Free restaurant inventory spreadsheet with par levels

Count your stock, see what it is worth and what to order to get back to par, then work out your actual food cost for the period. One Excel file that also opens in Google Sheets. No sign-up.

Download the inventory spreadsheet (.xlsx)

What is in the file

Inventory sheet: 150 rows for item, category, count unit, cost per unit, par level and on-hand count. It shows the value on hand, the quantity to order to reach par and the cost of that order. Columns have filters, so you can sort by storage area.
Food cost sheet: beginning inventory + purchases − ending inventory, divided by food sales, for your actual food cost %.
Instructions sheet: how to set par levels and how to count faster.

What it looks like

Sample count with par levels
Item	Unit cost	Par	On hand	Value	Order
Chicken breast, 40 lb case	$128.00	4	2.5	$320.00	1.5
Fryer oil, 35 lb	$46.00	7	3	$138.00	4
Fries, 6 × 5 lb	$39.00	10	6	$234.00	4
Lime juice, 1 qt	$7.50	6	6	$45.00	0

How to set a par level

Par is the amount you need on the shelf to last until the next delivery, plus a safety buffer.

Par = usage per day × days between deliveries + safety stock. If you use 6 jugs of fryer oil a week, get one delivery a week and keep one spare, par is 7. Order the gap between par and what you count.

Start with a buffer of about 10% to 20% of a delivery cycle's usage. Lower it for items that spoil and for items your vendor can bring the next day.

How to calculate actual food cost

Take inventory at the start and end of the period, at cost.
Cost of goods used = beginning inventory + purchases − ending inventory.
Food cost % = cost of goods used ÷ food sales for the same period.

Example: $8,400 + $12,600 − $7,900 = $13,100 used. On $41,000 of food sales, that is a 32% food cost. Compare it with the theoretical cost from your recipe costs; the gap is waste, theft, portioning or a count error.

Questions

How often should a restaurant take inventory?

Count high-cost items such as proteins and liquor weekly, and do a full count at least monthly, always at the same time of day and in the same shelf order.

Does this inventory template work in Google Sheets?

Yes. Upload the file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets. The formulas and filters carry over.

What is the difference between par and reorder point?

Par is the level you order back up to. A reorder point is the level that triggers an order. With a fixed delivery day, most restaurants just order the gap to par each time.

Can my POS track inventory instead?

Many can. Toast and Square offer inventory features, and back-office tools such as MarginEdge and Restaurant365 pull prices from invoices. A spreadsheet is still the fastest way to start and to check what the software says.

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