Why do my inventory counts and discrepancies keep tripping me up?

You already know how to manage inventory day to day. The trouble starts when the numbers stop matching — you count, and the paper disagrees with what is in your hand. This is not proof you are bad at your job. It is proof your counting process has gaps somewhere — in timing, in method, or in how you record what you find. Blaming yourself for the gap changes nothing. Finding exactly where it opens does. You cannot make every count perfect. No one can. But you can choose a method, apply it the same way every time, and treat each discrepancy as information instead of an insult.