How To Sign up

Before you sign up: 30 minutes of prep

Most operators sign up at 11pm, fight the app for 20 minutes, and bounce. Thirty minutes of prep the night before is the difference between a first count tonight and a first count never.

Our take

You don't need a clean spreadsheet to use Stockcount. A rough one is fine. Walk-in coolers and dry storage are messy, and your count sheet probably is too. This prep is just about knowing what shape your data is in before you open the app, so you can pick the right path on day one and stop there.

What to gather

Pull these out of drawers, Drive folders, and text messages before you start:

1. A recent count sheet. A Google Sheet, an Excel file, a photo of a paper sheet — whatever you actually use. This is the backbone of your item list in Stockcount.
2. One week of invoices. Sysco, US Foods, the produce guy, the linen bill. You don't need to enter them all on day one. You just need to see what your vendors and item names actually look like.
3. Your menu. A PDF or a photo. Stockcount won't ask for it on day one, but you'll want it within the first week to build recipes.
4. Par levels, if you've ever written them down. Par is how much of each item you want to keep on hand. Most operators have never written these down. That's fine — Stockcount can learn them from how often you count.

What good count-sheet data looks like

Stockcount cleans up imports aggressively, but cleaner in means cleaner out. The minimum:

• Item name. Consistent. "Whole Milk 2% Gallon" everywhere, not "milk" three times and "WHO 2% GAL" twice.
• Unit. Case, lb, qt, bottle, each — one unit per item. If you sometimes count tomatoes by the case and sometimes by the pound, pick one for now. Conversions can happen later.

Optional, but valuable:

• Par level. How much you want to keep on hand.
• Category. "Dairy," "Produce," "Dry storage." Helps later, when Stockcount totals up your food costs.

Vendors and item costs aren't part of the spreadsheet import. You add vendors as you go, and scanned invoices fill in costs.

What to skip on day one

Resist the urge to build the whole system in one sitting. On day one you do not need:

• A full recipe library
• Plate costs or menu analysis
• Your team invited
• Every vendor connected
• Pretty data

Get to your first count tonight. Refine on Day 3.

Where this connects

• Import your items from a spreadsheet: the actual upload path, step by step.
• Count your walk-in in 10 minutes by voice: what you're racing toward tonight.