Identify Dead Stock Before It Costs You Too Much
How to use AskBiz POS inventory data to find products that aren't selling, calculate the true cost of dead stock, and clear it profitably before it becomes a write-off.
Key Takeaways
- Dead stock is any product that has been in your inventory for 90+ days with minimal sales velocity.
- The true cost of dead stock includes tied-up cash, storage space, and eventual write-off risk.
- Use Operations > Inventory exported to CSV to calculate days-on-hand for each product.
- A 15–20% clearance discount that moves dead stock in 2 weeks is almost always better than holding for full price.
What dead stock is really costing you
A product that cost KSh 500 and has been sitting on your shelf for 90 days without selling isn't just unsold — it is costing you money every day. The cash tied up in that product could be invested in a fast-moving item that turns over twice a month. Additionally, dead stock occupies shelf space that fast-moving products could occupy, reducing visibility and sales of your better performers. AskBiz helps you identify dead stock before it becomes a problem that requires a painful write-off.
Step 1 — Export Inventory to CSV and calculate days-on-hand
Go to Operations > Inventory and export your product list to CSV. In the spreadsheet, add a column for 'Monthly sales velocity' (units sold per month from your Sales Report). Then calculate days-on-hand: Current Stock ÷ (Monthly Velocity ÷ 30) = days until zero. Any product showing 90+ days-on-hand at current sales velocity is a dead stock candidate. Products showing 180+ days are a priority for clearance action.
Step 2 — Cross-reference with the last sale date
A product with 90 days-on-hand might still be selling slowly — some seasonal items naturally turn slowly. The sharper test is: when was the last sale? In Operations > Reports, search by product name to see the most recent transaction date. A product that hasn't sold in 45 days (outside of its known seasonal off-period) is dead stock by most retail definitions. Flag these for a pricing or positioning review.
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Start for free →Calculating the true cost of holding dead stock
For each dead stock product, calculate: (Current stock × Cost price) = capital tied up. Sum this across all dead stock products. If KSh 25,000 is tied up in slow-moving products, that is KSh 25,000 that could be used to purchase fast-turning stock that generates margin every week. The opportunity cost of dead stock — not just its face value — is why clearance pricing at 20% below cost is often the correct financial decision.
Three clearance strategies that work
Strategy 1 — Bundle: pair a dead stock product with a fast-moving one at a combined discount. Customers buying the popular item get the slow mover 'almost free'. Strategy 2 — Location move: dead stock at the back of the store often sells when moved to the till counter or front display. Try repositioning before discounting. Strategy 3 — Flash discount: create a named promotion in Operations > Promotions (e.g. 'Clearance 20% off') and apply it selectively to dead stock SKUs. Run it for one week and track what moves.
Building a monthly dead stock review habit
Set a recurring first-Monday-of-the-month task: export Inventory, filter for products with stock greater than zero, and sort by last-sale date ascending. The top of this list — products not sold in the longest time — are your clearance priorities. Act on the top 5 each month: either reposition, bundle, discount, or write off. This monthly habit prevents dead stock from accumulating to the point where it requires a painful bulk clearance sale.