Why Spreadsheets Still Work
Despite the availability of sophisticated inventory management software, many successful Amazon sellers still rely on spreadsheets for inventory tracking. Spreadsheets are free, completely customisable, and require no subscription. For sellers processing up to a few hundred SKUs, a well-designed spreadsheet provides everything you need without adding another monthly cost to your business.
Essential Columns for Your Tracker
At minimum, track: date purchased, source or supplier, product name, ASIN, quantity purchased, unit cost, total cost, expected selling price, expected profit per unit, prep status, date sent to FBA, Amazon shipment ID, and current stock level at Amazon. These columns give you complete visibility from purchase decision through to sale.
Purchase Tracking Tab
Create a dedicated tab for recording every purchase. Include the date, supplier, product details, quantity, and total spend. This tab serves double duty as both an inventory record and a financial record. At any point, you can see exactly how much capital is deployed in unsold stock — a critical number for cash flow management.
Shipment Tracking Tab
Track every shipment to Amazon with its creation date, shipment ID, number of units, destination fulfilment centre, and receiving status. Cross-reference received quantities against sent quantities to catch discrepancies early. This tab is your evidence if you ever need to file a reimbursement claim for lost or miscounted inventory.
Profitability Analysis Tab
Create formulas that calculate profit per unit after all costs: purchase price, prep fees, shipping to Amazon, FBA fees, Amazon referral fees, and advertising spend. This reveals your true profit margin per product and per sourcing trip. Products that look profitable on a quick mental calculation sometimes tell a different story when every cost is properly accounted for.
Dashboard Tab
Build a summary dashboard showing key metrics at a glance: total inventory value, number of active SKUs, average profit margin, capital deployed versus returned, and stock aging. Use conditional formatting to highlight products that have been in stock too long or that have margins below your target threshold.
Moving Beyond Spreadsheets
When your spreadsheet becomes unwieldy — typically around 200 to 300 active SKUs — consider dedicated tools like InventoryLab, Sellerboard, or SoStocked. These automate data import from Amazon, calculate profitability automatically, and provide forecasting features. However, the discipline of maintaining a spreadsheet teaches you what metrics matter, making you a better user of any tool you eventually adopt.