Download: inventory spreadsheet (CSV). It opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets; the formulas in the example row calculate once the file is opened.
Most small businesses start inventory in a spreadsheet, and many should stay there longer than software vendors suggest. A sheet is free, flexible and already familiar. What it does poorly is control who changed what when several people edit, keep two sales channels in sync, and follow a lot number through a sale without a separate ledger. This page gives you a template built for the first job and a plain test for when it stops being enough. It is our method, not a vendor's.
For whom: a shop, maker or small wholesaler with one stock location and one person keeping the sheet. Not for: a business that already sells on several channels or ships from more than one location; start at free inventory software.
What the template tracks
| Column | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| SKU, item name, location, unit | One row per item per location, so counts stay unambiguous |
| Quantity on hand, unit cost, stock value | Stock value = quantity × unit cost, the figure your accountant asks for at year end |
| Average daily usage, supplier lead time, safety stock | The three inputs to a reorder point |
| Reorder point, reorder quantity, supplier | When the quantity on hand falls to the reorder point, order the reorder quantity |
| Last counted, counted by | Who counted what, and when; the trail you need when numbers disagree |
The reorder point. Daily usage × lead time in days + safety stock. If you sell 3 a day, your supplier takes 7 days and you keep 6 as a buffer, reorder when you are down to 27. Set safety stock from experience: how many days of late deliveries you have actually seen.
Keep the evidence. The IRS expects a business to keep the records that support its income and costs; for inventory that means purchase invoices and your counts, not only the final sheet. Save a dated copy after each full count instead of overwriting the same file.
Four signs the spreadsheet is done
- Several people edit stock. Google Sheets and Excel allow co-editing, but a shared sheet has no locked receiving or sales workflow: someone sells the last unit while someone else receives a delivery, and it takes discipline to keep the count right.
- A second sales channel. A web store and a counter selling the same stock need an automatic decrement; a sheet updated at night oversells by day.
- Lots, batches or expiry dates. This template has no lot-level ledger; following a lot from receipt to sale would need one row per lot and manual matching on every sale.
- A second location. Transfers between locations are two edits that must happen together; in a sheet they rarely do.
Our pick
Keep the template while none of the four signs apply. It is free and it is enough.
At the first sign, look at software, and check that the plan handles the reason you are moving. For a simple catalog, a free tier is the cheapest start: Sortly if you mostly count things (its free plan covers 100 unique items for one user), Zoho Inventory if you mostly fill orders (its free plan covers 50 orders for one user and one location). Both are single-user on the free tier, and their free-plan pages do not establish lot tracking or multichannel sync, so for signs 1 to 4 confirm the paid plan that covers the need before you move.
For the move itself, see how to migrate from spreadsheets.
Traceable evidence
Sources for this decision
- regulatorWhat kind of records should I keep?Internal Revenue Service · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: IRS examples of business records and supporting documents that should be retained; it does not validate an inventory ledger or accounting method.Open source ↗
- vendorSortly official product siteSortly · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Small teams evaluating visual item tracking, mobile counts, and straightforward asset or supply control. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorZoho Inventory official product siteZoho Inventory · checked Aug 5, 2026 · supports: Vendor-published product scope used to verify capabilities relevant to this buyer context: Small businesses evaluating inventory and order management within the Zoho ecosystem. It does not prove the guide's fit verdict, configured performance, current pricing or compliance.Open source ↗
- vendorSortly pricing page, plan limitsSortly · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Sortly's pricing page as read on October 27, 2026: a Free plan with 100 unique items (quantities not counted), one user license and one custom field, the Advanced plan at a list monthly price with a first-year promotion for new customers on yearly billing, and a 14-day trial requiring a card; it does not show which scanning features the free plan includes.Open source ↗
- vendorZoho Inventory pricing page, plan limitsZoho · checked Oct 27, 2026 · supports: Zoho Inventory's US pricing page as read on October 27, 2026: a Free plan with 50 orders, one user and one location, and the Standard plan at a per-organization monthly price billed annually with 500 orders a month, three users and two locations; it does not state the free plan's order period or prove fit.Open source ↗