Export a Shopify stock count to CSV
Accountants, auditors and owners usually want the stocktake as a file: what was expected, what was counted, the difference, and what it was worth. Shopify's native Stock counts keep the count inside the admin, and Shopify's help says it plainly: "you can't export your stock counts." Here are three ways to get a record anyway.
1. Export inventory before and after the count (free)
- Right before counting: Products > Inventory > Export, for that location. Save it as
before.csv. - Run and approve the stock count.
- Export again:
after.csv. - In a spreadsheet, match rows by SKU and subtract
On handbefore from after. Bring in cost from a products export if you want the value.
Simple, but sales between the two exports show up as count differences. Do it before opening or after closing.
2. Read the adjustment history (free, per product)
Approving a count records each change in the product's adjustment history (open the product, then View adjustment history). Good for checking one item; there is no one-click file of the whole count.
3. Use a stocktake app that exports each count
Several stocktake apps export counts (see stocktake apps compared). In Countwell, every count has an Export CSV button, open or applied, with one row per counted item:
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
title, sku, barcode | The variant counted |
expected_at_scan | Shopify's on-hand quantity when the item was first scanned |
counted | What staff counted |
variance | counted minus expected |
unit_cost, variance_value | Cost per item from Shopify and the difference in money (blank if no cost is set) |
applied_qty | The quantity written to Shopify when the count was applied |
product_status | Active, draft or archived (draft and archived items are flagged and never zeroed) |
Because expected_at_scan is taken at the first scan of each item, sales made while you count don't appear as shrinkage, and the file name carries the count's name and date, so a folder of exports is your stocktake history.
What to keep for each stocktake
- Date, location, who counted, and whether it was a full or a partial (cycle) count.
- Per item: expected, counted, difference, unit cost, difference value.
- The total value of the difference, for your books.
Countwell is not in the Shopify App Store yet
Countwell is in testing and will be submitted to the Shopify App Store soon. Leave your email and we will write once, when you can install it. There will be a free plan (100 counted items a month); paid plans are expected at $9 and $19 a month, every plan with all locations.
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Sources
- Shopify Help: Creating and managing stock counts ("You can't duplicate a stock count, and you can't export your stock counts"; read 1 Nov 2026)
- Shopify Help: Performing and reviewing stock counts (adjustment history; read 1 Nov 2026)
- Shopify Help: inventory CSV (read 1 Nov 2026)
Checked against Shopify's help pages on 1 November 2026.