Count stock by scanning barcodes, in every store and every storage area
By mise · Updated October 7, 2026
mise is an inventory app: scan a barcode or take a photo and the product comes up complete, then count it. 7-day free trial, no card.
Quick answer: mise is an inventory app: scan a barcode or take a photo and the product comes back complete (name, brand, category, size and photo), so you count without spreadsheets or typing names. For businesses with more than one site, each store keeps its own stock, each store is split into locations (bar, kitchen, walk-in, cellar, stockroom), stock moves between locations with a transfer, and the owner can view all stores together and choose who counts where.
The hard part of multi-location inventory is not the math. It is getting the same count, done the same way, in every bar, kitchen and stockroom, by different people, every week. That starts with making the count itself fast: if nobody has to type product names, everybody counts the same way.
Two levels: stores and locations
| Level | What it is | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Store | A separate business site with its own stock, counts and team | Downtown bar, airport bar, second restaurant, warehouse |
| Location | An area inside a store, counted on its own and added up | Back bar, walk-in, dry storage, cellar, shop floor |
In mise you add stores and locations in the settings. When you pick one store, every count and every change goes to that store. When you pick several, or all of them, you see the stock of those stores together, and before you record anything the app asks which store it belongs to, so nothing lands in the wrong place.
How a count works across locations
- Pick the store and the location you are counting, for example "Downtown · Walk-in".
- Scan each product with the phone camera, or snap a photo when there is no barcode. The product comes up complete, so you only type the quantity. Partial units (an open bottle in tenths, a case that is half full) are fine.
- Move to the next location. Several people can count at the same time, each in their own area, and it all goes into the same count.
- Close the count. Each location keeps its numbers and the store total adds them up.
- Compare with the last count and with deliveries: variance per item in units and money shows where stock went.
Transfers between locations
Stock moves all the time: cases from the cellar to the bar, product from dry storage to the line. In mise you record that as a transfer from one location to another, so the bar does not look like it gained stock and the cellar does not look like it lost it. Without transfers, variance reports blame the wrong area. More on reading those numbers in inventory variance.
Team access by store and by location
- Invite each person to the stores they work in.
- Inside a store, limit someone to their locations: the bartender counts the bar, the kitchen lead counts the walk-in and dry storage.
- Hide costs and values from people who only count.
- Only the owner creates locations, so the list stays the same in every count.
Same names, same order, every week: that is what makes counts from different sites comparable.
Checklist for a multi-location count
- Every store uses the same location names (Bar, Walk-in, Dry storage, Cellar).
- Each person knows which store and which locations they count.
- Transfers between locations are recorded the day they happen.
- Deliveries are entered before you compare two counts.
- Waste is recorded with a reason, not left for the count to find.
- Counts are closed the same day and exported (Excel or PDF) for the accountant or the POS.
Spreadsheet or app?
One spreadsheet per site works with a short product list, and an inventory spreadsheet template is a fine start. It breaks down when the same product has to be typed in five files, when two people edit the same sheet, and when someone has to merge everything on Monday morning. Scanning removes the typing, and one account with stores and locations removes the merging. For franchise groups, see franchise inventory management. To check what a code is before you count, use the free barcode lookup.
Scan the barcode or snap a photo: mise's AI finds the product and categorizes it. Stores, locations, transfers and team access included. 7-day free trial, no card.
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Frequently asked questions
Can one inventory app handle several stores?
Yes. In mise each store keeps its own stock, counts and team, and the owner can view one store, several or all of them together.
What is the difference between a store and a location in mise?
A store is a separate site with its own stock. A location is an area inside a store, such as the bar, the walk-in or the cellar, counted on its own and added to the store total.
How do I move stock between locations?
Record a transfer from one location to the other. Both locations stay right and the variance report does not blame the wrong area.
Can I limit staff to certain stores or areas?
Yes. The owner chooses which stores and which locations each person can count in, and can hide costs from people who only count.
Do I need to build a product list for each site first?
No. You scan the barcode or take a photo and the product comes back complete; the mise AI finds products it does not know yet.