Inventory how-to

How to report on inventory to a business partner

Keep it short and focused on three things: what you have, what it's worth, and what's coming or going out of stock.

Short answer: Keep it short and focused on three things: what you have, what it's worth, and what's coming or going out of stock. Pull the numbers from your store admin and any supplier paperwork, put them in a simple sheet, and send it on a fixed schedule so your partner knows when to expect it.

What to include

A useful inventory report for a partner covers current stock levels by product or variant, total inventory value at cost, items that are low on stock or out of stock, and items on order from suppliers with expected arrival dates. If your partner cares about cash flow, add how much money is tied up in open purchase orders.

Keep it consistent

Use the same format every time so your partner can compare period to period. A simple spreadsheet with one tab per month, or one row added per week, works fine for most small stores. Avoid changing column names or units halfway through the year.

Decide on frequency

Weekly is common if the business is active and stock moves fast. Monthly is fine for slower-moving catalogs or if the report is mainly for financial oversight. Agree on a day and stick to it, so your partner isn't chasing you for numbers.

What not to mix in

Keep this report separate from accounting statements. Inventory reports are about units and stock health, not tax or profit and loss. If your partner wants financial reporting, that should come from your bookkeeping records, not your stock sheet.

Step by step

  1. List every active SKU with current on-hand quantity and unit cost
  2. Calculate total inventory value by multiplying on-hand by cost per unit
  3. Flag SKUs below their reorder point or already out of stock
  4. List open purchase orders with supplier, quantity, and expected arrival date
  5. Add a short summary line at the top: total value, number of low-stock items, number of open orders
  6. Export or copy this into a shared sheet or send as a PDF
  7. Repeat on the same schedule each week or month

Worked example

Say a store carries 40 SKUs. At month end, on-hand units total 3,200 across all variants, with an average cost of 8 dollars, giving a total inventory value of 25,600 dollars. Six SKUs are below their reorder point, and the store has two open purchase orders worth 4,100 dollars combined, expected in 10 and 18 days. The report to the partner is one page: total value 25,600 dollars, 6 low-stock items listed by name, and the 4,100 dollars in incoming stock with dates.

How SteadyShelf helps

SteadyShelf does not generate a partner-facing report, but it does give you clean inputs for one: current forecasts, order-by dates, and purchase order status including what's been sent and what's been received. You still need to copy those numbers into your own sheet or document to share with a partner.

$29/month flat, unlimited products and suppliers, 30-day free trial. Run the numbers now with the free reorder point calculator.

SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.

Related guides

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FAQ

Should I give my partner login access to my store admin instead of sending reports?

That depends on how involved your partner is day to day. Direct access saves you reporting time but gives them visibility into everything, including orders and customer data, so many store owners prefer a scheduled summary instead.

How do I report on inventory value if my costs change between orders?

Use a simple average cost per unit based on your most recent purchase orders, or track cost per batch if you need more precision. Keep the method consistent across reports so changes in value reflect real stock movement, not a change in how you calculate it.

Let SteadyShelf do this math for every SKU

Order-by dates per supplier, seasonal forecasts and draft POs for your Shopify store. $29/month after a 30-day free trial.

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