Stocktaking with a scanner: importing the count into POHODA

There are two ways to get a scanner-based stocktake into POHODA. You either enter the counted quantities in the Stocktaking module (Sklady → Inventura), or you convert them from the scanner into XML and POHODA loads them as an inventory list. The Post stocktaking command (Zaúčtování inventury) then transfers the differences from the Stocktaking module into stock: it creates a receipt for surpluses and an issue slip for shortages. Before anything else, test on a copy of your data how the imported list links to the stocktake in your edition of POHODA.

On top of that, the Czech Accounting Act allows continuous stocktaking for inventory recorded by type. So you don’t have to count the whole warehouse at once. Below is the procedure for POHODA, a comparison with Money S3 and ABRA Flexi, and the rules a stocktake has to meet.

What must an inventory count meet under Czech law?

Stocktaking is governed by § 29 and 30 of Act No. 563/1991 Coll., on accounting (zákon o účetnictví, as in force from 1 Jan 2026). For a warehouse, this means:

Rule	What it means in practice	Provision
Periodic stocktaking	Verify the balance as of the moment the financial statements are prepared. If the accounting period is the calendar year, that is 31 Dec.	§ 29(1)
Physical count	Inventory that can be seen is counted, measured or weighed	§ 30(1) and (3)
Time window	Start no earlier than 4 months before the balance sheet date and finish no later than 2 months after it	§ 30(6)
Cut-off date	You can count earlier and calculate the balance as of the balance sheet date from receipts and issues between the two dates	§ 30(4)
Inventory record	Conclusive record: what was found, signatures of responsible persons, method of determination, valuation, cut-off date, start and end of the stocktake	§ 30(7)
Stocktaking differences	Shortage (actual lower than accounting) or surplus (higher). They are accounted for in the period for which the balance is verified.	§ 30(10) and (11)
Proof	You must be able to prove the stocktaking was carried out for 5 years	§ 29(3)

So a stocktake doesn’t have to take place exactly on 31 Dec or over the holidays. How to calculate the balance as of the balance sheet date in your case is up to your accountant.

This is not legal advice. For a specific case, contact your accountant or tax advisor.

What is continuous stocktaking and when can you use it?

Continuous stocktaking means you count the warehouse in parts during the year, not all of it as of one day. The law allows it for inventory you account for by type, or by storage location or materially responsible person (§ 29(2)). You set the dates yourself. There is one condition: every type of inventory must be counted at least once per accounting period.

Two rules that are useful precisely when working with a scanner:

• The cut-off date applies here too. The balance can be calculated from movements, just as with periodic stocktaking (§ 30(5) in conjunction with (4)).
• The inventory record can be replaced by an accounting record. Inventory records can be replaced by a conclusive accounting record of the physical count and of how the stocktaking differences were accounted for (§ 30(8)).

In practice, you divide the warehouse into parts: racks, inventory groups or individual warehouses. Each part gets its own date in the year. A small batch is counted quickly, and an error is searched for among dozens of items, not thousands. Make every scan traceable: date, warehouse, who counted, plus the result of posting.

How to do a stocktake in POHODA step by step

The MDB, SQL and E1 editions all have stocktaking in the Stock (Sklady) menu. The procedure according to Portál POHODA:

1. Post all documents with stock movements and stop movement in the warehouse you are counting. If that is not possible, specify the warehouse where the stocktake will take place.
2. Recalculate purchase prices in the Stock → Stock items module (Sklady → Zásoby) with the Record → Revalue purchase prices command (Záznam → Přecenění nákupních cen). Remove negative balances before compiling the stocktake; they distort the calculation.
3. Compile the stocktake in the Stock → Stocktaking module with the Record → Compile stocktake command (Záznam → Sestavení inventury). You enter the date, the warehouse and whether to include items without movement.
4. Print the blind report Stocktaking input sheets (Podklady pro zpracování inventury). The people counting should not get a list with the book quantities to tick off.
5. Enter the actual quantities in the Actual (Skutečnost) column. POHODA calculates the differences itself.
6. Post the differences with the Record → Post stocktaking command (Záznam → Zaúčtování inventury). A receipt for surpluses and an issue slip for shortages are created.
7. Check the documents in the Receipts (Příjemky) and Issue slips (Výdejky) modules. Archive the count results.

Watch out in the MDB and SQL editions: according to Portál POHODA, only one stocktake can be compiled in them, and a new one overwrites the previous one. E1 can handle more. If you count continuously in parts, finish and post each part first, and only then compile the next one.

Where do the scanner and the inventory list import come in?

Without a scanner, step 5 tends to be the slowest. Numbers from paper are retyped into POHODA, and then you search for who mistyped what where. A scanner replaces this step with a file.

POHODA has an XML import for inventory lists (the Inventory lists module, Inventurní seznamy, schema inventoryLists.xsd). According to the schema, the list carries:

• in the header the warehouse, date, text and note, optionally the cost center, activity and job,
• in the items the link to the stock item, item code, name, quantity and unit of measure.

The flow with a scanner then looks like this:

Step	Who or what	Output
1. Scan	Warehouse worker with a scanner or phone, rack by rack	List: code, quantity, warehouse, who, when
2. Conversion	Script or connector	XML according to the inventory list schema
3. Import	POHODA, XML import	Inventory list in POHODA
4. Check	Warehouse manager	Large differences are recounted, not written off straight away
5. Posting	Accountant	Receipt for surpluses, issue slip for shortages

Before you start, check two things:

• Codes. The scanner reads a barcode; POHODA looks up the stock item. Codes and EANs on stock items must therefore match. POHODA can verify that an entered code conforms to the EAN standard and offers to recalculate the check digit. Label goods without a code before the stocktake.
• Your edition of POHODA. The XML import page does not mention any edition restriction for inventory lists, while it does for other modules (supplier data for stock items can only be imported in E1). Test how the loaded list is reflected in the stocktake in your version on a copy of the accounting unit first.

What does it look like in Money S3 and ABRA Flexi?

The principle is the same: create a stocktake, get the counted quantities into it, convert the differences into documents. What differs is where the data enters.

	POHODA	Money S3	ABRA Flexi
Where the stocktake is created	Stock → Stocktaking → Compile stocktake	Warehouse → Warehouse management → Stocktakes (Sklad → Správa skladu → Inventury), then Load book stock levels (Načíst evidenční stav zásob)	Stocktake header with start date and status
Where the counted quantities go	The Actual column, XML import of inventory lists	Stocktake documents; one stocktake can have several	Stocktake items, import from Excel in the web interface
What the differences produce	Receipt for surpluses, issue slip for shortages	After closing, correction documents: for a shortage an issue slip or delivery note, for a surplus a receipt or delivery note	The difference between system and actual quantity, from which stocktaking differences are created

Money S3: the vendor’s guide describes entering quantities into stocktake documents by hand. For connecting a scanner or your own app, Money S3 has an API that can read and write stocktake documents. The API is a paid extension module, and writing goes through an import queue. The result therefore needs to be checked.

The “not listed = zero” rule is treacherous when scanning. When the stocktake covers all stock items, a forgotten rack shows up in Money S3 not as missing data but as a shortage.

ABRA Flexi: the file for importing stocktake items needs the price list code, the warehouse code and the actual quantity. Flexi looks up the stock card itself. So the scanner export just needs to be converted into these three columns.

What to watch out for so the stocktake adds up

• Duplicates and skipped items. When scanning rack by rack, keep track of which rack is done and who counted it.
• Units of measure. Piece, pack, carton. Every code must lead to the correct unit, otherwise a difference appears that nobody in the warehouse will find.
• Third-party stock. Mark customer goods or consignment goods and let the people counting know about them.
• Movement during the count. Either stop it, or set a cut-off date and calculate the balance from documents.
• Differences above the limit. Have them recounted before you post them. A write-off does not fix a counting error.
• Archive. Store scanner exports, inventory lists and difference documents together. You must be able to prove the stocktaking was carried out for 5 years.

When don’t a scanner and import pay off?

Do you have a few hundred items, one warehouse and count once a year? Then a blind report, careful counting and manual entry in the Actual column are usually enough. A scanner and import make sense when you have hundreds to thousands of items, several warehouses, want to count continuously during the year, or the differences come back every year and nobody knows why.

Sources

1. Act No. 563/1991 Coll., on accounting, § 29 and 30 (as in force from 1 Jan 2026): https://www.zakonyprolidi.cz/cs/1991-563/zneni-20260101
2. Portál POHODA – Účetní závěrka v programu POHODA, part 1 (compiling and posting a stocktake): https://portal.pohoda.cz/dane-ucetnictvi-mzdy/ucetnictvi/ucetni-zaverka-v-programu-pohoda-1-dil/
3. Portál POHODA – Inventarizace v programu POHODA: https://portal.pohoda.cz/dane-ucetnictvi-mzdy/ucetnictvi/inventarizace-v-programu-pohoda/
4. Portál POHODA – Jak na fyzickou (skladovou) inventuru v programu POHODA: https://portal.pohoda.cz/dane-ucetnictvi-mzdy/ucetnictvi/jak-na-fyzickou-skladovou-inventuru-v-programu-pohoda/
5. Portál POHODA – Jak na fyzickou skladovou inventuru: https://portal.pohoda.cz/dane-ucetnictvi-mzdy/ucetnictvi/jak-na-fyzickou-skladovou-inventuru
6. Stormware – POHODA XML, documents supported for import: https://www.stormware.cz/pohoda/xml/dokladyimport/default.aspx
7. Stormware – XML schema for inventory lists: https://www.stormware.cz/schema/version_2/inventoryLists.xsd
8. Portál POHODA – Automatizujte sklady: 5 vychytávek pro efektivnější skladové hospodářství: https://portal.pohoda.cz/dane-ucetnictvi-mzdy/ucetnictvi/automatizujte-sklady-5-vychytavek-pro-efektivnejsi-skladove-hospodarstvi/
9. Money S3 – Stocktaking guide (Skladová inventura): https://money.cz/navod/vzorova-priklad-inventura/
10. Money S3 – API in Money S3 for developers: https://money.cz/navod/api-v-money-s3-pro-vyvojare/
11. ABRA Flexi – Import from Excel: Inventory Items (WUI): https://podpora.flexibee.eu/en/articles/6426715-import-from-excel-inventory-items-wui

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Stocktaking is one module of warehouse automation. Others are receiving and issuing with a scanner, stock monitoring and batches. What pays off for you, we show on the Warehouse automation for small and mid-sized companies page. The procedure for stocktaking specifically is on the Stocktaking with a scanner page, and the POHODA integration on the POHODA page. Want to know whether a scanner and import pay off for you? Book a free 30-minute audit. We will go through your warehouse, your system and the differences from your last stocktake, and tell you what makes sense to do before the next one.