Inventory Management: Why Spreadsheets Fall Short & Better Solutions

Does your business really need an inventory spreadsheet template or does it need a holistic solution? 

You can find tons of websites offering inventory spreadsheet templates but this page is not one of them. What’s our issue with an inventory spreadsheet template? Don’t get us wrong. We think spreadsheets are great for metrics and analytics, but they are just not made for tracking inventory or monitoring stock levels – simply because they are not designed for your inventory needs.

We're going to show you why...

What an inventory spreadsheet template is used for

The main aim of creating and using an inventory spreadsheet template is to track your inventory – the inflows and outflows, so you keep up to date with your stock levels and movements. An inventory spreadsheet template is usually a table containing columns for inventory number, item description, purchase price, stock reorder level, quantity, and location.

Advantages of using an inventory spreadsheet template

Most people already know the basic functions of a spreadsheet and how to use them, so there is not much of a learning curve there.

Inventory spreadsheet templates are also pre-built into your Microsoft Office Suite (which you most likely, already own), making it a practical solution that is free of charge and easily accessible.

Limitations of using spreadsheets to track inventory

So spreadsheets may be a cost effective way for business owners to start out but they will eventually face challenges when their business grows and the spreadsheets no longer meet their requirements.

To elaborate, using an inventory spreadsheet template to monitor stock levels is largely a manual process. Your spreadsheet does not get updated automatically every time a sale or purchase is made. Also, you have to keep reminding yourself when to order more products so that you won’t end up understocked. The administration and tracking of inventory activities has to be done in your head when using an inventory spreadsheet template.

In addition, using a spreadsheet to track inventory makes it hard for the whole team to collaborate and update the template. Many differing edits and versions of a single inventory spreadsheet file may be created as a result of this, leading to confusion and more time wasted in sorting out and coming up with the ‘final’ and ‘most updated’ version.

More often than not, this method of monitoring inventory leads to an increase in manpower and time wastage, level of stress across the team, and human error. This is a very real question facing most businesses today. To keep operations as they are conducted now via spreadsheets? Or to take the leap of technological faith and reach for a software as a solution (Saas)?

Finding a holistic solution for your inventory needs

Businesses can no longer survive by relying on outdated processes such as using a spreadsheet, to keep an eye on inventory. One of the biggest elements holding businesses back from growth and scaling is the use of spreadsheets to control their inventory.

The time and manual work needed to maintain your inventory spreadsheets can be saved by using a sophisticated yet simple inventory management solution. TradeGecko's cloud-based software can improve your productivity and team collaboration, so step into the cloud today.