Year-End Stock Count in a Nail Salon — A 30-Minute Inventory Method [2026]

December 31, 7:30 p.m., salon closed. Marta lowers the shutters, opens the laptop, tries to remember how many Semilac gel polishes, Lash glues and brow tint packs are left. After an hour she has three shelf photos and a mess in her head. It does not have to look like this.

The year-end physical inventory (spis z natury) is a stock count on December 31, mandatory for most nail salons running a KPiR (Polish revenue book / Księga Przychodów i Rozchodów) and, since 2023, in a simplified form for ryczałt (Polish lump-sum tax) payers as well. It sounds intimidating, but in practice it is one A4 sheet, four columns, thirty minutes with paper in hand and a calculator. Below you will find exactly what to count, what not to count, how to value it and what to do with the sheet after New Year.

What the year-end physical inventory is and who has to do it

The year-end physical inventory (spis z natury), commonly called a stock count (remanent), is an inventory of trade goods, materials and packaging in your salon as of December 31. It follows from art. 24(2) of the PIT Act and from the regulation on keeping the KPiR (§24–25). The purpose is simple — the tax office wants to know what physically remained in the salon at year-end so that tax-deductible costs are calculated correctly.

The obligation applies to:

• A salon on KPiR — always, on December 31 and on the day of starting business, liquidation and changing the form of taxation.
• A salon on registered ryczałt — since 2023, an obligation to report the stock count in the PIT-28 return if the value of trade goods and materials exceeds 10 000 PLN.
• A salon on karta podatkowa (Polish flat-rate card) — no obligation to do a count, because karta does not look at costs.

Salons with VAT additionally face an inventory upon a change in VAT status, but that is a separate topic. For a typical nail salon on 8.5% ryczałt or a KPiR payer on the 19% flat-rate tax — a count on December 31 is the standard.

What to count in a nail salon — typical list of 14 items

You count everything that is a trade good (if you sell products to clients — e.g. conditioners, polishes to take home), a basic material (consumed/used during the service) or packaging. You count only what has not yet been used and is in a physical condition suitable for use.

A typical list of 14 items for a nail salon looks like this:

1. Gel polishes (bottle unopened or opened but with contents inside)
2. Bases, tops, primers
3. Dusts, glitters, decorations (foils, stickers)
4. New, unused drill bits in original packaging
5. Packaged files (single-use, in foil sachets)
6. Cotton pads, cosmetic cotton in bulk packs
7. Single-use towels (cellulose, packaged)
8. Nitrile gloves (full boxes and started ones)
9. Unopened lash glue
10. Brow tint, dyes, oxidants — unopened packages
11. Unopened disinfectants (Velodes, Sterylis, Manisoft)
12. Sterilization pouches, autoclave tapes
13. Office supplies and packaging for retail sale (bags, cases)
14. Trade goods — products purchased for resale to a client (creams, oils, conditioners in mini sizes)

Practical rule: if you bought something with the intent that it would be consumed/used in a service or sold, and it is still sitting in the salon on December 31 at 6:00 p.m. — you enter it on the inventory sheet.

What NOT to count

This is where the most mistakes happen. The year-end physical inventory does not cover fixed assets or materials partially consumed/used in a service. Leave outside the sheet:

• Durable equipment — UV/LED lamp, autoclave, drill, chair, stool, glass bead sterilizer. These are fixed assets, depreciated separately, with their own register.
• Used drill bits — a bit that has been in the autoclave even once and worked on a client is "in use". You do not enter it on the inventory sheet as a fully valuable material.
• Polishes started on the working shelf — if it is a bottle in daily use, technically you include it in the count at its actual value (e.g. 50% capacity = 50% of price). But in practice most accountants allow treating an open bottle as ongoing consumption, if the value is negligible.
• Small tools worth under 1 500 PLN gross — tweezers, nippers, hoof sticks — this is equipment, not goods. You do not enter them on the inventory sheet.
• Cleaning supplies for the salon (floor cleaner, toilet paper) — these are operational supplies, not trade goods or basic materials in a service.

The line is thin, but the logic is simple. The inventory shows what you bought and have not yet consumed/used, in a condition allowing further use. Everything that is already working or is equipment lies outside the sheet.

The full template of the year-end physical inventory sheet with 14 items tailored to a nail salon, with fields for quantity and price and a formula summing the value, is in the START 249 PLN pack. The file is .xlsx and .pdf, ready to print or fill in on a laptop.

Inventory sheet template — 4 columns and a summary

The sheet is simple. Four columns, one row per item, summary at the bottom. This is the minimum format compliant with § 24 of the KPiR regulation:

Item name	Quantity	Unit price (PLN net)	Value (PLN net)
Semilac gel polish 7 ml	14 pcs	32.00	448.00
Semilac Pure base 7 ml	3 pcs	45.00	135.00
Diamond drill bits – new set	5 pcs	22.00	110.00
Files 180/240 in sachets	40 pcs	1.80	72.00
Nitrile gloves S (pack of 100)	3 packs	28.00	84.00
Lash glue – unopened	2 pcs	89.00	178.00
Velodes Plus 1 l – unopened	2 pcs	62.00	124.00
TOTAL	—	—	1 151.00

Below the table, mandatory: date of the count (31.12.2026), first and last name of the person preparing it, signature, signature of the verifier (if you work alone — the second signature is your own in the role of owner).

Step by step in 30 minutes

1. 7:00 p.m., salon closed. Open a blank sheet (.xlsx, A4 sheet of paper or a phone app). Four columns: name, quantity, price, value.
2. Walk through the shelves in a fixed order. Usually: shelf with polishes → drawer with bases and tops → basket with drill bits and files → cabinet with disinfectants → storage with packaging. One shelf at a time, no jumping around.
3. Write each item down immediately. Specific name (not "polishes" but "Semilac 7 ml"), quantity in pieces or packs, unit net price from the last purchase invoice.
4. You take the price from the invoice, not from the shop. If you bought the same item at different prices, you use a weighted average or the FIFO method (first in — first out). Consistently the same method for the entire count.
5. Multiply quantity × price = value. Excel will do it by itself, on paper a calculator and you are done.
6. Sum the "value" column. This is your final stock-count amount — you will enter it in the KPiR or in PIT-28.
7. Sign, date. 31.12.2026, first and last name, signature. Without these three things the inventory has no force.
8. File it in the accounting binder. Together with December purchase invoices. You keep it for 5 years counting from the end of the year in which the tax payment deadline passed.

Thirty minutes of calm work. If you start after 10:00 p.m. or do not have paper at hand — it stretches to two hours and ends with shelf photos sent to the accountant on WhatsApp.

Three typical mistakes

These three mistakes appear in 7 out of 10 inventories prepared by salon owners on their own. Each one can be avoided in five minutes.

1. Counting drill bits that are already used. Anna entered "diamond drill bits – 28 pieces" on the sheet at 22 PLN/pc. Of those, 23 bits had been working since March, had been in the autoclave dozens of times and would not be taken at sale. The accountant crossed off 23 items. Rule: only drill bits in original packaging, never used, go onto the inventory sheet.
2. Failing to include returns from clients. Olena sold a client a nail conditioner for 89 PLN on December 28. The client came back on December 30 and returned it. The conditioner is back on the shelf on December 31, but Olena did not put it on the sheet because "I already sold it". Not so. The good physically returned, so it is in the salon on December 31 and goes on the stock count.
3. No signature and no date on the sheet. An inventory without the owner's signature is not an inventory, just a note. Without a date — the tax office does not know whether it concerns 31.12.2026 or 31.12.2025. A tax-office inspector during an audit checks those two fields first, only then the items.

After the count — what next in KPiR and ryczałt

The inventory in itself is not a tax document. Only its entry into KPiR or PIT-28 gives it force.

KPiR — entry deadline by 5.01 of the following year. You enter the final stock-count value in the field "year-end physical inventory" (column 15 or in a special field on the last page of the book). The same amount becomes the "opening stock count" in the new book on 1.01.2027. The difference between the opening and closing stock count affects the financial result — a higher closing count = lower current costs = higher taxable income.

Ryczałt — entry in PIT-28 by 30.04.2027. If the stock-count value exceeds 10 000 PLN, you enter it in the appropriate field of the form. Below 10 000 PLN — you do not enter it in PIT-28, but you still prepare the sheet and keep it in the binder (the tax office may ask for it in case of an audit).

If you keep a KPiR, also check cennik usług w salonie wymogi, because the price list and the inventory are two documents that a tax-office inspector checks together at the first audit. The second related document is faktura czy paragon w salonie kiedy — because client returns recorded with a receipt directly affect what you enter on the stock count.

The START 249 PLN pack contains the year-end physical inventory sheet template (.xlsx with formulas and .pdf for printing), a step-by-step filling instruction and a checklist of 14 typical items in a nail salon. Plus templates of a sanitary procedure, price list and client card — a set of basic documents for December 31.

FAQ — Frequently asked questions

Does the inventory apply to a salon on ryczałt?

Yes, since 2023 ryczałt payers have been obliged to report a stock count in PIT-28 if the value of trade goods and materials on December 31 exceeds 10 000 PLN. Below that threshold — you prepare the sheet and keep it in the binder, but you do not enter it in the return. The very act of running an inventory is recommended regardless of the threshold, because the tax office may demand it during an audit.

How to value drill bits in use?

Drill bits in use are not valued at all, because they do not go on the inventory. You enter only new drill bits, in original packaging, never used on a client. The price comes from the last purchase invoice or a weighted average, if you bought drill bits at different prices during the year.

Can I leave the inventory for January?

The inventory has to be carried out physically as of December 31 — that is, counting goods and materials on the shelves on that specific day, preferably in the evening after closing the salon. You can make the KPiR entry by 5.01.2027. If you start the count on 2.01, you are technically counting the stock as of 2.01 and not as of 31.12 — which during a tax-office audit is a procedural error.

What if I have two salons?

You prepare a separate inventory for each location, with the date and the salon address on the sheet. You combine the totals from both sheets only into one final amount in the KPiR or in PIT-28. If each salon has a separate cash register and a separate employee — each sheet is signed by the person responsible for that location. A related topic is jak otworzyć salon paznokci 2026, where the registration obligations for a second location are described.

Where to enter the inventory in KPiR?

In the tax book you have a special field on the last page of the year — "Stock count at year-end" or "Year-end physical inventory on 31.12". You enter there the total value from the sheet, the date of preparation and a signature. In the following year the same amount appears as "Stock count at the start of the year" in the new book. If you keep the KPiR electronically (e.g. wFirma, iFirma, Comarch), the program has a separate field for the stock count — you enter only the final amount from the sheet.