Stocktaking enables you to identify weaknesses in stock control processes. Regular stocktakes throughout the year will help identify and reduce the amount of shrinkage commonly associated with the food and beverage industry due to the sale of a desirable product. Often, frequency will depend on the volume of trade you have. The more you sell, the greater the risk. It also depends on the losses seen from previous reports and your desire to increase profitability by reduced losses and controlling your stock. Stocktakes ideally will be completed monthly, and at the very least, quarterly. The longer the interval between stocktakes, the less able you are to identify issues and react to them. For example, a quarterly stocktake can only tell you what happened in the last three months. It is therefore difficult to pin down when the issue actually occurred during that time, and how to prevent the issue occurring over the next 3 months.