Clothing and shoe store inventory: count every size and color by barcode, from the rail to the stockroom
By mise · Updated October 15, 2026
Quick answer: a clothing or shoe store (boutique) counts by size and color (colour): a shirt in five sizes and three colors is fifteen items, each with its own barcode on the tag. Scan the tag, type the quantity, count the stockroom in sealed boxes and the fitting rooms last. Compare two counts to find what went missing from the rails and what is still there when the season ends.
Scan the barcode on the tag, or snap a photo of the label: mise's AI finds the garment or shoe and brings it back categorized, with size and color. In a boutique that means a stock take by rail and by section with your team, and an end-of-season list of what did not sell, in money.
A boutique with 300 styles has 3,000 to 5,000 items on the rails once sizes and colors are split out. A spreadsheet with one line per style cannot tell you the size 8 in black is gone and the size 14 is still there. This guide covers counting by variant, where a clothing store loses stock and what mise does.
Every size and color is an item
| Category | How to count | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing (tops, dresses, trousers or pants, jackets) | Barcode on the tag, per size and color | Tag swaps; broken size runs |
| Shoes (per size, per color, in pairs) | Barcode on the box; one box, one pair | Odd shoes; display pair |
| Accessories (bags, belts, jewelry or jewellery) | Barcode | Small, high value, theft |
| Underwear, socks, hosiery | Barcode; packs x units | Open packs |
| Own label, handmade, vintage | Your own barcode label, or add once by hand with name and photo | Never create the same piece twice |
Brand tags already carry a barcode for the exact size and color, and that is what mise reads. A piece with no code is added by hand once, with a name and a photo; you can also photograph the care label and mise's AI tries to identify it, without any promise that it will.
Where a clothing store loses stock
- Fitting rooms. The tag stays on the floor, the garment leaves. Count the fitting rooms last and recount what was tried on.
- Tag swaps. A cheaper tag on an expensive piece. The till (register) balances; the stock of both items is wrong.
- Returns not put back. The dress sits in a bag under the counter, the sale stays recorded, the item is "missing".
- Staff discounts, uniforms, window pieces never written down. Stock-out with a reason.
How to do the stock take
- Split the store into sections: each rail, the shelves, the shoe wall, the window, the fitting rooms, the stockroom. Each team member takes one at the same time, on their own phone, with their own permissions.
- Scan the tag on every piece and type the quantity; the item comes up with size and color.
- Shoes by box, opening the lid: a box without its pair is a stock-out with a reason, not a sale.
- Close and compare with the previous count and with sales: the difference per item, in units and in money, is the shrink.
See how to do a stock take and physical inventory count.
Do it in mise
- Scan the barcode on the tag or snap a photo of the label: mise's AI finds the garment or shoe and brings it back categorized (name, brand, photo, size and color, group and category).
- Stock take by section with your team at the same time, each on their own phone with their own permissions.
- Own-label pieces added once with a name and a photo; damaged items, loans and odd shoes as stock-outs with a reason.
- Minimum stock on basics by size and a reorder list in PDF, Excel, WhatsApp or email, split by supplier.
- Invoices in XML, Excel or CSV; end-of-season dead stock and shrink in money; export to Excel and PDF.
7 days free, no card needed.
End of season: what did not sell
The stock take at the end of the season answers the question a boutique lives on: what is left, and what is it worth? Broken size runs and styles that never moved are the dead stock that sits on a markdown rail for a year.
See dead stock and inventory shrinkage.
The routine between stock takes
| Section | Frequency | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Accessories, jewelry, fitting rooms and the rails next to them | Weekly | Where small and tried-on items disappear |
| Shoe wall | Every two weeks | Odd pairs, display pairs |
| Rails, one section at a time; stockroom | Monthly | Size runs, returns, receiving errors |
| Whole store | End of each season | Dead stock and shrink in money |
Set a minimum stock (par level) on basics that must never break: the bestselling jeans by size, plain tees, socks. Below it, the item turns red and goes onto the reorder list with the quantity short; the list exports as PDF or Excel, or opens in WhatsApp or email ready to send, split by supplier. Invoices import as XML, Excel or CSV. See cycle counting and par level.
What mise does in a clothing store, and what it does not
In short, everything in the "Do it in mise" box above, with no limit on items, counts or scans.
Scan the tag and the right size comes up; what did not sell comes out in money at the end of the season. 7-day free trial, no card.
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Frequently asked questions
Does the app tell sizes and colors apart?
Yes: each size and each color has its own barcode on the tag, and that is what mise reads.
What about my own label with no barcode?
Print your own barcode labels, or add each piece once by hand with a name and a photo. You can also photograph the care label and mise's AI tries to identify it.
How do I count shoes?
By box, one box one pair, scanning the barcode on the box. A box without its pair is recorded as a stock-out with a reason.
How often should a boutique do a stock take?
The whole store at the end of each season; accessories and the rails next to the fitting rooms weekly; the rest monthly, one section at a time.
How much does mise cost?
7 days free, no card needed, to try it in your store.