Ralph’s stock-taking feature streamlines the inventory verification process by allowing employees to confirm their assigned assets quickly through a self-service interface.
Overview Stock-taking provides:
Self-service verification - Employees confirm their own equipmentAutomated tagging - Assets are tagged automatically upon confirmationWarehouse-based - Enable per warehouse or regionAudit trail - All confirmations recorded in asset historyMissing asset reporting - Track items that can’t be located
Enabling Stock Taking Stock-taking can be enabled at two levels:
Warehouse Level
Navigate to Warehouses
Go to Back Office → Warehouses or visit /back_office/warehouse/
Edit Warehouse
Select the warehouse where you want to enable stock-taking.
Enable Stock Taking
Check the Stocktaking enabled checkbox. This enables stock-taking for all assets in this warehouse.
Configure Tag Suffix (Optional)
Set Stocktaking tag suffix to differentiate tags by warehouse. Example: Set to “WH1” to create tags like STOCK-WH1
Save Changes
Click Save to activate stock-taking for the warehouse.
Region Level
Navigate to Regions
Go to Settings → Regions or visit /accounts/region/
Edit Region
Select the region where you want to enable stock-taking.
Enable Stock Taking
Check the Stocktaking enabled checkbox. This enables stock-taking for all users in this region.
Save Changes
Click Save to activate stock-taking for the region.
An asset is eligible for stock-taking if either its warehouse or its user’s region has stock-taking enabled.
Employee Stock-Taking Process Once enabled, employees see stock-taking options in their equipment view.
Accessing My Equipment
Navigate to My Equipment
Employees click My Equipment from the user menu.
Review Assigned Assets
The page shows all assets assigned to the employee.
Confirm or Report Missing
For each asset, two options appear:
Yes, I have it - Confirms possessionNo, I don’t have it - Reports missing Confirming Asset Possession When an employee confirms they have an asset:
Click Confirmation
Employee clicks Yes, I have it for the asset.
Review Asset Details
A confirmation page shows:
Barcode/Inventory number
Category
Manufacturer
Model
Serial number
Confirm
Employee confirms the information is correct.
Asset Tagged
Ralph automatically adds inventory tags to the asset:
Base tag: INVENTORY (or configured value)
Warehouse suffix: INVENTORY-WH1 (if configured)
User tag: INVENTORY-USER
Date tag: INVENTORY-2024-03-15 (if enabled)
Reporting Missing Assets When an employee reports an asset as missing:
Click Missing Report
Employee clicks No, I don’t have it for the asset.
Asset Tagged as Missing
Ralph adds a “missing” tag to the asset.
Contact Information
Employee sees instructions to contact the asset management team.
Tags are automatically applied to track stock-taking status.
Base Tag
Default: INVENTORY
Configured via: INVENTORY_TAG setting
User Tag
Default: INVENTORY-USER
Configured via: INVENTORY_TAG_USER setting
Missing Tag
Default: INVENTORY-MISSING
Configured via: INVENTORY_TAG_MISSING setting
When a warehouse has a stocktaking tag suffix:
Base tag: INVENTORY Warehouse suffix: WH1 Resulting tag: INVENTORY-WH1
This helps differentiate stock-taking campaigns across warehouses.
If INVENTORY_TAG_APPEND_DATE is enabled:
Base tag: INVENTORY Date tag: INVENTORY-2024-03-15
Date tags help track when stock-taking occurred.
Configuration Settings Configure stock-taking behavior in Django settings:
# Base inventory tag INVENTORY_TAG = 'STOCK' # User confirmation tag INVENTORY_TAG_USER = 'STOCK-USER' # Missing asset tag INVENTORY_TAG_MISSING = 'STOCK-MISSING' # Append date to tags INVENTORY_TAG_APPEND_DATE = True # URL for reporting missing assets MISSING_ASSET_REPORT_URL = 'https://helpdesk.example.com/report-missing'
Asset History Tracking All stock-taking actions are recorded in asset history:
Timestamp of confirmation
User who performed the action
Tags added
Comments indicating stock-taking event
This creates a complete audit trail.
Common Workflows Annual Stock-Taking Campaign
Enable Stock-Taking
Enable stock-taking on relevant warehouses or regions.
Notify Employees
Send email notification asking employees to verify their equipment.
Monitor Progress
Track completion by filtering assets with inventory tags.
Follow Up on Missing
Contact employees who reported missing assets.
Generate Report
Export list of verified and missing assets.
Disable Stock-Taking
Uncheck the enabled boxes when campaign is complete.
New Employee Onboarding
Assign Equipment
Assign assets to new employee in Ralph.
Employee Verifies
New employee logs in and confirms receipt via My Equipment.
Assets Tagged
Automatic tagging confirms handover is complete.
Department Reorganization
Enable Regional Stock-Taking
Enable for the affected region.
Employees Verify
All employees in region confirm their equipment.
Identify Discrepancies
Find assets that are assigned but not confirmed.
Correct Records
Update asset assignments based on actual possession.
Reporting and Analysis Finding Verified Assets Filter assets by inventory tags:
# API: Assets verified in stock-taking curl "https://<YOUR-RALPH-URL>/api/back-office-assets/?tags__name=INVENTORY" \ -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN"
Finding Missing Assets # API: Assets reported as missing curl "https://<YOUR-RALPH-URL>/api/back-office-assets/?tags__name=INVENTORY-MISSING" \ -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_TOKEN"
Stock-Taking Completion Rate
Count total assets assigned to users
Count assets with inventory tags
Calculate percentage: (tagged / total) × 100
Tips and Best Practices Clear Communication : Send clear instructions to employees before starting stock-taking.
Set Deadlines : Give employees a specific timeframe to complete verification.
Use Date Tags : Enable date tags to track multiple stock-taking campaigns over time.
Warehouse Suffixes : Use different suffixes for different locations to track regional campaigns.
Stock-taking tags are added automatically. Don’t manually add inventory tags as they’ll be overwritten during the next campaign.
Integration with Regular Stock-Taking Self-service stock-taking complements, but doesn’t replace, traditional physical inventory counts.
Use both methods:
Self-service : Quick verification for standard equipmentPhysical audit : Detailed verification for high-value or sensitive items
The tagging system works for both approaches.
Troubleshooting
Stock-taking option not visible
Verify stock-taking is enabled on warehouse or region
Check that asset is assigned to a user
Confirm user is logged in and viewing My Equipment page
Verify user has permission to access My Equipment
Can't disable stock-taking
Uncheck the “Stocktaking enabled” box on warehouse/region
Save the changes
Already-applied tags remain for audit purposes
New confirmations won’t be accepted