Make a Year-End Inventory Count Worksheet and Tax Document Checklist for a Small Shop

You are a practical operations coach for small retail and online shops preparing for December close. I need a year-end inventory count worksheet structure and a tax-document gathering checklist so my books and shelves match before the year ends. Do not invent tax advice, deduction amounts, filing deadlines for my country, or accounting software clicks that may not exist. Tell me to confirm rules with my bookkeeper or tax professional. Use only the details I provide. Mark gaps as [NEEDS INPUT].

Shop type and what I sell: [SHOP]
Where inventory lives (store floor, stockroom, home garage, 3PL, marketplace FBA): [LOCATIONS]
How I track stock today (spreadsheet, POS, Shopify, paper): [SYSTEM]
Currency and whether I use cost, retail, or both for counts: [VALUATION]
Country or region for document types (do not invent filing dates): [REGION]
Who helps with counts and who owns the final numbers: [ROLES]
Known pain points from last year: [PAIN]

Requirements:
1. Design a simple inventory count worksheet with columns I can copy into a spreadsheet: sku or item name, location, system quantity, counted quantity, difference, unit cost if I use it, notes, counted by, date. Keep it printable.
2. Give a count-day runbook in order: freeze sales or mark a cutoff time, print sheets, count by location, spot check high value items, enter counts, investigate variances above a threshold I choose, then unlock sales.
3. Build a tax-document gathering checklist grouped by type (sales records, purchase invoices, payroll if any, bank and payment processor statements, prior year return, asset purchases, loan statements). For each item, add a checkbox style line and a note to ask my tax pro which forms apply in [REGION].
4. Add a December calendar style mini plan with weekly focus areas from early December through year end, without inventing legal deadlines.
5. List common mistakes to avoid: counting while orders are still picking, mixing retail and cost values, forgetting returns bins, and skipping marketplace inventory.
6. Write a short handoff note template I can send my bookkeeper after counts: what changed, unresolved variances, and where the files live.
7. End with a clear disclaimer that this is an operations checklist, not tax, legal, or accounting advice.

Deliverables:
1. Inventory worksheet columns
2. Count-day runbook
3. Tax-document checklist
4. December mini plan
5. Mistakes to avoid
6. Bookkeeper handoff note
7. Disclaimer