Why do we need an Inventory Management Spreadsheet?
Inventory control is about discipline and data. Spreadsheets are one of the most popular ways to manage inventory for early-stage retail businesses. We thought we’ll share a simple inventory management spreadsheet template for you to understand and manage your stock better.
Below is a screenshot of what this data will look like. There is also a glossary sheet to better understand the terms.
But first, why manage inventory?
Any retail business looking to succeed has to consider inventory management. In fact, being able to stock just enough and turning it over quickly is the hallmark of a successful retail business.
Today, retailers are not limited by channels. You can sell wherever you want with little to no setup time. When you sell across channels, you do not need the added burden of micromanaging every product in your warehouse. Enter, inventory management.
Why did we put this up? Aren’t we an inventory management software? Well, yes. But Primaseller isn’t just a plain spreadsheet. It’s about live tracking inventory based on orders from all channels and updating all channels with the available inventory. It also supports this across multiple locations. Feel free to check out more about us here.
But until then, if your business is at a very early stage, this file will work just fine to help you get started.
How to manage Inventory using Excel?
Once you have downloaded the excel inventory template, add all your products along with current inventory into the excel.
The fields are:
| SKU Code | (Stock Keeping Unit Code) This is the unique code with which you identify your product – It should be unique across parameters like color, size, shape etc. |
| Name | This is the Name by which you identify the product |
| Supplier Name | Name of the Preferred Supplier of the product |
| UOM | (Unit of Measurement) – This is how you quantify the product – Is it by pieces, pounds, gallons, liters, dozen – Could be as per the typical selling unit or packaging |
| Listing Price | This is the price on the label without any discounts – Also known as MRP/MSRP in some countries |
| Selling Price | Selling price is the actual price at which the product is sold – this does not include, however, transaction level discounts that you may give on particular orders |
| Cost Price | This is the cost at which you purchased the product |
| Stock Quantity | Actual Quantity in hand |
| Stock Value | This is a formula – Stock Quantity * Cost price – as you add rows, you need to drag the formula down in excel |
| Re-order Level | This is the min quantity at which you will raise a purchase order to your supplier for replenishment |
| Need to Re-order | This is a formula based on Stock Quantity and Re-Order Levels – as you add rows, you need to drag the formula down in excel |
Once you have updated all your SKUs in the excel inventory template, every time there is an order, deduct the Stock Quantity accordingly and when there is a Purchase, increase the stock quantity.
If this inventory management spreadsheet is too simple for your needs, we recommend you check out Primaseller’s Inventory Management Software that you can evaluate for your business.
CEO and Founder of Primaseller
