In Morocco, stock-taking is not a good management habit: it is an obligation. Article 145-II of the General Tax Code requires detailed inventories to be drawn up « at the end of each financial year, in quantities and in values », of merchandise, miscellaneous products, packaging and consumable supplies bought for resale or for the needs of the business.
The rest of this article covers what the text requires exactly, the four families to count — including one almost everyone forgets — the three ways to organise counting, the steps of a shop stock-take, and what a discrepancy tells you about your business.
What the law asks, word for word
The sentence is short and every piece of it counts. Three requirements hide in it:
- « at the end of each financial year » — this is an annual appointment, not a check you run when there is time.
- « detailed » — an overall total is not enough. The inventory goes down to the item reference.
- « in quantities and in values » — two columns, not one. Counting items without valuing them answers only half the obligation.
To this is added the general framework of article 145-I: accounts must be kept in accordance with the legislation in force, and now « in electronic format ». The inventory is not a standalone document: it is a piece of those accounts.
The four families to inventory
The text lists four categories, and the list is broader than what is usually meant by « stock »:
- Merchandise — what you buy to resell as is. That is the part everyone thinks of.
- Miscellaneous products — everything that does not fit neatly into the main line: end-of-series items, seasonal goods stored apart, returned lots.
- Packaging — the forgotten family, and sometimes the most expensive at a wholesaler: crates, pallets, deposit bottles and cases, cartons bought in volume.
- Consumable supplies — what is bought « for the needs of the business »: stretch film, labels, cleaning products, wear parts.
For a wholesale depot, deposit packaging can represent a sum comparable to a category of merchandise. Leaving it out of the inventory means declaring a false position in both directions: the asset is missing, and so are the deposits owed to customers.
Three ways to organise the count
The obligation bears on the result, not on the method. Three arrangements coexist, and they are not mutually exclusive:
- Periodic stock-taking — everything is counted once, at year end. It is the simplest to decide on and the heaviest to live through: you often have to close, and an error found that day has had all year to grow.
- Perpetual inventory — theoretical stock is kept up to date continuously, every receipt and issue being recorded. The physical count then serves to check what the system shows, not to discover it.
- Cycle counting — part of the stock is counted every week or month, by zone or by family, so that everything has been seen at least once in the year.
Do not confuse working method with obligation: cycle counting prepares the year-end inventory, it does not replace it. The text asks for an inventory at year end, and the merit of cycle counting is precisely that on that day there is almost nothing left to correct.
The steps of a shop stock-take
The difficulty of a stock-take is never the counting: it is stopping the stock from moving while you count. The order below exists for that.
- Tidy before counting. Group scattered references together, pull out the unsellable, clear the aisles. An hour of tidying saves three hours of counting and avoids half the double counts.
- Freeze movements. Pick a moment when nothing comes in or goes out — closing time, before opening, after the last delivery. If a delivery absolutely must go out, physically separate what is already sold and do not count it.
- Split into zones. One zone, one person, one list. That is what guarantees no shelf is counted twice or missed.
- Count in the management unit. The point that causes the most damage: decide whether you count in cartons or in units, and stick to it. See the article on stock in cartons and units.
- Record what you see, not what you expect. Ideally the person counting should not have the theoretical stock in front of them: knowing the expected figure is the surest way to find it.
- Recount significant discrepancies. Before concluding there is a loss, check a second time, by someone else if possible.
- Value and close. Carry the quantities over, apply the values, then close: from there, the inventory becomes the new starting point for theoretical stock.
What a discrepancy means
A discrepancy is not a failure of the stock-take: it is its result. What matters is not stopping at the figure and asking where it comes from. The causes are almost always on this list:
- A data-entry error on receipt — the quantity delivered was not the one on the note, and nobody compared.
- An unrecorded issue — a withdrawal for internal use, an exchange, a commercial gesture made from memory.
- A mis-converted unit — a carton entered as a unit, or the reverse. That discrepancy is always an exact multiple of the pack size, which makes it recognisable at a glance.
- Unrecorded breakage or expiry.
- Theft — the most cited cause, rarely the most frequent.
A discrepancy also has a direct effect on your figures: closing stock feeds the cost of goods sold, and therefore your gross margin. An approximate inventory produces an approximate margin, and the decision resting on it is approximate too.
Value: what the law says and does not say
The text requires the inventory to be drawn up « in quantities and in values ». A value must therefore be attached to each line, and that value is not the selling price: it is what the stock cost you.
The valuation method, on the other hand — weighted average cost, first in first out — does not come from this text but from accounting rules. That is a question for your accountant, along with the treatment of the discrepancies found. What does not change, whatever the answer: the method chosen must stay the same from one year to the next, failing which year-on-year comparisons stop meaning anything.
Frequently asked questions
Is stock-taking mandatory in Morocco? Yes. Article 145-II of the General Tax Code requires detailed inventories, in quantities and values, at the end of each financial year. Article 145-XI sets that aside for individuals under the unified professional contribution or auto-entrepreneur regimes.
What are the steps of a stock-take? Tidy, freeze movements, split into zones, count in the chosen management unit, record what you see, recount significant discrepancies, then value and close.
What is the difference between perpetual and periodic inventory? A perpetual inventory keeps theoretical stock up to date continuously; the physical count checks it. A periodic inventory counts only once, at year end, and discovers the real position that day.
Does cycle counting remove the need for the annual inventory? No. The text asks for an inventory at the end of each financial year. Cycle counting is a working method that prepares for it and reduces the discrepancies left to correct.
Does packaging have to be counted? Yes, the text names it expressly, alongside merchandise, miscellaneous products and consumable supplies. It is the most commonly forgotten category, and at a wholesaler it weighs heavily.
