Work Tools and Templates 12 Free Inventory Templates to Keep You Organized
When you’re running a project, it’s easy to misjudge the amount of project resources it requires, which can eventually lead to production issues and missed deadlines. So, you need to be keenly aware of every little item your project will need by keeping a detailed and up-to-date inventory list.
However, it’s not enough to just jot down every item as you think of it, without any rhyme or reason. You need to pay close attention to every aspect of every item your organization owns.
Today, I’ll try to alleviate a piece of that burden — by offering you 12 free inventory templates, for Excel, Google Sheets, Google Docs, Word, or print, that will fit different occasions and necessities.
Table of Contents
Best inventory templates
There are many different ways you can track your inventory — and I’ll talk a bit later about setting up tracking to fit your own needs.
For now, let’s take a look at the templates I’ve made that blend simplicity and utility to create the best experience.
Simple inventory template
This template is the most elementary inventory sheet you could get, while still containing all the crucial columns:
- Item number,
- Name,
- Location,
- Quantity,
- Unit value,
- Total value (which is calculated automatically using a formula that multiplies the previous 2),
- Description, and
- Supplier.
This template is useful for any type of inventory management and is especially suited for small businesses that have had no prior experience with inventory tracking.
Download the simple inventory template:
Inventory management template
Whether you’re a project manager or not, you could benefit from project management software for inventory management.
Luckily, Plaky offers an inventory management template that you can make use of, helping you keep your inventory management right where your other work is — as opposed to an external link that is shared around your team.
You’ll find that Plaky’s template is a lot more customizable than a spreadsheet, as well as easier to use with a more appealing interface. You can set up different field types to track different aspects of your inventory.
The status and tag fields lend themselves best to customization — both can hold completely custom values. The status field is great for item values that are one-or-the-other, like size or location. The tag field can serve for values that can coexist, like color.
At the bottom of every appropriate field, there’s an automatic summary row, which helps you keep track of the total values of each field. What’s great about it, unlike the other templates here, is that it works on tags and status fields as well — so you can see the distribution of values just by looking at the colors of a certain field.
With Plaky’s template, you can keep your team in the loop by having them notified of changes to the inventory, automatically and without the need for an external app.
Google Docs and Word inventory template
The simple inventory template can be compacted into an even simpler version, which can fit on an A4 size page in Google Docs or Word.
By compacting the most important elements from our spreadsheets, I’ve made a document version of the inventory tracker.
Unfortunately, though, tables in this format don’t have formulas, so you’ll have to calculate the total value of your items on your own. This template is best used when you need to do quick inventory rundowns or when you check inventory regularly.
Download the inventory list template:
Printable simple inventory template
While digital copies are safe in the cloud, plenty of organizations like to have physical copies of their reports, including inventory lists.
Therefore, I made a printable simple inventory template and a printable inventory list template — so you can pick and choose which one suits your needs best.
One is more detailed, the other more streamlined. One is vertical, the other horizontal. Both allow for clear and concise manual inventory tracking.
Download the printable inventory templates:
Inventory log template
Over time, you’ll make changes to your inventory — especially if your project scope grows. Whether it’s ordering new materials or sending out products, you’ll want to keep track of any major changes to your inventory list.
The inventory log template is made for this very purpose — to keep track of all major changes made to your inventory. Just input the current quantity of an inventory item and the appropriate change in quantity, and the template will automatically input the new inventory state.
Download the inventory log template:
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Inventory checklist template
This template aims to help you keep a more detailed record of your inventory, as well as track whether a reorder is necessary. Just input the stock levels that tell you when reorders are necessary, and if an item’s quantity goes under that level, the reorder column will notify you.
Apart from reorders, this template also tracks the overall value of your inventory, as well as specific items’ status, condition, etc.
Download the inventory checklist template:
Asset tracking template
This template helps you keep track of every piece of equipment, machinery, or tool for your project. This type of inventory will last you a while — but even machinery is still expendable, which means you need to keep track of when you bought it, what state it’s in, and whether additional ones are needed.
Just like the previous templates, this asset tracking template is simple yet effective. It allows you to track item purchase info, as well as more details on the item itself, like the item’s model and serial number, as well as a photo.
Unfortunately, Google Sheets doesn’t support a drag-and-drop option for adding images, but you can always add them manually or link to them in the appropriate cell.
Download the asset tracking template:
Equipment inventory template
This template focuses on the fact that your equipment is expendable and helps you determine just how much that type of inventory costs you. These numbers will help you determine how valuable an item is to your company, especially over time.
It can also be used to determine when equipment needs to be replaced. The equipment inventory template uses parameters associated with depreciation to help you make more informed decisions about replacing items in the future.
Download the equipment inventory template:
IT inventory template
In IT, you need to make sure the software you use is always up-to-date and appropriately licensed. You need to keep track of who installed the software, so you can contact them in case of any future issues.
The IT inventory template aims to help you keep track of all of this relevant information and more. Keep track of all of your software-based inventory in this template.
Download the IT inventory template:
Restaurant inventory template
As a high-stress, high-paced environment, restaurants need to keep every bit of organization as put together as possible to prevent a disaster. A restaurant’s inventory needs to be detailed and precise — otherwise, a customer might end up without a meal.
So, I made this template as concise, yet detailed as possible — with multiple categories for the types of stock inventory a restaurant might have, precise unit measurements, and clearly assigned responsible parties.
Download the restaurant inventory template:
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Purchase order & inventory template
Imagine this — you’re keeping track of inventory on the checklist template when you notice that a reorder is due. You place a new order and go on with your day.
Tomorrow, before your order arrives, a colleague notices the same thing and places an order as well — overstocking on that item by the time both orders arrive. This minor lapse in communication can lead to large financial damage to the project.
So, I’ve designed this template to keep a detailed track of all orders, to avoid this very issue. Unlike the checklist template, purchase order & inventory lets you track the order’s status of delivery in more detail.
Download the purchase order & inventory template:
Home inventory template
Let’s do an exercise — close your eyes and list every item in your living room. Even though you spend loads of time there, it’s really difficult, isn’t it?
So, you want to make sure that in the extreme and unfortunate circumstances where a disaster strikes — like a fire, storm, or even theft — you have a list of all your belongings. This home inventory template was made for this very purpose.
Download the home inventory template:
Personal inventory template
The personal inventory template is similar to the last one, though its utility lies more in organizing personal items by categories, rather than their insurance value in the case of a disaster.
This template is more suited to situations like — for example — having to move and making sure every bit of your personal belongings is organized and accounted for.
Download the personal inventory template:
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Want to check out more templates for managing your personal life? Take a look at this article:
How do I create an inventory template?
But, what if none of these templates are exactly right for you? Even though you can customize them, maybe you want to start from scratch. So, let’s look at some fundamentals for making inventory tracking templates in Google Sheets.
First, to quickly improve aesthetics and visual clarity — you can turn off gridlines in Google Sheets, and only apply them where it’ll be relevant to your spreadsheet.
Next, you can color in the column names a bit darker or lighter than the rest of the table.
Quick tip — if you have the table rows alternate between slightly darker and lighter versions of the same color, you’ll be able to read the information from them with minimal effort.
Now come the contents of the table — which you will determine by figuring out what’s relevant to the task at hand, as well as your inventory system.
If your project uses large amounts of raw materials, you want to set up a reorder column. If your project has a large IT team, you want to accommodate parameters for tracking software as inventory.
When you create the summary column, which calculates by quantity and unit value, go to the first empty cell, and type in a function. To create a function, type “=” and follow it up with the cell letter and number of the first quantity value — for example, “E3”. Then, type “*” and follow it up with the first cell of the unit value, let’s say “F3”. Now just hit enter, and the table will do the rest.
After this, you can grab the first total value cell in the bottom-right corner and drag that all the way down the column. This will apply the formula to every cell you pass. And for the record, formulas are extremely useful in Sheets, so don’t be afraid to play around and learn how to use them.
It is most important, though, to try to implement a way to track quantities and the overall value of your items, as well as having columns that give a detailed description of what the item is and why it’s needed for the project.
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Does Excel have an inventory template?
Yes, Excel offers plenty of inventory management templates for you to choose from. Though they’re less detailed than most I’ve offered in this article, they’re a good starting point to get a hang of using spreadsheets to track inventory.
Their home inventory and personal inventory templates are especially useful, as they’re more fleshed out than the rest.
Does Google Sheets have a template for inventory?
Google Sheets has a very limited choice when it comes to templates. The best option you can go for is installing the Template Gallery for Sheets from the Google Workspace Marketplace, and even then, your options are quite limited.
However, Sheets is still a great option for creating your own templates and inventory spreadsheets.
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If you’re still unsure of whether to use Sheets or Excel, check out this article, which tells you just how well they fare against each other:
Use Plaky to track inventory with ease
Ultimately, when dealing with large amounts of information, especially that which needs to be stored and analyzed, digital options are always best.
Keeping track of inventory is a piece of cake when you use a tool as powerful and versatile as Plaky.
Besides the template I’ve showcased, Plaky also makes it easy to create a board from scratch. Like I mentioned, the wide array of customization options lets you create exactly the inventory tracking board you specifically need.
Aside from this, a useful option is to duplicate your items. If you have to create more items that are very similar, you can avoid wasting time and inputting every field value manually, and just duplicate the first item and change up whichever value is different.
Whether you’re tracking office supplies or software subscriptions, you’ll be able to create an inventory list that will boost productivity, reduce costs, and even reduce project risk — with minimal effort.
Now, all that’s left is to count how many spare bolts are in the storage room.
By now, we’ve seen how useful it is to connect your inventory tracking with your PM tool of choice. Plaky is the perfect tool for this instance, with its wide array of options and customizations. So, if you’d like to keep your inventory in check, sign up for a free Plaky account today.
