Inventory Optimization ProAdvisory by Sharon Custer Free 30 minutes

Free workout 2

AI move: CheckMake AI audit the number before you trust it.

A line in the wrong month changes your profit, not just your stock.

Match every receipt to its bill and every shipment to its invoice around month end. Then see what the lines in the wrong month did to September.

Linwood Valve & Fitting is a $14M distributor of valves, fittings and hose. You are the finance manager. September is closed, the stock system and the books are $14,479 apart, and the controller wants to post one adjustment and move on.

Linwood, September closeInventory
Stock system, 30 Sep$1,743,347
Books, 30 Sep$1,728,868
Difference$14,479
September profit too high$15,401

2 prompts find all of it. Below is how.

Why this workout

An auditor tests cutoff first. It is where profit moves between months.

This finds every line before they do.

What you walk away with

  1. The difference between stock and books at month end, explained line by line to the cent.
  2. September as it should be: inventory, payables, sales and gross profit, with the entries to get there.
  3. A cutoff test you can run every month on your own books, with a check that tells you the AI got it right.

Step 1

4 files, the days around month end

The stock system counts a move the day the goods move. The books count it the day the paper is posted. These files show both, from 23 Sep to 7 Oct.

september_close_figures.csvInventory in the stock system and the books at 30 Sep, payables, September sales and cost of sales.
warehouse_receipts.csv23 receipts, each with its PO and the day it arrived.
supplier_bills.csv22 supplier bills, each with its PO and the month it was posted to.
shipments_and_invoices.csv69 shipments, each with the day it left and its invoice.

September close figures

sourcelineamount
Stock systemInventory at cost, 30 Sep 2026$1,743,347.21
Books1300 Inventory, 30 Sep 2026$1,728,868.27
Books2000 Accounts payable, 30 Sep 2026$605,793.33
Books4000 Sales, September 2026$1,143,120.46
Books5000 Cost of sales, September 2026$830,297.98

Shipments and invoices, first 6 of 69

sales_ordercost_valueship_dateinvoice_noinvoice_dateposted_toinvoice_amount
SO-402011566.682026-09-23INV-915012026-09-23Sep 20262296.48
SO-402026635.662026-09-23INV-915022026-09-24Sep 20268941.02
SO-402031327.352026-09-23INV-915032026-09-23Sep 20261749.51
SO-402049376.182026-09-23INV-915042026-09-24Sep 202613935.99
SO-402053331.002026-09-23INV-915052026-09-23Sep 20264959.63
SO-402068584.202026-09-24INV-915062026-09-24Sep 202611575.98

Download the Linwood files

Step 2

Find the lines in the wrong month

Open Claude or ChatGPT, attach the 4 files and paste this.

Prompt 1
I am the finance manager at an industrial distributor, closing September 2026. I have 4 files:
the September close figures, warehouse receipts, supplier bills, and shipments with their invoices,
all from 23 Sep to 7 Oct.
The stock system counts a receipt the day it arrives and a shipment the day it leaves.
The books count a receipt when the supplier bill is posted, and a shipment when the invoice is posted.
1. Match every receipt to its supplier bill by PO, and every shipment to its invoice by sales order.
2. List every pair where the 2 dates fall in different months, and every receipt with no bill.
3. Put each line in one of 4 groups: received in Sep, billed in Oct or not yet / billed in Sep, received in Oct /
   shipped in Sep, invoiced in Oct / invoiced in Sep, shipped in Oct.
4. For each group: the value at cost, and whether it makes the books higher or lower than the stock system.
5. Add the 4 groups. Compare with the difference between the stock system and the books at 30 Sep.
Do not round. Show your working.
Stock system, 30 Sep$1,743,347.21
Books, 30 Sep$1,728,868.27
Difference$14,478.94
Lines across the cutoff11

The 4 groups

GroupLinesAt costBooksStock minus books
AReceived in Sep, billed in Oct or not billed yet4$40,365.38Books lower+$40,365.38
BBilled in Sep, received in Oct2$66,483.66Books higher-$66,483.66
CShipped in Sep, invoiced in Oct3$19,937.08Books higher-$19,937.08
DInvoiced in Sep, shipped in Oct2$60,534.30Books lower+$60,534.30
Total11$187,320.42+$14,478.94

Every line across the cutoff

GroupLineGoodsPaperAt cost
ARC-0011 / PO-6319Apex Flow Products29 Sep1 Oct$14,451.36
ARC-0009 / PO-6318Summit Hydraulics28 Sep1 Oct$8,939.14
ARC-0015 / PO-6321Midwest Valve Co.30 Sepno bill yet$8,531.20
ARC-0014 / PO-6320Apex Flow Products30 Sep5 Oct$8,443.68
BRC-0018 / PO-6322Apex Flow Products2 Oct29 Sep$37,125.51
BRC-0022 / PO-6323Midwest Valve Co.6 Oct30 Sep$29,358.15
CSO-40266 / INV-91566Allied Food Processing30 Sep1 Oct$7,928.78
CSO-40265 / INV-91565Clearwater Utilities29 Sep1 Oct$6,731.00
CSO-40267 / INV-91567Granite Paper Mill30 Sep1 Oct$5,277.30
DSO-40268 / INV-91568Clearwater Utilities1 Oct30 Sep$30,759.30
DSO-40269 / INV-91569Granite Paper Mill2 Oct30 Sep$29,775.00

11 lines and $187,320 of stock sit in the wrong month. They push the books both ways, so the difference is only $14,479.

How you know it worked

The 4 groups must add up exactly to the difference: $40,365.38 minus $66,483.66 minus $19,937.08 plus $60,534.30 = $14,478.94. If they do not, the AI missed a line. Ask it to list every receipt with no bill, and every shipment and invoice dated in different months.

Step 3

Fix the month

Same chat. Paste this next.

Prompt 2
Now show what these lines did to September.
Ownership passes when the goods arrive, and a sale counts when the goods ship.
1. For each group: is September's inventory, accounts payable, sales and cost of sales too high or too low, and by how much?
2. Write the entries that put each line in the right month.
3. Show September as posted and as it should be: inventory, accounts payable, sales, cost of sales, gross profit.
4. Rank the lines by their effect on gross profit. Next to each, write the one question to ask and who to ask.
Sales in the wrong month, net$55,998.30
Gross profit too high$15,401.08
Payables too high$26,118.28

September, as posted and as it should be

LineAs postedAs it should beDifference
Inventory$1,728,868.27$1,743,347.21-$14,478.94
Accounts payable$605,793.33$579,675.05+$26,118.28
Sales$1,143,120.46$1,087,122.16+$55,998.30
Cost of sales$830,297.98$789,700.76+$40,597.22
Gross profit$312,822.48$297,421.40+$15,401.08

The entries

GroupEntry in September
ADr Inventory $40,365.38 / Cr Accounts payable $40,365.38
BDr Accounts payable $66,483.66 / Cr Inventory $66,483.66
CDr Accounts receivable $28,479.57 / Cr Sales $28,479.57; Dr Cost of sales $19,937.08 / Cr Inventory $19,937.08
DDr Sales $84,477.87 / Cr Accounts receivable $84,477.87; Dr Inventory $60,534.30 / Cr Cost of sales $60,534.30

After the entries, the books equal the stock system: $1,743,347.21.

Every line, ranked by its effect on gross profit

#LineGross profitThe question, and who to ask
1SO-40269 / INV-91569D: Invoiced in Sep, shipped in Oct+$14,589.57Who asked to invoice before the goods left?Ask: Sales manager
2SO-40268 / INV-91568D: Invoiced in Sep, shipped in Oct+$9,354.00Who asked to invoice before the goods left?Ask: Sales manager
3SO-40266 / INV-91566C: Shipped in Sep, invoiced in Oct-$3,370.03Why did the invoice wait for the next morning?Ask: Billing
4SO-40265 / INV-91565C: Shipped in Sep, invoiced in Oct-$3,009.14Why did the invoice wait for the next morning?Ask: Billing
5SO-40267 / INV-91567C: Shipped in Sep, invoiced in Oct-$2,163.32Why did the invoice wait for the next morning?Ask: Billing
A4 receipts, $40,365.38Received in Sep, billed in Oct or not billed yet. No effect on profit; inventory and payables move together.$0.00Is the bill in someone's inbox? Book it as received, not billed.Ask: AP
B2 receipts, $66,483.66Billed in Sep, received in Oct. No effect on profit; inventory and payables move together.$0.00Do the supplier terms pass ownership on dispatch or on delivery?Ask: Purchasing
What do you notice?

The controller posts one adjustment for the $14,479 so the books match the stock system. Is September right now?

The books match the stock. September is still wrong. The plug goes to cost of sales, so gross profit goes up another $14,479. September profit is now $29,880 too high, and $55,998 of sales still belong to October.

As it should be
$297,421
As posted
$312,822
After one plug for the difference
$327,301

September gross profit. Scale starts at $270,000.

Now ask your own question

Same chat. There is no right answer here. Some people ask:

Which of these lines would an auditor test first, and why?
Draft a 3-line month-end cutoff rule for the warehouse and billing.
Draft a short note to the sales manager about the orders invoiced before they shipped.
How I read it

The 2 invoices dated 30 Sep for goods that left in October go first. $84,478 of sales sit in September that belong to October. Ask the sales manager who asked for it. The rule: no invoice before the goods leave.

The 4 receipts with no September bill are the bank's question: $40,365 of stock counts at 30 Sep with nothing owed against it. Book them as received, not billed.

The 2 bills for goods still on the road: check the supplier terms before you take them out.

The 3 shipments invoiced the next morning are the habit to stop. On the last day of the month, invoice on the ship date.

And never plug the difference. Find the lines.

Sharon

Step 4

Your turn: Fairmont Industrial Supply

Fairmont Industrial Supply is a $14M industrial supply distributor with the same kinds of line and different amounts. Run the same 2 prompts, find what one adjustment would hide, ask your own question. Then post your difference in the comments.

Download the workout files

4 CSV files, built for this workout.

How you know it worked

The 4 groups must add up exactly to the difference between the stock system and the books. If they do not, the AI missed a line: ask it to list every receipt with no bill.

Then on your own books

  1. Export the receipts, supplier bills, and shipments with invoices for the last 5 working days of the month and the first 5 of the next.
  2. Paste the matching prompt below so the AI knows which column is which.
  3. Run Prompt 1 and Prompt 2.
Matching prompt
Here are the column names from my [SYSTEM NAME] exports.
Receipts: [PASTE THE HEADER ROW]. Supplier bills: [PASTE]. Shipments and invoices: [PASTE].
Match each one to: date received, PO, bill date, period posted, sales order, ship date, invoice date,
cost value, invoice amount.
Tell me which ones are missing and what I would need to export to get them.
Do not guess a match. If unsure, ask.

Watch for: receipts in the last 3 days of the month, invoices dated the last day for orders still in the warehouse, and supplier bills that arrive before the goods.

The 30-Day Numbers That Hold Challenge

You found the lines in the wrong month. Next: the rest of the close.

Do the stock report and the books disagree item by item? Has the cost moved? Which stock will not sell? 30 workouts in 5 stages, each ending on a number that must match.

US$497See the challenge

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