Which system should I use to keep track of my inventory? Do I manage inventory in Excel? Or do I go with inventory software? Let’s compare inventory in Excel with inventory software.

⏱️TIMESTAMPS⏱️
0:00 Inventory in Excel vs inventory software
0:14 Basic Excel inventory spreadsheet
0:50 Advanced inventory management functionality
1:11 Advanced inventory management spreadsheet
2:39 Why and how to choose inventory software
4:05 Importing data into inventory software
4:52 Benefits of inventory software
6:22 Tracking inventory availability
7:36 Automated low stock level notifications
7:47 Showrooms and barcodes
8:20 Inventory software integrations to platforms
9:03 Working capital management in inventory software

If you are looking for powerful #inventory software that’s easy to use, then try inFlow inventory management software for free: https://partnerstack.inflowinventory.com/ExcelVsSoftware

In a previous video, I built a simple spreadsheet that helps track inventory. The basic idea, or inventory equation, is that for each accounting period the opening inventory plus purchases (incoming stock) minus shipments (outgoing stock) equals ending inventory. In order to build a spreadsheet like this, only a minimal level of understanding of how to use Excel is needed. Straightforward Excel formulas like VLOOKUP, SUMIF, and IFERROR help you standardize the spreadsheet, and gain some efficiency.

So where do I go from here? What is the next step in my inventory system? I want to add more functionality! I could dive deeper into Excel, use more advanced Excel formulas, and apply Visual Basic (VBA) to upgrade my inventory spreadsheet. Or I could start using inventory software.

If I choose the route of diving deeper into Excel, I can use the existing license or subscription to Microsoft Office that I already have. I will have to invest my own time and effort to build a more advanced #inventorymanagement spreadsheet. It might seem that this time and effort is “free”, but there is an opportunity cost involved here: I could be using my time for other aspects of my business, like marketing, which could help me grow my business faster. If I keep track of inventory in Excel, I will start with building the functionality in my spreadsheet that I need most. For a small business that does its inventory management mostly desktop-based, and with a single user, this could be the way to go.

If I go the route of enhancing my inventory system in Excel, I want to learn to build transaction data entry screens, I want to build sales and margin tracking functionality, and I want to build a robust purchasing spreadsheet to track my inventory on order and payments to suppliers.

But what if I reach the limit? The limit of my Excel skills, or the limit of what Excel is capable of doing? I could be lacking the technical skills to build an advanced inventory management spreadsheet in Excel, or get to the level where my inventory management needs outgrow the level of spreadsheets. Switching to inventory software might be the way to go!

If I choose to start using inventory software, like inFlow, I subscribe to a plan that fits me based on things like my number of team members, number of inventory locations, and number of sales orders by month. That gives me access to more than one hundred features in the inventory software, plus built-in as well as custom reports. inFlow inventory software is hosted securely in the cloud, and can be accessed from anywhere, from desktop or mobile, by multiple users at the same time. If I have a larger team, I can set access rights by user: some team members just need access to the sales orders, others to just purchase orders, etcetera.

The central question in deciding whether to manage inventory in Excel, or use inventory software, is: what’s my core competence, running spreadsheets or running a business?

If you are looking for powerful #inventorysoftware that’s easy to use, then try InFlow inventory management software for free: https://inflow.grsm.io/ExcelVsSoftware

Philip de Vroe (The Finance Storyteller) aims to make accounting, finance and investing enjoyable and easier to understand. Learn the business and accounting vocabulary to join the conversation with your CEO at your company. Understand how financial statements work in order to make better investing decisions. Philip delivers finance training in various formats: YouTube videos, livestreams, classroom sessions, and webinars. Connect with me through Linked In!

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