An inventory list is a record of every item you stock, one row per item, with its code, name, unit, cost, price, quantity and location. It matters because every reorder, stock count and stock value starts from it: a wrong row means a wrong order. It is also the file you import when you move to stock software, so its columns matter.
This guide gives each column and why it is there, and a template you can copy with its formulas. The worked example is a Nairobi minimarket, in Kenya shillings, and the same file goes straight into ArmPOS.
What is an inventory list?
An inventory list is the master record of what you stock. It answers three questions at a glance: what is it, how many do we have, and where is it?
It is not the same as a stock card or a count sheet. The USAID Logistics Handbook describes stock cards as one record per product, logging each receipt, issue, loss and adjustment by date.
| Record | What it holds | Use it to |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory list | One row per item: code, name, cost, price, quantity, location, value | See everything at once, reorder and value your stock |
| Stock card (bin card) | One card per item: each movement in and out, with date, reference and balance | Trace where a single item went |
| Count sheet | The items in one area, with a blank for what you count | Check the list against the shelf |
Software merges the first two. Each sale, delivery and return updates the item's row and keeps its history, so the list is always the current one.
What should an inventory list include?
Each row of an inventory list needs a code, name, unit, cost, price, quantity per place and reorder level. The table gives each column, what it holds and why it is there.
| Column | What it holds | Example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| code | One unique code per item you sell separately | SUG-2KG | Two items with one code become one line of wrong stock |
| name | The item as staff and receipts call it, with its size | Sugar 2 kg | "Sugar" alone hides the 1 kg and the 2 kg |
| category | The group it belongs to | Groceries | Lets you count and report one shelf at a time |
| unit | The unit you count and sell in, and the pack you buy in | Packet; bale of 10 | Stops cartons and pieces being added together |
| cost | What one unit cost you, delivered | 330 | Stock is valued at cost, not at price |
| retail_price | What a customer pays for one unit | 380 | Shows the margin on each line |
| stock_alert | The quantity at which you reorder | 20 | Turns the list into a reorder list |
| location | The shelf or rack where it is kept | A1, front shelf | Counters and new staff find it first time |
| quantity by place | One column for each place stock sits | Shop 14, store 30 | The store room is where stock goes missing unseen |
| value | Quantity × cost, by formula | 14,520 | The cash tied up in each line |
| supplier and last counted | Who you buy it from; the date it was last counted | Mombasa Road wholesaler; 3 Oct | Shows where to reorder and which lines are overdue for a count |
The first seven column names are the ones ArmPOS's product import reads, so a list built this way can be imported later as it is. A good code is the column that saves the most mistakes; SKU management shows how to build one.
Value the list at cost. Under IFRS for SMEs (13.4), stock is measured at the lower of cost and selling price less the costs to sell it.
An inventory list template you can copy
The template below is five rows from a minimarket in Nairobi. These are example figures, not a real shop's.
| code | name | cost | On hand (shop + store) | stock_alert | Value at cost | Reorder? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUG-2KG | Sugar 2 kg | 330 | 14 + 30 = 44 | 20 | 14,520 | No |
| VEG-1L | Vegetable oil 1 L | 310 | 9 + 0 = 9 | 12 | 2,790 | Yes |
| SPB-800G | Bar soap 800 g | 165 | 25 + 40 = 65 | 20 | 10,725 | No |
| MLK-500ML | Milk 500 ml | 55 | 30 + 0 = 30 | 36 | 1,650 | Yes |
| RCE-1KG | Rice 1 kg | 180 | 18 + 48 = 66 | 24 | 11,880 | No |
| Total | 41,565 | 2 to order |
Two lines need ordering today: the oil is at 9 against an alert of 12, and the milk at 30 against 36. The other three are well above their alert levels.
At retail prices of 380, 360, 200, 65 and 220, the same stock is worth KES 49,430. So KES 7,865 of gross profit sits on these five lines, if they all sell at full price.
The formulas
Put the code in column A, the name in B and the cost in C. Shop and store quantities go in D and E, and the stock alert in G.
- Total on hand (F2):
=D2+E2 - Value at cost (H2):
=F2*C2 - Reorder flag (I2):
=IF(F2<=G2,"REORDER","") - Total value (H7):
=SUM(H2:H6)
Copy row 2's formulas down to every item. Then filter column I for REORDER, and that list is your order for the day.
How to build an inventory list in five steps
Build the list from the shelf, not from old invoices. Invoices carry lines you no longer stock and miss goods that came in without one.
Step 1: List every item you sell
Walk the shop and the store room shelf by shelf, and write down each item you sell separately. Each size and each colour is its own row: a 1 kg and a 2 kg packet of sugar are two items.
Keep supplies you use up, such as carrier bags and receipt rolls, on a separate list. They are not stock for sale, and tracking consumables covers them.
Step 2: Give each item a code, a name and a unit
Use the maker's barcode as the code where there is one, and a short code of your own where there isn't. Name each item with its size, the way a customer would ask for it.
Decide the unit you sell in, then note the pack you buy in. If sugar comes in bales of 10 packets and sells by the packet, the unit is the packet. Units of measure covers the conversions.
Step 3: Count by place
Count each place on its own: shop floor, store room, each branch. Count sealed cartons and multiply by the pack size, then add the open one.
For example, 3 sealed bales of 10 and 4 loose packets make 34 packets. Writing "3" in the sugar row would undercount it by 31.
Step 4: Add the cost and the price
Take the cost from the latest invoice, including transport, and the price from the shelf. When prices move with the exchange rate, note the invoice date beside the cost, so you know how old it is.
Step 5: Set a reorder level for each item you buy again
The stock alert is the quantity that covers sales until the next delivery arrives, plus a buffer. The reorder point formula works it out from daily sales and the supplier's lead time.
How to keep an inventory list accurate
A list stays right only if every movement reaches it the day it happens. An out-of-date list causes overstock on some lines and empty shelves on others.
- Record every change the same day. Sales, deliveries, customer returns, returns to suppliers, damages and transfers.
- Keep damaged and returned goods apart. Mark them so they are not counted as stock you can sell.
- Count a section every week. One category or one shelf at a time, on a rota that reaches every line. A cycle count sets the rota.
- Use one list. A second copy on another phone or in a notebook soon disagrees with the first.
- Give one person the codes. Only they add items or change codes, so the same product never appears twice.
An accurate list pays off in your inventory turnover. You see which lines sit and which sell out, and you buy more of the second.
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
A spreadsheet inventory list works while one person records every sale and delivery by hand each day. It stops working at four points.
- Sales come faster than anyone can type them. Every sale is entered twice, once at the till and once in the file.
- Two people edit the file. Copies drift apart, and nobody knows which one is right.
- Stock sits in more than one place. Each branch or store room needs its own quantity, and transfers between them get lost.
- You need history, not just totals. A spreadsheet shows today's number, not who changed it or when.
At that point inventory management software keeps the same list, but the till updates it as it sells.
How to build your inventory list in ArmPOS
ArmPOS imports the list you have built and keeps it current from then on. Five steps take it from the spreadsheet to the till.
- Make your units first. The import finds each product's unit by its name or short name, so create them in Products › Unit. A bale of 10 is a unit built on Packet. See Categories, brands and units.
- Import the products. In Products › Import products, choose Single Products and click Download example. Fill in name, code, cost, retail_price, category and unit, plus stock_alert. Save it as XLSX or XLS: a CSV file is refused. See Import products from a spreadsheet.
- Import the quantities by place. Products › Opening Stock takes a file of product_code and qty for one warehouse at a time. If the store room is a second warehouse, run it once for each; your plan sets how many warehouses you can have.
- Say where each product sits. Add your racks and shelves as locations, then fill Internal Location (Rack/Shelf) on the product. See Your warehouse and its locations.
- Read the list any time. Reports › Stock Report shows each product's current stock and exports to Excel. Inventory Valuation multiplies stock on hand by cost. See Stock reports.
The import stops at the first problem, such as a code already used, and adds nothing until the whole file passes. To change many costs and prices later, Products › Import (Update Only) matches each row by code (Find, edit and update products).
Frequently asked questions
What is an inventory list in simple terms?
It is a table of everything you stock, one row per item. Each row shows what the item is, how many you have, where it is and what it cost.
How often should I update my inventory list?
Record every sale, delivery and return the day it happens, and check the list against a count every week, one section at a time.
Can I keep an inventory list in Excel?
Yes, while one person records every movement and you sell from one place. Once two people sell or stock sits in two places, the file falls behind the shelf.
Should an inventory list show cost or selling price?
Show both, and value the stock at cost. Cost tells you the cash tied up; the gap to the selling price is the profit you hope to make.
What is the difference between an inventory list and a stock take?
The list is the record; the stock take is the count that checks it. Stock taking vs stock checking explains the kinds of count.
Build your list this week from the columns above, one place at a time. When you want the till to keep it current for you, create a free ArmPOS account and import the same file.
