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Mid-Year Inventory Check: Preventing Profit Erosion

Let's address the elephant in the room:

Dead stock is stacking up dollars you could save.

It may lurk innocently in your warehouse or storage space, out of sight and out of mind. But the financial implications of unsold inventory can be significant, impacting your business margins.

When you eventually realize the value trapped in unsold stock, the opportunity for timely intervention might already be missed.

Your solution lies in a mid-year inventory audit. This period is crucial for scrutinizing stock, decluttering inventory, and refining sales tactics well ahead of peak seasons or unforeseen supply chain disruptions.

The Criticality of 2025

The year 2025 has been challenging for inventory management, with escalating storage expenses, tariff instabilities, delayed shipments, evolving consumer preferences, and residual stockpiling tendencies from previous years pressuring liquidity.

Here's the silver lining:
Stagnant inventory doesn't have to transition to dead stock if you're proactive in your approach.

Mid-Year Inventory Audit Strategies 

1. Conduct a Comprehensive Physical Inventory

It is imperative to get an accurate count of what’s truly in stock as opposed to relying on potentially flawed system data. This tangible examination can rectify purchasing errors based on unrealistic stock levels.

2. Generate a Sales Velocity Analysis

Identify items with rapid turnover versus those collecting dust. A sales velocity analysis is crucial, spotlighting inventories that haven't sold in 90 to 180 days—a clear indicator of non-performing assets.

3. Uncover the Costs of Holding Inventory

Inactivity from slow-moving stock doesn't only limit cash flow. It leads to:

  • Reduction in valuable storage space

  • Inflated insurance and storage expenditures

  • Elevated risks of theft, damage, and devaluation

  • Obstructed capacity to store more lucrative items 

Holding onto non-essentials is costly, irrespective of their purchase status.

4. Identify True Dead Stock

It’s time for clarity. Recognize items that are expired, outmoded, or not resonating with your clientele. Inventory that remains unsold across multiple sales cycles, excluding seasonal variances, should be prioritized for departure.

5. Initiate Strategic Mid-Year Promotions (or Exit Tactics)

Approach your sales with precision. Options include:

  • Combining underperformers with high-demand products

  • Implementing flash discounts

  • Offering exclusive promotions to loyal customers

  • Rethinking the presentation of underutilized stock

If movement remains stagnant, consider charitable donations (potentially tax-deductible), liquidation, or reinvention of inventory.

6. Leverage Insights for Smarter Forecasting

Each non-seller provides actionable insight. Assess whether it was a trend gone awry, a drop in demand, or unwarranted supplier pressure. Utilize these learnings to finesse purchasing strategies and forecasting for the coming quarters, thus minimizing overstock and optimizing cash flow.

  • Align orders with demand expectations

  • Reduce risks of surplus

  • Streamline cash flow management

  • Foster agile inventory prioritization

Advanced Tip: Monitor Your Inventory Turnover Ratio

Track inventory performance metrics to assess turnover rates. Low turnover indicates trapped capital, whereas high turnover suggests better financial health and minimized waste. Recognize fast-moving stock patterns to guide replenishment strategies better.

Concluding Thoughts: Command Your Inventory, Don’t Be Commanded

Regardless of your operational scale, controlling your inventory ensures it serves your business rather than hindering it. Prepare now, so you are not burdened by slow-moving inventories come year-end.

Require Expertise in Inventory Strategy?

Our specialty lies in aiding businesses to rigorously review inventory, uncover financial efficiencies, and craft strategies that safeguard profits throughout the year.

Let’s reshape your inventory to optimize its potential.

Connect with us today.

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