How to Find Dead Stock and Days of Cover With AI
Why dead stock hides in plain sight
Every business that holds stock ends up with lines that stopped selling: last season's colours, a product a customer stopped ordering, spares for equipment nobody uses. Each one looks small on its own, so it stays on the shelf and on the balance sheet.
Finding them means comparing quantities on hand with recent sales for every item, which few teams do more than once a year. At the same time, other lines run short because nobody noticed their days of cover falling.
Asking an analyst that reads the inventory directly, works out cover and turnover, and names the slow and dead lines with the value tied up turns a yearly clean-up into a monthly question.
Why this happens
- Slow lines are not reviewed until stock-take.
- Days of cover is not measured per item.
- The value tied up in dead stock is unknown.
- Turnover is only seen as a company total.
- Buyers reorder from habit rather than from cover.
Biznsbook addresses this through inventory analysis, Ask box on the Inventory dashboard, days of cover and turnover, slow and dead stock with value tied up in AI Analyst, reading the same inventory records as the Inventory module.
None of this needs more data: the inventory records are already in the system. What is missing is a quick, trustworthy way to ask about them and see the rows behind each answer.
Step-by-step: Find Dead Stock and Days of Cover With AI
Written for owners, buyers and stock controllers using Biznsbook AI Analyst with Inventory.
- Check the module and rights. You need Inventory, the AI Analyst User role, and the right to see Inventory. Value figures built on cost price fall under the Margins data class, which needs its own right.
- Ask from the Inventory dashboard. The Inventory dashboard has an Ask the AI Analyst box. Click an example question or write your own, then click Ask.
- Read days of cover. Days of cover shows how many days the stock on hand would last at the current rate of use, so you see both overstocked and running-short lines.
- Read turnover. Turnover shows how often stock is sold and replaced, so slow categories stand out from fast ones.
- Read slow and dead stock. The answer lists slow and dead stock with the value tied up, each figure linked to its source row in The data it used.
- Ask a follow-up. Ask, for example, "Which of these did we buy in the last 60 days?" in the same conversation to see whether purchasing is adding to the problem.
- Repeat it monthly. Save the question as a brief and run it each month, or schedule it with Business Automation for the buyers.
Review results after the first full monthly cycle. Adjust roles, mappings, or approvals where the same exception repeats.
Setup and screen steps are in the AI Analyst guide inside Biznsbook. This page focuses on the business question; the AI Analyst page summarises the add-on.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Mistake 1: Slow lines are not reviewed until stock-take. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in cash tied up on the shelf.
- Mistake 2: Days of cover is not measured per item. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in cash tied up on the shelf.
- Mistake 3: The value tied up in dead stock is unknown. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in cash tied up on the shelf.
- Mistake 4: Turnover is only seen as a company total. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in cash tied up on the shelf.
- Mistake 5: Buyers reorder from habit rather than from cover. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in cash tied up on the shelf.
Each of these leaves buyers acting on numbers nobody checked. Ask about the data where it lives, and read the source rows before acting on a figure.
Best practices that hold up as you scale
- Check the module and rights — You need Inventory, the AI Analyst User role, and the right to see Inventory.
- Ask from the Inventory dashboard — The Inventory dashboard has an Ask the AI Analyst box.
- Read days of cover — Days of cover shows how many days the stock on hand would last at the current rate of use, so you see both overstocked and running-short lines.
- Read turnover — Turnover shows how often stock is sold and replaced, so slow categories stand out from fast ones.
- Read slow and dead stock — The answer lists slow and dead stock with the value tied up, each figure linked to its source row in The data it used.
Ask about cover and dead stock together, start with the lines holding the most value, and ask again after you act.
How Biznsbook supports this workflow
inventory analysis is part of Biznsbook AI Analyst and reads the same inventory records the rest of Biznsbook uses, under the asking person's rights, with every figure checked against the data before the answer is shown.
Ask box on the Inventory dashboard is part of Biznsbook AI Analyst and reads the same inventory records the rest of Biznsbook uses, under the asking person's rights, with every figure checked against the data before the answer is shown.
days of cover and turnover is part of Biznsbook AI Analyst and reads the same inventory records the rest of Biznsbook uses, under the asking person's rights, with every figure checked against the data before the answer is shown.
slow and dead stock with value tied up is part of Biznsbook AI Analyst and reads the same inventory records the rest of Biznsbook uses, under the asking person's rights, with every figure checked against the data before the answer is shown.
AI Analyst is an add-on ($10 per company per month) and needs no other module; each analysis area needs its module, scheduled analysis also needs Business Automation, and your company pays its own AI provider for tokens.
Suggested implementation timeline
- Day 1: Add an approved AI model and API key in AI Analyst → Settings, tick the kinds of data allowed and turn analysis on.
- Week 1: Give the AI Analyst User role to two or three people and try inventory analysis on real questions.
- Week 2: Open The data it used on each answer and check the figures you plan to act on.
- Month 1: Save the questions people repeat as briefs, and schedule the weekly ones if you use Business Automation.
- Ongoing: A monthly stock health review.
Using cover and dead stock together
Days of cover and dead stock are two ends of the same problem. A line with months of cover is cash sitting on the shelf; a line with a few days of cover may run out before the next delivery. Asking about both in one conversation shows where to stop buying and where to buy sooner.
Dead stock is easier to act on when you know the value tied up in each line. Sort the lines by that value and start with the few that hold most of it: a promotion, a bundle, a return to the supplier or a write-off decided with your accountant.
Follow-up questions keep the answer focused. "Which of these lines are in the main warehouse?" or "Which supplier did these come from?" narrow the list to the action you can take this week, with every figure still checked against the data.
Metrics to track monthly
- Value tied up in dead stock
- Lines with the most days of cover
- Lines running short of cover
- Turnover by category
Start with three metrics; trend direction matters more than a single point-in-time snapshot.
Manual analysis vs Biznsbook AI Analyst
Compare common manual analysis with Biznsbook inventory analysis and the related AI Analyst capabilities.
| Capability | Manual / Spreadsheet | Biznsbook |
|---|---|---|
| Finding dead lines | ❌ Annual stock-take review | ✅ Ask any time from the Inventory dashboard |
| Days of cover | ❌ Worked out per item by hand | ✅ Explained for the lines that matter |
| Value tied up | ❌ Unknown until write-off | ✅ Listed with slow and dead stock |
| Turnover | ❌ Company total only | ✅ By line and category in the answer |
| Checking the figures | ❌ Rebuild the spreadsheet | ✅ Each figure linked to its source row |
| Cost price visibility | ❌ Anyone with the export | ✅ Margins data class needs its own right |
A monthly stock health review
Once a month, run the stock health question and pick the five dead lines with the most value tied up. Decide an action for each, record it, and ask again the next month to see whether the value fell. Share the days of cover answer with buyers before they place the next orders.
Share the monthly answer with buyers before the next purchase orders go out.
Frequently asked questions
What inventory figures does the analyst explain?
Stock health, days of cover, turnover, and slow and dead stock with the value tied up.
Does it need the Inventory module?
Yes. Each analysis area needs its module, and you need the right to see Inventory.
Why does the answer leave out stock value?
Value built on cost price falls under the Margins data class. If you do not hold that right, the answer leaves those figures out and lists them under What the analyst could not see.
Will it mark stock as dead or write it off?
No. The analyst reads and explains; it never changes your data. Write-offs and price changes stay with you.
Can buyers get this every month?
Yes. Save it as a brief to run on demand, or use the Analyse data with AI step in a scheduled Business Automation workflow.
How far back does it look?
A brief covers 7 to 60 days of data, which you choose when you create it.
How this differs by industry
Retail
Shops find last season's lines with months of cover and the value tied up before ordering the new range.
Wholesale & distribution
Distributors find lines a lost customer used to buy, still reordered out of habit, and stop the next purchase.
Manufacturing
Manufacturers find raw materials for discontinued products and finished goods with far more cover than open orders need.