What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll use Claude to take your weekly inventory discrepancy list, categorize the likely causes (theft, receiving error, admin error), and produce an investigation priority list — so you spend your 2 hours on the highest-risk items instead of working through a random list.
What you'll need
- A free Claude account (claude.ai — this works on the free plan)
- Your inventory discrepancy export from your POS/inventory system (CSV or a list you can copy-paste)
- Basic knowledge of which areas/items are problematic
- Time needed: 20 minutes per analysis
- Cost: Free
How-To Guide: Use Claude to Analyze Inventory Discrepancy Reports
Step 1: Export Your Discrepancy Data
From your POS or inventory management system, export your cycle count or physical count discrepancy report. You need: item name/SKU, location in store, quantity variance (system says X, you counted Y), and unit cost. Save as a spreadsheet or copy the key columns.
What you should see: A list with at least item name, variance quantity, and item value.
Troubleshooting: If your system doesn't have an export, manually type the top 20–30 discrepancies (most significant by value).