An inventory spreadsheet with reorder points that work
Small shops, makers and warehouses often run stock from memory or a messy list until something sells out. This prompt has your todo.is agent build an inventory spreadsheet around your real products: a stock list, a movements log, automatic on-hand counts, reorder points based on your sales speed and lead times, and a low-stock view.
The prompt
- Build an inventory spreadsheet in Excel for my [TYPE OF BUSINESS]. Use my product list [PRODUCT LIST] as a starting point. Sheets: Products (SKU, name, category, supplier, unit cost, sale price, location, lead time in days), Stock Movements (date, SKU, type: received / sold / returned / adjusted, quantity, note) and Stock Levels (on hand calculated from movements with SUMIFS, average daily sales over the last [SALES WINDOW] days, reorder point = average daily sales x lead time + safety stock of [SAFETY STOCK], and a status: OK / Reorder / Out). Add conditional formatting for low stock, a stock value total at cost, a Reorder sheet that lists what to buy and from which supplier, and dropdowns to avoid typos. Include a short how-to sheet.
What to change
- [TYPE OF BUSINESS]: e.g. "a candle shop selling online and at markets" or "a small bike repair workshop".
- [PRODUCT LIST]: Attach your current list (Excel, CSV or a photo of a paper list), or paste it.
- [SALES WINDOW]: e.g. "30" or "90". Longer smooths out busy weeks.
- [SAFETY STOCK]: e.g. "7 days of sales" or "5 units per item".
Example result
- Inventory_Tracker.xlsx · Wick & Ember Candles (example)
- Products sheet
- • SKU: WE-SOY-CED-300 · Name: Cedar Soy Candle 300 g · Category: Candles · Supplier: Northwax · Unit cost: 6.20 · Price: 24.00 · Location: Shelf A2 · Lead time: 14 days
- • 86 products, SKUs built as brand-type-scent-size so they sort logically
- Stock Movements sheet
- • One row per event: 2026-10-06 · WE-SOY-CED-300 · Sold · -3 · Market stall
- • Received stock is positive, sales negative, so on hand is a simple sum
- • Dropdowns for SKU and type stop typos
- Stock Levels sheet
- • On hand: =SUMIFS(Movements[Qty], Movements[SKU], [@SKU])
- • Avg daily sales (30 days): =-SUMIFS(Movements[Qty], Movements[SKU], [@SKU], Movements[Type], "Sold", Movements[Date], ">="&TODAY()-30)/30
- • Reorder point: =ROUNDUP([@[Avg daily]]*([@[Lead time]]+7), 0), which is lead time plus 7 days of safety stock
- • Status: =IF([@[On hand]]<=0, "Out", IF([@[On hand]]<=[@[Reorder point]], "Reorder", "OK"))
- • Red for Out, amber for Reorder
- Example rows
- • Cedar Soy 300 g: on hand 18 · sells 1.4/day · reorder point 30 · Reorder
- • Fig Reed Diffuser: on hand 42 · sells 0.6/day · reorder point 13 · OK
- Reorder sheet
- • Filtered list of Reorder and Out items, grouped by supplier, with a suggested quantity to cover 30 days
- Totals
- • Stock value at cost and at retail, by category
- How-to sheet
- • Log every delivery and sale, do a monthly count and add an "Adjusted" row for differences
- Want a weekly low-stock message? Email me the file every Monday and I will reply with what to reorder.
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and attach your current product list in any format.
- Paste it into todo.is, or send it with the list to your agent on WhatsApp.
- Your agent builds the workbook with formulas, dropdowns and the reorder view.
- Start logging movements. Ask your agent to add barcodes, variants or a second location later.
Tips for a better result
- Use a movements log rather than editing the stock number by hand. You get a history and fewer mistakes.
- Set lead times per supplier honestly, including shipping. Reorder points are only as good as the lead time.
- Count stock physically once a month and log the difference as an adjustment.
- Sell online too? Ask your agent to import your shop's order export into the movements sheet each week.
inventory spreadsheet: FAQ
- How do I make an inventory spreadsheet in Excel? List products with a unique SKU, log every stock movement in a second sheet, and calculate on hand with SUMIFS. Add reorder points and conditional formatting for low stock.
- What is a reorder point? The stock level at which you should order more: average daily sales times the supplier lead time, plus safety stock for surprises.
- Can I use it in Google Sheets? Yes. Import the .xlsx into Google Sheets. Most formulas work, but Excel table references may need simple ranges, which your agent can provide.
- When should I move from a spreadsheet to inventory software? When you have many locations, hundreds of daily orders, or several people editing at once. A spreadsheet works well for most small businesses.
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