Counting as a team
For a single-person count, you can ignore most of this article — just open the count, work through categories, complete the session. But once two or three people are counting at the same time, a few things matter.
One active session per restaurant
Rinvy only allows one active inventory session per restaurant. Everyone counts inside the same session — they don't each start their own. When the first person opens the inventory count page and taps Start session, the session is created. Everyone else who opens the page joins the existing session automatically.
The single-session model is intentional. Multiple parallel sessions would be impossible to merge — you'd have two competing "ground truths" for the same point in time.
How to split up the kitchen
The easiest split is by category. Person A counts the walk-in, person B counts the freezer, person C counts dry storage. No coordination needed beyond agreeing who's doing what.
Within a category, simultaneous counting works but is risky — two people counting the same shelf can hit the same row at the same time. The presence indicator helps but it's not a lock.
Presence indicators
The categories page during an active count shows who's currently in each category. If person A is in the walk-in, you'll see their initial or avatar on the walk-in card. The indicator updates as people switch categories or close the count page.
The indicator is a coordination hint, not enforcement. Two people can still both enter the same category — they'll see each other's presence pill and can decide whether to wait, swap, or split rows.
What happens if two people save the same product
The last save wins for any specific product row. If A counts a tray of chicken at 12 lb and saves it, then B counts the same tray at 14 lb and saves, the final saved value is 14 lb. There's no merge or warning.
In practice this is rare if you split by category. If it happens, the safer answer is usually the higher number (you found stock the other person missed) — but recount the row to be sure.
Save category vs. complete session
- Save category writes the counts you've entered so far. You can leave the category, come back, edit, and re-save. Other people in the same session see your saved counts as soon as they're written.
- Complete session locks the entire session as a baseline. All counts across all categories become the new ground truth. After completion, edits go through the historical-edit rules (see editing past counts and receipts).
Only one person needs to tap Complete session. It applies to the whole session, not just that person's contributions.
Choosing when to complete
Best practice: complete the session as soon as you're confident every category has been counted. A saved-but-not-completed session sits open indefinitely and any subsequent receipts, prep, or waste piles up against an old baseline.
If you intentionally want to do a multi-day count (walk-in today, dry storage tomorrow), leave the session active and complete it on day two.
Push notifications
When the session is completed, Rinvy:
- Sends a session-summary email (if enabled in Dashboard Settings).
- Runs inventory health analysis (Standard+) and may post anomaly alerts.
Common mistakes
Starting a 'new' session because nobody can find the existing one
There can only be one. If you can't find an active session, it's probably finished — check inventory history. Don't try to force-start a new session while another exists.
Forgetting to save the category before walking away
Leaving a category without tapping Save category discards the counts entered there. The presence indicator can mislead you into thinking your data is safe — it isn't until you save.
Completing a half-counted session under pressure
Completion sets the baseline. Categories you never opened are treated as unchanged from the previous count — which silently understates consumption. Better to leave the session active another day than to complete with gaps.