diff --git a/src/lib/server/stock-items-service.test.ts b/src/lib/server/stock-items-service.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f198b25
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/server/stock-items-service.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, vi } from "vitest";
+
+// --- PocketBase mock ---------------------------------------------------------
+//
+// Hoisted mock so the service module can call `pb.collection(...)`.
+// We seed an in-memory map of `stock_items` rows.
+
+const items = new Map<string, Record<string, unknown>>();
+
+const pb = {
+  collection: (id: string) => ({
+    getFullList: async (opts: { filter?: string; sort?: string; expand?: string } = {}) => {
+      if (id !== "stock_items") throw new Error(`unexpected collection: ${id}`);
+      let rows = Array.from(items.values());
+      if (opts.filter?.includes("is_active = true")) {
+        rows = rows.filter((r) => r.is_active === true);
+      }
+      if (opts.sort) {
+        const dir = opts.sort.startsWith("-") ? -1 : 1;
+        const key = opts.sort.replace(/^-/, "");
+        rows = [...rows].sort((a, b) => {
+          const av = String(a[key] ?? "");
+          const bv = String(b[key] ?? "");
+          return dir * av.localeCompare(bv);
+        });
+      }
+      return rows;
+    },
+  }),
+};
+
+vi.mock("@/lib/server/pocketbase-admin", () => ({
+  getAdminPocketBase: async () => pb,
+}));
+
+import { listStockItemsForStocktake } from "./stock-items-service";
+
+function seed(id: string, fields: Record<string, unknown>) {
+  items.set(id, { id, ...fields });
+}
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  items.clear();
+});
+
+// --- Tests -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe("listStockItemsForStocktake", () => {
+  it("returns active stock items sorted by name with supplier expanded", async () => {
+    seed("si-a", { name: "Widget", sku: "WID-1", location: "A1", unit: "ea", current_qty: 10, is_active: true, supplier: "sup-1" });
+    seed("si-b", { name: "Bracket", sku: "BRK-1", location: "A2", unit: "ea", current_qty: 20, is_active: true, supplier: "sup-1" });
+
+    const result = await listStockItemsForStocktake(pb as never);
+    expect(result.map((r) => r.name)).toEqual(["Bracket", "Widget"]);
+  });
+
+  it("returns an empty array when there are no active stock items", async () => {
+    seed("si-a", { name: "Widget", sku: "WID-1", location: "A1", unit: "ea", current_qty: 10, is_active: false, supplier: "sup-1" });
+    const result = await listStockItemsForStocktake(pb as never);
+    expect(result).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("excludes items with is_active = false", async () => {
+    seed("si-a", { name: "Widget", sku: "WID-1", location: "A1", unit: "ea", current_qty: 10, is_active: true, supplier: "sup-1" });
+    seed("si-b", { name: "Bracket", sku: "BRK-1", location: "A2", unit: "ea", current_qty: 20, is_active: false, supplier: "sup-1" });
+    const result = await listStockItemsForStocktake(pb as never);
+    expect(result.map((r) => r.name)).toEqual(["Widget"]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/server/stock-items-service.ts b/src/lib/server/stock-items-service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3bbb5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/server/stock-items-service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import type { StockItem, Supplier } from "@/lib/types";
+
+/**
+ * PB client type kept loose so both the real `PocketBase` instance
+ * and the test stub satisfy the contract. The service only uses
+ * `pb.collection("stock_items").getFullList(...)`.
+ */
+export type StockItemsPb = {
+  collection: (id: string) => {
+    getFullList: <T = unknown>(opts?: Record<string, unknown>) => Promise<T[]>;
+  };
+};
+
+/**
+ * Fetch every active stock item sorted by name, with the supplier
+ * relation pre-expanded. The "Stocktake PDF" download endpoint
+ * uses this to render the printable stocktake list.
+ *
+ * Differs from the inline `stock_items` reads on the dashboard
+ * page (which filter by `is_active = true` AND sort by `current_qty`)
+ * because a stocktake wants all SKUs alphabetically, not the
+ * low-stock ones first.
+ *
+ * No pagination — the stocktake is always the whole list. If the
+ * catalogue grows past `getFullList`'s default page size, PB will
+ * fetch subsequent pages transparently. The PDF renderer downstream
+ * is the only consumer; if it becomes a bottleneck, this is the
+ * place to swap in a paginated stream.
+ */
+export async function listStockItemsForStocktake(
+  pb: StockItemsPb
+): Promise<StockItem[]> {
+  return (await pb.collection("stock_items").getFullList<StockItem>({
+    filter: "is_active = true",
+    sort: "name",
+    expand: "supplier",
+  })) as StockItem[];
+}
+
+// Re-export the type so the route can alias it without poking
+// into `@/lib/types` directly.
+export type { StockItem, Supplier };