Beauty
Salon Retail Product Inventory and Margin Spreadsheet: What to Track and How to Calculate It
By MAXORI Studio · Updated 13 October 2026 · 6 min read
A salon retail inventory and margin spreadsheet needs one row per product with cost, selling price, stock on hand, reorder level and monthly sales. From those columns you can work out what each product earns, which ones are running out and which ones are tying up cash. This guide shows the columns, the formulas and a short monthly routine.
Why track retail products separately
Services usually fill the appointment book, so the shelf of shampoos, treatments, polishes and accessories often runs on habit. Prices are set by feel, orders are placed when someone notices a gap and nobody is sure which products really earn their space.
A simple spreadsheet answers three questions: what does each product earn, what do I need to reorder and what has been sitting on the shelf for months. You do not need special software to start, only a consistent way of recording each product.
The columns your spreadsheet needs
Keep one row per product and one column per fact. The fewer columns you start with, the easier it is to keep them up to date.
- Product name and a short code (SKU) that is unique for each item
- Supplier, so you know where to reorder
- Unit cost: what you pay for one item, as you enter it consistently
- VAT or sales tax rate, if your selling price includes it
- Selling price, and whether the number you type includes tax
- Opening stock, units received, units written off and units sold
- Reorder level and the usual order quantity
- Units sold per month, so you can see which products move
Margin and markup: the two formulas
Margin and markup are often mixed up. Margin is the profit as a share of the selling price. Markup is the profit as a share of the cost. Use the selling price without tax for both, because tax is not yours to keep.
Example with simple numbers: a product costs 8.00 and sells for 15.00 before tax. The profit is 7.00. Margin is 7.00 divided by 15.00, about 46.7 percent. Markup is 7.00 divided by 8.00, about 87.5 percent. Pick one measure, use it everywhere and label the column clearly.
- Take the selling price without tax. If you type prices with tax, divide by one plus the tax rate to get the price without tax.
- Subtract the unit cost to get the profit per unit in money.
- Divide the profit by the price without tax to get the margin in percent.
- Multiply the profit per unit by the units sold to see the total earned in a month.
Stock on hand and reorder level
Stock on hand is opening stock plus units received, minus units written off, minus units sold. Write off anything damaged, expired or used as a sample, otherwise the sheet will always show more than is really on the shelf.
The reorder level is the stock count at which you place an order. A simple way to choose it is to look at how many units you normally sell between placing an order and receiving it, and add a small safety amount. Review the number after a few months, because demand changes with the season.
A monthly review routine
Once a month, update units sold, units received and any write-offs, then read the sheet in this order. It takes a short time when the data is already in one place.
| Question | What to look at | Possible action |
|---|---|---|
| What should I reorder? | Products at or below the reorder level | Place an order for the usual quantity |
| What earns the most? | Profit in money and margin in percent | Give these products good shelf space |
| What is not moving? | Products with no or few sales for several months | Review price, placement or stop reordering |
| How much cash is on the shelf? | Stock value at cost and at retail | Avoid ordering more than you can sell |
| Is the data right? | Duplicate codes, missing costs, prices below cost, negative stock | Correct the entry before relying on the numbers |
Common mistakes to avoid
The most frequent problem is a sheet that is only updated once a year. Another is mixing prices with and without tax in the same column, which makes the margin wrong. A third is using an old cost after the supplier changes the price.
Remember that a spreadsheet only records what you type. It does not connect to a till or a barcode scanner unless you build that yourself. Tax rules and accounting rules differ by country, so treat the sheet as a record-keeping aid and ask a qualified accountant about tax questions.
Questions
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is profit divided by the selling price. Markup is profit divided by the cost. The same product has a lower margin percentage than markup percentage, so always label which one you use.
Should I calculate margin on the price with or without tax?
Use the price without tax, because the tax goes to the authorities and is not profit. Ask your accountant how tax applies in your country.
How do I choose a reorder level?
Estimate the units you sell while waiting for a delivery and add a small safety amount. Adjust it after a few months of real sales data.
Is Excel enough to manage salon retail stock?
For a small range of products, yes. A well-structured workbook with manual entry is enough if you update it regularly. A till or inventory system becomes useful when the range or the volume grows.
Ready-made tools for this
The Salon Retail Stock & Margin Sheet is an Excel workbook for desktop Excel, supplied in English, Italian, Spanish, French and German, each with a fictional DEMO and an empty BLANK version. It covers cost, price with or without tax, stock, reorder alerts, a 12-month sales log and a dashboard with top sellers and slow movers. Entry is manual and VAT rates are values you set yourself; it is a record-keeping tool, not tax or accounting advice.
