One of the keys to making smart business decisions is knowing what inventory you have on hand and how much it’s worth.
But you probably already knew that.
What you might not know — especially if you’re just starting your entrepreneurial journey — is how to gather and track all that valuable information.
An Excel inventory template is a great first step toward simplifying a small business’s inventory management. We’ve created a free template to help you take control of your stock, which you can grab here.
And now for the part you really came for — learning how an inventory template works.
What’s an inventory template?
An inventory template is a pre-formatted document, usually a spreadsheet, that helps you organize and track your inventory. Think of it as a framework for recording and managing data like item names, descriptions, quantities, costs, and reorder points.
For startups and small businesses without a lot of products, building an Excel spreadsheet from a free inventory template is a good starting point because it’s accessible and easy to use. Many templates offer more than just the columns and formulas you’ll need for tracking inventory — they may even have space to add your company logo to turn the spreadsheet into an official, branded document. And they’re often customizable, allowing you to add or remove fields to make sure the spreadsheet meets your needs.
Here’s another perk: As your business (and your inventory) grows, working from a template will make it easier to graduate to a more comprehensive software-based solution than a pen-and-paper system. Why? Because most inventory management solutions allow parts and products to be imported via Excel spreadsheets. Thus, a lot of your data preparation is already done when you store inventory information in a spreadsheet.
Who should use inventory templates?
Excel templates are perfect for anyone trying to get a handle on their stock.
Handmade jewelry makers, boutique clothing stores, and other small-scale retailers use a templated inventory spreadsheet to keep tabs on finished goods. Manufacturers use them to track the raw materials they use to create their products, and eCommerce sellers and wholesalers use them to monitor stock levels. You can even use an inventory template to manage personal collections, from comic books to stamps or vintage records.
But an Excel spreadsheet probably won’t be sufficient if you’re running a large-scale operation with complex inventory needs, like multiple warehouses, intricate supply chains, or perishable goods. These situations often require specialized inventory management software with advanced features like lot number tracking and real-time inventory synchronization. If that sounds like you, jump to the end of this article to see how Fishbowl can help.
How to use Fishbowl’s free Excel inventory template
If you’re going to use a free Excel template for managing inventory, you need to make sure it’s a good one. And who better to walk you through organizing your inventory list than a leading provider of inventory management solutions like Fishbowl?
Remember that using a template still requires some manual data entry, plus regular maintenance and auditing to keep your inventory data accurate and up to date. But our free template makes inventory tracking easier by providing a central location to organize things like inventory parts, quantities, and vendors.
Here’s a breakdown of the template’s columns with details about what they help track.
Reorder
This field tells you when you need to reorder a particular item. Having a visual cue helps you prioritize reorders and prevent stockouts — the out-of-stock events that mean you don’t have the inventory to keep up with demand.
Item No.
An item number is the unique identification number you attach to every item in your inventory to help with organization and reference. Assigning numbers to items streamlines inventory tracking, making it easier to locate and manage specific products.
Name
In addition to item numbers, each product should have a concise, descriptive name that follows a naming convention everyone in your organization can count on to easily identify items.
Manufacturer
If you order products from vendors, you can track the manufacturer’s name here. This information is especially helpful for tracking warranties and sourcing information, which you might need to reference to resolve issues or handle returns.
Description
Different from the product description you use to market your items, the details you’ll enter in this field are purely informational for internal use only — just a brief description to help differentiate between similar items and make it easier for staff to know which product’s tracking details they’re looking at.
Price
Note down each item’s list price, or what you charge customers for the good.
Cost per Item
Recording the amount of money you pay for each unit is crucial for calculating profit margins and inventory value. You’ll need this information for pricing decisions, profitability analysis, and accurate financial reporting.
Stock Quantity
You need to know how much stock you have to avoid overselling and make informed purchasing decisions. Update this field whenever an item is sold, purchased, or removed from inventory.
Inventory Cost
Using one of Excel’s many powerful formulas, the Inventory Cost field calculates the total cost of the item’s stock by multiplying the cost per item by the stock quantity, providing a snapshot of your investment in inventory.
Reorder Level
Using sales data and lead times (the time it takes to receive items after reordering), you can set a minimum stock level for each product, triggering a need to create a purchase order when the level gets too low. These data-based reorder levels keep enough inventory to prevent stockouts and meet customer demand.
Days per Reorder
Remember the lead times we just mentioned? Record those here by specifying the average number of days it takes to receive a reorder. This information lets you coordinate reorders strategically to avoid running out of stock.
Item Reorder Quantity
Stockouts are bad for business, but so is overstocking because of holding costs — the money you spend storing your inventory. Reordering the right number of items is key, and you can dictate the ideal number in the Item Reorder Quantity field.
Item Discontinued
If your manufacturer stops producing or selling an item you’d previously ordered from them, mark the item as discontinued to ensure inventory records remain accurate.
Get more efficient — and more confident — with Fishbowl
While an inventory spreadsheet template is an excellent starting point for small businesses, you need a more robust inventory management solution as your business grows. Fishbowl is the all-in-one inventory management solution designed to help you control stock, warehouse operations, manufacturing workflows, and more. With features like barcode scanning, real-time inventory tracking, order management, and reporting, Fishbowl can empower your business to scale and thrive.
If you’ve outgrown your inventory spreadsheet, schedule a demo of Fishbowl, the intuitive, scalable, and user-friendly inventory management platform.