Stock take app: do the stocktake yourself by scanning
What sets mise apart
- Scan once, the product is classified. Read any barcode with the camera or a Bluetooth scanner, or snap a photo of the label: mise brings back the name, brand, group, size and photo, already sorted. No item setup.
- A product base that is already built. Your items are usually in it before you start. You can also upload your own list and mise fills in the rest.
- Alerts before you run out. Set a minimum for each product. Anything below it turns red and goes into a shopping list with how much is missing.
- Control stock from your phone. Count by location, with your team, and compare one count against another to see where the loss is.
- Bluetooth scale. Connect a scale to weigh open bottles, meat and bulk items; the weight goes into the product by itself.
By mise · Updated 6 October 2026
Quick answer: a stock take app lets you count by scanning each product's barcode with your phone and typing the quantity, split by area (cellar, bar, kitchen), with part bottles and weights. mise is a stock take app that also knows the product: scan or take a photo and the name, brand, photo, category and size come back, because the mise AI finds it. It works out usage, variance and GP from opening stock, deliveries and closing stock. Free trial with no card.
Paying a stocktaker every month, or losing a Sunday to a clipboard, are the two usual options. A stock take app is the third: faster than paper and cheap enough to count weekly. mise is free to try with no card — and it doubles as a stock control app between counts.
What to expect from a stock take app
| Need | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Product setup | Scan and the product is already there — no building a product list first. |
| Areas | Cellar, back bar, kitchen, dry store, each counted separately. |
| Part bottles | Tenths or weight; a Bluetooth scale for accuracy. |
| Deliveries | From a photo of the invoice, at the price paid. |
| Results | Usage, cost of sales and the difference against the previous count, per line. |
| Team | Staff can count without seeing costs. |
| Export | Excel and PDF for your accountant. |
How mise handles a stock take
You scan each bottle or pack; the mise AI finds the product from the barcode or a photo and brings it back named and categorised. You type the quantity or put the part bottle on a Bluetooth scale. When you close, you choose whether the count replaces your current stock or is kept as a periodic stock take to compare against the next one.
Check any barcode before you count
Not sure what a code on a delivery note or a dusty cellar bottle is? Paste it here — the same database the app scans against. More on UK codes in barcode lookup UK.
Type the number, scan it with your phone camera or snap a photo. mise shows the full product. Free, no app, no sign-up.
Do your stock take with the same scan: mise fills in the product and shows what went missing. Built for any business that keeps stock: pubs, bars, restaurants, shops, off-licences, pharmacies and more.
Type the UPC or EAN in the box above, scan it with your phone camera or take a photo of the barcode. It works online and free, with no app and no sign-up.
Weekly beats monthly
A monthly stock take tells you there was a problem four weeks ago. A weekly one lets you act while the rota and the suppliers are the same. When counting takes half the time, weekly becomes realistic.
Stock take app vs clipboard vs external stocktaker
| Clipboard and spreadsheet | External stocktaker | mise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who counts | Your team | The stocktaker | Your team, on their phones |
| How often | Monthly, if you can face it | Monthly or quarterly visit | Weekly, or whenever you want |
| Finding each line | Read the label, find the row | Their own system | Scan the barcode; the product comes back complete |
| Part bottles | Tenths on paper | Tenths or scales | Tenths or a Bluetooth scale |
| Usage, variance, GP | Formulas you maintain | Report after the visit | Ready when you close the count |
| Cost | Free, plus the hours | Per visit | Free trial |
Plenty of venues keep an independent stocktaker for the occasional audit and do the weekly count themselves — see stocktaking companies UK. For behind the bar, see bar stock take and pub stock take; to keep stock right between counts, the stock control app.
Stocktaking app for iPhone and Android
mise is on the App Store and Google Play and runs in any browser, with one account. Counts keep working offline and sync when you're back online.
What AI changes in a stock take, step by step: AI stock take.
Point the camera and the product comes up complete: name, brand, category, size and photo — the mise AI finds it from the barcode or a photo. Free trial, no card.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
Can I replace my stocktaker with an app?
Many venues do their own weekly counts with an app and keep an external stocktaker only for an occasional audit. The app makes the weekly count quick enough to be routine.
Is there a free stock take app?
Free apps tend to cap products or leave out scanning. mise has a free trial with everything included and no card.
Does a stock take app work for a café or shop?
Yes — anything with barcodes counts the same way. Items without barcodes are added once by name.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes: App Store, Google Play and a browser version for the office, with the same account everywhere.
How do I count part bottles?
Estimate in tenths or weigh the bottle: weight minus the empty bottle weight, divided by the full liquid weight, gives the fraction left.
Stock take, stocktake or stocktaking?
All three mean the same thing in the UK: counting everything you hold on a given day. "Stock take" and "stocktake" are the count, "stocktaking" is doing it. In the US it is called a physical inventory count.