An Inventory sheet is a super useful tool for making smart business decisions. This comes with the best information on hand. While some inventory sheets can be somewhat complicated, others are simple and user-friendly. As a matter of fact, it helps the business save time.
Inventory sheets can be a helpful tool for small business owners. It is an essential part of tracking your business. But, some inventory sheets are more complicated than other inventory sheets. There is a suitable inventory sheet for every company regardless of the industry.
What Is an Inventory Sheet?
An inventory sheet helps businesses keep track of the items that they make, sell, and purchase. This information includes materials, ingredients, parts, and supplies. Different companies will track different things on their inventory sheet. Same as the concept of tracking, using a methodical process remains the same.
In the end, you should be able to figure out how much inventory that you have and how much you will need. And, you should be able to plan for how you would like to use that inventory. An inventory sheet can also help you with budgeting and other financial activities.
An inventory sheet is a helpful reference as it allows you to look back at different points in time. It is seeing how much inventory you had and how much was needed.
An inventory sheet can be a tool in perfecting your business dealings. Using this can save you money, time and effort in increasing business effectivity.
Why Do I Need Inventory Sheets?
An inventory sheet is more than just a tracking tool. It can help you pin down points in time where you had too much or too little inventory on hand. By being able to reference this information you can better plan how to hold stock. And how to run your business from a financial standpoint better.
Inventory sheets can be used differently by businesses that don’t deal in material goods. An example is insurance providers. They keep inventory sheets to track collections, clients and, policies. And also some other factors relevant to their business.
Inventory Sheet
A web developer or other technology-based company deals less frequently with intangible goods. In the same way, they may decide to keep an inventory of their projects or services to see their progress over time with different clients.
While this is not a common practice, it’s important to remember that inventory sheets are very versatile. It can be used for all kinds of businesses and freelancers in whatever way best suits them. And also, if you think you need an inventory sheet for your own business. Otherwise, consider what information would be most useful to you. Also, consider altering templates to fit your needs best.
Recommended Inventory Sheets
There are many sources for free inventory sheets online. Some will be easier to use and more accessible than others.
The good news is that you can edit free templates provided online in any way to best suit your needs. Some of these sources will store the information on your computer, while others will save it to the cloud.
You may be concerned about security, long-term storage, and inventory sheet access. Then, you must consider the options listed below and find your best fit.
Excel
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Excel does not have a favorable reputation with users as it is often seen as clunky, difficult to use, and generally not very pretty to look. Most individuals are intimidated by the prospect of creating their inventory sheet from scratch on excel. But, equally frustrated by using the templates.
If this describes your feelings about Excel, take comfort in knowing that Microsoft has listened and has released new templates which are more user-friendly and offer you more control.
Modern Microsoft Excel templates have improved. Furthermore, it now easily allows the user to make necessary changes and additions without having to learn a bunch of menus and tools.
While you will need some Excel knowledge, Microsoft’s online website offers free templates, and there are tutorials available to get you started.
Some tutorials are even posted online by other business owners so that you can get a good idea of how templates work in the real world, and what changes others have made.
Excel has come a long way since the days of poor performing black and white templates that were difficult to use and even more difficult to change. Now many changes can be made with only a few clicks, and the application also has a help bar so you can do a quick search on how to perform different functions.
Google Sheets
Google sheets offer many templates online, and you get the added benefit of having your materials, automatically backed up on Google servers.
This solution may not be perfect for businesses that require more security. But, for others, it is okay to have their information stored elsewhere and allows them to access their documents at any time.
Google sheets also offer their services for free, and you can access and adapt any one of their inventory sheet templates to suit your needs. There is also useful add-on apps that many business owners find helpful in saving time and creating a more user-friendly experience.
It is also possible to open Google Sheets and create your inventory sheet from scratch using any one of their design options and tools. Some business owners may prefer this more straightforward approach. This allows them to have a concise and straightforward list without the need to back up their files.
The best part about Google Sheets is that it will work with other Google products such as Google Forms. This can be a useful tool for adding or removing inventory. Google Forms works by adding a Form to your spreadsheet which is an embedded tool.
Once this tool is created, you can decide what information that pop-up form will collect and it will automatically enter it into the spreadsheet for you. Many users report that the process of using the form is much more user-friendly and helps save some time.
Build Your Own
It is also possible to use a word processing sheet, blank excel sheet, or blank Google Spreadsheet to create your inventory sheet. Or, whatever it is that best suits your needs. Some individuals even use graph paper to track their inventory. A digital method is not a requirement.
However, when building your own sheet you should think carefully about what you would like to include. Look at examples of templates and the work of others. If your needs are straightforward, then making your own inventory sheet may be the best option for you.
If you need a lot of complex information in your inventory sheet, you may find that most of the available templates are not suitable. For instance, it may take you longer to modify one than if you just made your own.
In this case, it may be best to make your own inventory sheet that combines all of the columns you need. In this way, you will save time and stress of making numerous modifications to an existing template.
Other Tips and Tricks
Inventory sheets may be simple documents, but more often than not they are ignored or not adequately used by newer business owners. An inventory sheet can offer a vast amount of helpful information and can even help your business thrive. Here are our tips for creating and maintaining the best inventory sheet for your needs.
Update Frequently
An inventory sheet is most useful when it is updated often enough to provide accurate and timely information for making decisions. How often you need to update the inventory sheet will largely depend on your business. But, each time inventory goes in or out on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis is a good place to start.
When you don’t update the inventory sheet promptly, you are more likely to be looking at outdated information. It will cause you to make decisions based on data that may not accurately reflect your current business position. If you are trying to run a lean business without a lot of waste, this can spell disaster and potentially cause setbacks.
Don’t Be Afraid to Make Changes
Inventory sheets may need to be changed slightly to be useful as a business evolves. The inventory sheet is a helpful reference guide. A guide that should always provide the information you need to make smart business decisions.
You may have experienced changes in your business. Then, it may be a good idea to re-evaluate how the inventory sheet is working for you. Then, check what improvements are appropriate.
Perhaps it is needed to adding another column with notes or other info. Or, maybe you can delete a column that isn’t helpful. You get to decide.
Make It Part of Your System
In business, updating and referencing the inventory sheet should be a natural process. Using your inventory sheet shouldn’t be a dreaded process that takes up time or slows you down.
Make your inventory sheet simple, concise, and easy to access. Make sure that you reference it when you need to, instead of delaying or trying to work without it. Figure out how to meld the inventory sheet into your way of doing things. Don’t hesitate to try out different options if you think it will help improve your workflow.
Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.
Last update on 2024-04-19 at 11:08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Its a good idea when you start your budgeting and not using app.