Start Count: The 5-Minute Habit That Catches Problems Early

Every merchant has that one product. The one where the number on screen never quite matches what's actually on the shelf.

Ghost Stock doesn't try to fix that number for you. It flags it, and gives you a fast way to check it yourself. That's what Start Count is for.

What Start Count actually does

When an alert looks suspicious, whether that's a stock level that doesn't line up with recent sales, or a SKU issue like a missing or duplicate code, you'll see a "Start Count" button next to it in your dashboard.

Clicking it does one simple thing: it logs that you're investigating that specific item. It doesn't change your Shopify inventory, doesn't create a purchase order, and doesn't touch anything automatically. It just marks the moment you decided to go look.

Why that matters more than it sounds

It's easy to see a red alert and either panic or ignore it. Start Count gives you a middle option: acknowledge it, go physically check the stock (or check with whoever manages your warehouse), and come back with an answer.

That small habit, count first, react second, is often the difference between a five-minute fix and a customer refund three weeks later.

When to actually use it

• A SKU shows available stock, but all of it sits at a location that's marked inactive in Shopify.
• Recorded stock looks low compared to how fast that item has been selling.
• You just don't trust the number and want a clean record that you checked.

None of this requires a paid plan tier by itself, but the wider alerts feed that surfaces these SKUs is a Starter and above feature. Once you're looking at an alert, Start Count is right there.

What it isn't

It's worth being clear about this: Start Count is not a purchase order tool. It won't tell you how many units to reorder or which supplier to use. Ghost Stock's job stops at "something here looks off, go check it." What you do after that is up to you.

That's deliberate. A dashboard that pretends to know your reorder quantity without knowing your supplier lead times or your actual stockroom would just be guessing. We'd rather be honest about what we can and can't tell you.