirm all stock has been received and shelved correctly.
Resolve all oversold stock issues. See Oversold Stock: Understanding and Resolving It for guidance.
Set aside committed stock before counting. Because you are only counting available stock, use the Parts to Pull Report to identify and separate committed items. See Parts to Pull Report.
Assign locations to your parts if possible. This is a significant effort but greatly improves count accuracy and efficiency. See Inventory Locations Best Practices and Product Locations (Parts) / Reporting on Locations or Parts without Locations / Locations on Unit Records (no longer available).
Read this article in full before starting. If you have questions, contact Blackpurl Support before you begin.
Once the Count Session is created, you can still sell and receive goods. Do not count newly received goods, and there is no need to account for parts that have been sold (meaning the Customer Order has been finalized).
The Full Inventory Count Interface
The Full Inventory Count session screen contains several key areas. The following table describes each section.
Section | Description |
A — Count Name | The name given to the Count Session when it was created. |
B — Session Details | Shows the Count Session number, status, and date. |
C — Print / Export | Lets you print or export the count session list. |
D — Counted Parts tab | Lists all parts that have been counted so far in this session. |
E — Uncounted Parts tab | Lists parts that Blackpurl included in the Full Inventory Count session because they had a non-zero available quantity, but which have not yet been entered or imported. As you enter counts, this tab shrinks. Review this tab carefully before finalizing. |
F — Issues to Resolve tab | Lists any problems such as duplicate parts or unrecognized part numbers. Review and action this tab before finalizing. |
G — Adjustments tab | Lists every adjustment the system will make based on the counts entered so far. |
H — Start Typing / Scan | The search field where you scan a barcode or manually type a part number to add it to the count. |
I — Import File | Lets you import a count file in CSV, XLS, or XLSX format. You can create your own spreadsheet or use a barcode scanning app that produces a CSV export. |
J — Counted Parts List | Displays all parts that have been imported or entered manually so far. |
K — Total Adjustment | Shows an estimate of the current adjustment total. This figure may change when you finalize, as the system calculates the actual cost adjustment using the First In / First Out (FIFO) principle. |
L — Save / Finalize | Lets you Save and Close to return later, or Finalize Count to complete the session. |
Getting Started: Three Options for Entering Count Quantities
There are three ways to get count quantities into a Part Count Session. Choose the option that best suits your dealership's workflow, or combine options 1 and 2.
Option 1: Manual Entry
Manual entry involves searching for and adding each part individually. This is the most time-consuming option but works well for smaller counts or for parts that can't be scanned.
1. Make sure you are on the Counted Parts tab.
2. Scan the part's barcode or type the part number into the Start Typing search field.
3. Select the part from the search results. The Record Part Count window opens.
4. Update the location if needed, enter the Counted Quantity, then click Add Count. Blackpurl adds the part and any adjustment to the counted items list.
5. Repeat for every part included in this Full Inventory Count session.
Option 2: Import a Count File
If you have already counted all items and recorded them in a CSV, XLS, or XLSX file, you can import that file directly into Blackpurl. This is the fastest option for large counts. Your import file must have a minimum of two columns: Part Number and Counted Quantity.
For information on using barcode scanning apps to produce a count file, see Using a Barcode Scanning App for Part Counting.
Important file formatting rules:
There must be no blank or empty rows within your data. Blank rows at the end of the data are permitted.
If you use column headers, every column must have a header name. You cannot have two headers and one blank — either all columns have headers or none do.
To import a count file:
1. Make sure you are on the Counted Parts tab, then click Import File.
2. Blackpurl displays a brief guide on how to map fields. Click Okay, got it to proceed to the mapping screen.
3. In section A, upload your count file.
4. If your file has no column headers, enable the First row contains data toggle to tell Blackpurl that the first row is data, not a header.
5. In section B, map each column from your file to the corresponding Blackpurl field: Part Number, Counted Quantity, and (optionally) Location.
6. If your file contains duplicate part entries, enable the Automatically merge duplicate parts toggle to have Blackpurl consolidate them on import.
7. Once the fields are mapped, click Confirm.
8. Blackpurl asks you to confirm the upload. Click Confirm to proceed. Blackpurl matches the part numbers in your file to Part and SKU numbers in the system.
9. Once the file has been processed, you can load another import file or indicate that you are done.
Option 3: Combination of Manual Entry and File Import
Use a combination of Options 1 and 2 — import one or more count files and supplement with manual entries for any parts not captured in the files.
Reviewing the Count
Once all parts have been entered or imported, they will appear in the Counted Parts tab. Before finalizing, review each of the following tabs carefully.
Tab | What to check |
Counted Parts | Confirms all parts you imported or manually added. Verify the list looks complete. |
Uncounted Parts | Lists parts that Blackpurl shows as having available stock but that are not in your counted list. Investigate each one — have you missed a location? Is an import file missing? |
Issues to Resolve | Lists problems such as unrecognized part numbers or duplicates. You can choose Merge all duplicates or Delete all issues — do not delete issues without fully investigating them first. |
Adjustments | Lists every adjustment the system will apply. For example, if Blackpurl shows Part #ABC with 4 available but you counted 3, the adjustment will be -1. Review this list and confirm the figures look reasonable before finalizing. |
Saving and Finalizing the Count
When you are finished working on the session, you have two options: Save and Close or Finalize Count.
Save and Close — Saves your progress and lets you return to the Count Session later. Access it again by clicking the relevant line item in the count list.
Finalize Count — Completes the session, calculates all adjustments, and applies changes to part records and your accounting package (if Accounting Integration is enabled).
Before clicking Finalize Count, work through the following checklist:
Review the Adjustments tab and confirm all listed adjustments are expected.
Review and resolve any entries under the Issues to Resolve tab.
Review the Uncounted Parts list — have you counted everything? Is there a missing import file?
Check the running Total Adjustment estimate — is the figure in line with what you expected? Keep in mind this is an estimate and the final amount may differ, as the system calculates actual cost adjustments using the First In / First Out (FIFO) principle.
When you are ready, click Finalize Count. Blackpurl opens the Finalize Count Session window. Review all figures carefully, then:
Change the Adjustment category if needed. If you have Accounting Integration, this category determines which General Ledger account the adjustment amount posts to in your accounting package.
If you want to zero out all uncounted parts, enable the zero-out toggle before confirming.
Once everything looks correct, click Finalize Now to complete the session.
Result
After finalizing the count, the following actions occur:
The stock count closes using the date the Count Session was created, not the date you finalized it.
All relevant Part Records are adjusted to reflect any changes in available quantity.
If Accounting Integration is enabled, the adjustment journal entry is sent to your accounting package at this point.
The Count Session status changes to Closed. The session remains accessible from the count list, and you can review a closed count by clicking its line item.
Related Articles
For information on other count types available in the Part Counting Tool: