Ability to Perform Stock Counts by Category

[dokidoki]

I’d like to request a new inventory feature: Stock Count by Category! Currently, Square Inventory offers two options:

• Cycle Count – spot checking individual items.
• Full Count – a comprehensive audit across the entire inventory.

While helpful, these options leave a critical gap. As a business with diverse categories (e.g., Books, Stationery, Snacks, Collectibles, Trading Card Games), I often need to verify stock levels at the category level.

For example:

• Checking whether all Books that are marked "in stock" are physically accounted for.
• Reviewing high-value categories like Collectibles to identify shrinkage or theft.
• Running a check on seasonal inventory (e.g., holiday merchandise) to confirm everything is accounted for before or after the season.
• Spot-checking fast-moving items like Trading Card Games where frequent sales increase the chance of discrepancies.
• Narrowing down which categories may have higher shrinkage or theft risk.

Right now, my only option is a Full Count, which is too time-consuming and disruptive, or a Cycle Count, which is too narrow to identify missing items efficiently. A Category-Level Stock Count would:

1. Improve Accuracy – Allow businesses to quickly validate inventory health within targeted categories.

2. Save Time – Reduce the burden of full audits by focusing on one segment of the catalog.

3. Support Loss Prevention – Help detect shrinkage patterns across specific categories and proactively address theft.

4. Enhance Usability – Aligns with how many businesses naturally organize and monitor their inventory.

This feature would make Square Inventory significantly more effective for retailers who manage large, varied catalogs, and it would reduce the friction we face when trying to reconcile what’s "on the shelf" with what’s "on the screen."

Thank you for considering this request! I believe Category-Level Stock Counts would be a valuable addition that benefits a wide range of Square users.

[JTPets]

I have started to use AI to bridge the gaps in Square and make my own platform add on tool, if you have any technical skill you can check it out here (its being updated daily right now) https://community.squareup.com/t5/Feedback-Discussions/Retail-Features-Need-More-Development-Here-is... 

I made my own order tool, and cycle count tool due to the current limitations of Square. If you like the features comment on the post to drive some Square development 🙂

[dokidoki]

@JTPets I didn't see anything about your cycle count tool in that link you provided. can you tell me a little more? Will this solve my problem of needing to do stock counting by category? Thank you! 

[JTPets]

It generates x counts per day based on last count date. It has a count now tool where you could copy paste your upc into a box for generating counts by category. 

This is still a work in progress and read only, nothing pushes back to square at this time, but a report is generated.