Minimalistic workspace with abstract green and white blocks

Inventory tracking

Create inventory tracker spreadsheets to support sustainable inventory management with Microsoft Excel.

Record and manage stock with free inventory tracking templates

Start with free inventory management spreadsheets from Excel to order, manage and analyze your inventory. Optimize carrying costs and uncover usage patterns with inventory history so you can respond to demand fluctuations or supply chain issues. 

Start with free inventory tracking templates

Reduce time generating inventory spreadsheets with free templates in Excel. Choose a warehouse inventory template to track stock levels or an equipment inventory template to monitor asset usage. Use templates that highlight reorder status with conditional formatting and tailored calculation formulas.

Purple and white Excel spreadsheet template for inventory management.

Customize your inventory structure

Easily customize Excel inventory templates to reflect your business operations setup and size. Track SKUs, barcodes, item names, suppliers, unit cost, reorder level, and more. Monitor across categories like raw materials and finished goods or tools and parts.

Woman standing in front of shelves with boxes, speaking to someone off-camera.

Use a transaction log for inventory tracking

Create a linked transaction log to record every stock change and keep the inventory up to date. Record things like the date, quantity, type, and amount, then use formulas and linked cells to update the master inventory list.

Laptop showing Excel spreadsheet with transaction log entries for inventory updates.

Ensure accuracy with built-in functions

Use built-in formulas to flag inventory restocks and add up conditional totals accurately. Set your reorder points and highlight items to replenish with the IF formula in Excel. Calculate total count or costs for specific items with the SUMIF function.

Illustration of Excel data validation settings to restrict input values in inventory fields.

Prevent errors with data validation

Restrict cell entries to specific values to reduce errors. Set transaction columns to accept values, or format your product column to only accept valid SKUs. Have Excel set up alerts if entries are invalid for the column transaction type.

Illustration of Excel data validation settings to restrict input values in inventory fields.

Collaborate and assign permissions 

Share your inventory tracker spreadsheet with team members and co-author in real-time online. Protect the sheet and restrict access to specific ranges or cells. Give view-only access to lenders, investors, or donors to back up your growth projections.

Screenshot of sharing options in Microsoft Teams or similar collaboration tool.

Create and analyze with Copilot

Let Copilot in Excel suggest and execute AI functionality to improve workflows. Have Copilot set up a new inventory sheet based on your raw data, and generate a prompt to analyze usage over the past weeks or months to estimate how long current stock will last.

Illustration of Microsoft Copilot AI assistant analysing spreadsheet data for inventory insights.

Benefits of inventory tracking systems

  • Get real-time stock visibility for accurate inventory.

  • Reduce manual errors with built-in formulas.

  • Automate low stock alerts to reorder products in time.

  • Analyze inventory trends to forecast demand.

  • Avoid wasting resources by holding too much inventory.

Screenshots highlighting benefits of inventory tracking such as real-time stock visibility, reduced manual effort, and improved reporting.

How to create an inventory tracker in Excel

  1. Choose an inventory tracker template and add item IDs, descriptions, categories, and costs 

  2. Use data validation to control input types 

  3. Flag low- or no-stock items with conditional validation 

  4. Set up a transaction log to record every movement and link the sheet to your inventory 

  5. Organize your inventory by supplier or store/warehouse location 

User interface for creating a blank spreadsheet

Frequently asked questions

Start tracking inventory online with Microsoft Excel