Start with a product list
Give every product a short code (often called a SKU), a name, what it costs you, what you sell it for, and its supplier. Keep variants separate: a mug in two colours is two lines, because you will run out of them at different times.
Log every movement, not just the totals
Instead of overwriting a stock number, record each change: stock received, items sold, returns, damage and corrections. The current count is the sum of those movements. When a number looks wrong, the log tells you why.
Count regularly
Records drift: breakages, miscounts and unrecorded sales add up. Count your stock on a regular schedule, compare it with your records, and log the difference as a correction with a reason. Counting your fastest sellers more often than everything else keeps the job manageable.
Set a reorder point
A reorder point tells you when to order, so you are not deciding by feel. A common way to set one:
Reorder point = average units sold per day x supplier lead time in days + a safety buffer.
Example only: if you sell 4 a day, the supplier takes 10 days, and you keep a buffer of 15, reorder when stock falls to 55. Recalculate it when sales speed up, slow down, or the supplier changes.
Spreadsheet or software?
A spreadsheet works well for most small businesses with up to a few hundred products and one place where stock is kept. Consider dedicated inventory software when you sell the same stock in several places at once, such as a shop and two marketplaces, and keeping counts in sync by hand starts to cause overselling.
Know what your stock is worth
Multiply the units on hand by what each cost you to see how much cash is sitting on your shelves, and by your selling price to see what it could bring in. Stock that has not sold for months is cash you could use elsewhere; consider a sale or bundle to move it.
Counts, value and an order-by date, in one workbook. The Small Business Inventory System logs stock in, out and corrections, and gives on-hand counts, stock value at cost and at your prices, margin, units sold in the last 30 days, days of stock left and an order-by date that allows for supplier lead time. The free Simple Inventory Sheet tracks on-hand counts, stock value and reorder flags.
View in the StoreFrom the Stelaah Store
- ✓Small Business Inventory System. An Excel and Google Sheets inventory system for a small business: stock in and out, on-hand counts, stock value, days of stock left and a reorder list with supplier lead times.
- ✓Small Business Finance Dashboard. An Excel and Google Sheets finance dashboard for a small business: income, expenses, budget, profit and loss, budget vs actual, a 12-month cash flow forecast and break-even.
We build Stelaah and the Stelaah Store. These guides cover the everyday problems our planners, kits and tools are made for, in plain steps you can use with or without them.