Inventory Finance Tracker

What it does

The template links your physical stock to its financial cost so inventory stops being a blind spot. For each item you record opening quantity, purchases, sales, and closing quantity, along with unit cost and total value, and the sheet computes how much cash is sitting in stock at any time. It calculates inventory turnover — how many times your stock sells through in a period — and the equivalent days-on-hand, so you can tell fast movers from money-trappers. A holding-cost view adds the silent costs of storage, interest on the cash tied up, and the risk of spoilage or obsolescence. The result is a clear answer to the question most SMEs never quite ask: how much of my working capital is parked in the godown, and is it earning its keep?

Who it’s for

• Traders and distributors carrying broad SKU ranges with varying sell-through.
• Manufacturers holding raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods.
• Retailers managing seasonal or perishable stock that ages quickly.
• Agri-input dealers and rice mills holding fertiliser, seed, or grain between cycles.

Fields included

How to use it

1. List each item or SKU with its opening quantity and unit cost.
2. Record purchases and sales through the period to arrive at closing quantity.
3. Let the sheet value closing stock and total the cash currently locked in inventory.
4. Review inventory turnover and days-on-hand for each line to spot slow movers.
5. Add holding cost — storage, interest on tied-up cash, spoilage risk — for a true cost view.
6. Flag items with high days-on-hand and decide whether to discount, return, or stop reordering.
7. Reorder fast movers to target stock levels and reinvest the cash freed from dead stock.

Preview

Example workflow

Balaji Stationery in Nagpur holds ₹12,00,000 of stock across 300 SKUs. The tracker shows fast movers — A4 paper and pens — turning over 12 times a year (about 30 days on hand), while a range of branded planners bought for a festival promotion has turned just twice, sitting 180 days on hand and tying up ₹2,20,000. With an overdraft costing 11% a year, that dead stock is silently burning roughly ₹24,000 in interest annually before any spoilage. The owner runs a clearance discount to recover ₹1,70,000 in cash, stops reordering the slow line, and redirects the freed money into the fast movers — lifting overall turnover and easing the constant pressure on the current account.