Understanding Your Stock Value Report
What the AskBiz Stock Value figure means, how it's calculated, why it matters for your business finances, and how to keep it accurate as stock moves.
Key Takeaways
- Stock Value (KSh 182,297.75 in this example) is the total cost price of all current inventory — not the selling price.
- Stock Value represents a business asset on your balance sheet — it directly affects your working capital position.
- Stock Value only stays accurate if cost prices are filled in for all products and stock counts are up to date.
- A rising Stock Value with declining Revenue indicates over-buying — money is accumulating on shelves instead of converting to cash.
What Stock Value actually means
The Stock Value figure on the Reports hub — KSh 182,297.75 in this example — is the total cost price of all products currently in your Inventory multiplied by their stock quantities. It represents the cash your business has invested in physical goods sitting on shelves and in storage. This is an asset on your balance sheet: it can be converted back to cash through sales. Understanding this figure helps you manage working capital and avoid over-investing in stock.
How AskBiz calculates Stock Value
For each product in Inventory, AskBiz multiplies: (Current Stock Quantity) × (Cost Price per unit). It then sums this across all products and branches to produce the total Stock Value. If a product has no cost price entered, it contributes zero to the Stock Value figure — which means your actual stock value is higher than shown. This is why entering accurate cost prices in Inventory is a financial accuracy task, not just a reporting one.
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Start for free →Stock Value and working capital
Working capital is the money available to run your business day-to-day. Stock is a form of frozen working capital — it's value tied up in goods rather than available as cash. If your Stock Value is KSh 182,000 and your monthly Revenue is KSh 55,000, you have over 3 months of revenue sitting in stock. For some businesses this is appropriate (seasonal stock build-up). For most, 1–1.5 months of stock value is the healthy range. If Stock Value is rising while Revenue is flat, you are over-buying.
What to do when Stock Value is too high
An over-stocked position requires either accelerated selling or reduced purchasing. Step 1: identify the products contributing most to the high Stock Value (export Inventory, multiply quantity × cost, sort descending). Step 2: for products where you have 90+ days of stock on hand at current velocity, suspend new orders until stock drops. Step 3: for perishables or products at risk of obsolescence, apply clearance pricing immediately to convert stock to cash before it loses value.
Tracking Stock Value weekly as a business health indicator
Note your Stock Value every Monday alongside Revenue and Gross Profit. The ratio to watch is: Stock Value ÷ Weekly Revenue. If this ratio is rising (Stock Value growing faster than Revenue), purchasing needs to slow down. If it's falling, stock is converting to sales faster than it's being replenished — check Low Stock alerts to ensure this isn't causing stock-outs. A stable ratio, around 4–6 weeks of revenue, is the healthy operating target for most retail businesses.