Old and Dead Stock: Find It and Clear It Without Loss

Old and Dead Stock: Find It Early and Clear It Without Big Loss

पुराना और डेड स्टॉक: समय पर पहचानें और कम घाटे में निकालें

Find items not sold in 90 or 120 days, see the money blocked, and clear them with schemes, bundles or supplier returns before they turn into dead stock.

Old stock does not show up as a loss in the P&L until it is written off. Until then it quietly blocks money, takes godown space and loses value. Finding it early is the cheapest way to deal with it.

Step 1: list items by last sale date

For each item, find the date it was last sold and the quantity and value still in stock. Sort by days since last sale. Look first at items not sold for 90 days, then 120, then 180.

Step 2: see the money blocked

Multiply quantity by cost for each slow item and add them up. A list that says "Rs 2.1 lakh blocked in 5 items" gets action faster than a list of 300 item names.

Step 3: choose the way out

Situation	Way out
Item still sells elsewhere	Small scheme to your best-paying parties
Item goes with a fast mover	Bundle it with that order
Supplier still stocks it	Return or swap against fresh goods
Expiry or model change coming	Clear now at a lower margin rather than a full loss later
Damaged or unsaleable	Write off with your CA's advice; do not keep carrying it at full value

Stop it happening again

Check stock in days of sales before every big purchase.
Set re-order levels only on items that sell regularly.
Review the slow list monthly with the purchase person.

Also see closing stock valuation and physical stock and batch and expiry in BUSY.

Ready-made list

Stock Decisions in Bharat Cloud Sync lists items not sold in 120+ days from your BUSY data, with days since last sale, quantity, value blocked and a suggested action, next to the regular parties who have stopped buying.

Disclaimer: This article is general information for business owners, accountants and tax professionals, written by Bharat Busy Care as understood on the date shown below. It is not legal, tax or professional advice. GST, income-tax and other laws, rates, forms, due dates and portal steps change often: check the current Acts, rules, notifications, circulars and official advisories, and consult your CA or tax practitioner before acting on it. BUSY menu names can differ by version, plan and configuration; take a backup before changing settings. Bharat Busy Care is not responsible for any loss arising from the use of this information. BUSY is a trademark of its owner; Bharat Busy Care is an Authorised BUSY Platinum Partner. See our terms.

अस्वीकरण: यह लेख केवल सामान्य जानकारी के लिए है, कानूनी या टैक्स सलाह नहीं है। नियम बदलते रहते हैं; कोई भी निर्णय लेने से पहले नवीनतम अधिसूचना देखें और अपने CA / टैक्स सलाहकार से सलाह लें।

Updated 14-11-2026 · Bharat Busy Care, Authorised BUSY Platinum Partner

FAQ

After how many days is stock called slow or dead?

It depends on the trade. Many traders treat 90 days without a sale as slow and 180 days as dead; for fast-moving goods use shorter periods.

Should old stock be valued lower in the books?

Stock is valued at cost or net realisable value, whichever is lower. If old stock can only be sold below cost, discuss writing it down with your CA.

How do I stop over-buying?

Check stock in days of sales and the last sale date of an item before reordering it.