Bakery inventory template

The problem this solves

Most bakeries run inventory on a spreadsheet that was built for a different bakery. It tracks quantities but not batch codes, so when a customer asks which bake their loaf came from, nobody can answer. It tracks cost but not allergens, so the allergen matrix lives in a laminated sheet by the mixer and gets updated late. And it tracks what you have, not what you threw away, so the weekly waste figure is a feeling rather than a number.

The result is familiar: you over-order flour because the count was three days stale, you under-order butter because nobody logged the Tuesday delivery, and the first sign that ground almonds ran out is a baker standing in the dry store at 4am.

What you get

Six tables that already know what a bakery is:

• Ingredients carry a reorder point, a unit, a cost and an allergen, each linked to the supplier it comes from.
• Batches carry a batch code, a bake date, a best-before date derived from the product’s shelf life, and a status that moves from proving through to sold out.
• Products carry shelf life in days, so best-before is a property of the recipe rather than a guess at the point of packing.
• Suppliers carry lead time, which is the number that decides whether a reorder point is right or wrong.
• Stock counts record what was counted against what the system believed, so variance is visible instead of silently overwritten.
• Waste log records quantity, reason and cost value, so “past best before” and “burnt” are separate problems with separate fixes.

How the workflow runs

1. Morning check. The overview opens on what is below its reorder point, sorted by how short you are, with the allergen visible so a substitution decision is not made blind.
2. Sell first. Batches are listed by best-before, soonest at the top. That list is what goes on the front counter board.
3. Count and reconcile. A stock count records the counted quantity against the system quantity rather than replacing it, so a recurring variance on one ingredient becomes a pattern you can see.
4. Log the waste with a reason. The overview totals waste cost by reason. Burnt is a bake problem, past best before is an ordering problem, and separating them is the whole point.
5. Reorder against lead time. Each ingredient’s supplier carries a lead time, so the reorder point is set against how long the flour actually takes to arrive.

Frequently asked questions

Does this handle allergen declarations? Each ingredient carries an allergen, and the overview shows it next to stock levels. It gives you a single place the allergen information lives, which is what makes a declaration maintainable. It is not a substitute for your own compliance process.

Can I change the tables after installing? Yes. The template is a starting point, not a fixed schema. Add fields, rename tables, delete what you do not use. Nothing is locked.

What if I bake to order rather than to stock? Batches still work: the batch code and bake date matter regardless, and best-before is derived from the product’s shelf life. You will likely ignore reorder points on finished products and keep them on ingredients.

How much sample data comes with it? About 120 records across suppliers, ingredients, products, batches, counts and waste, so every view and the overview have something real in them the moment you open it. Delete it when you are ready to put your own data in.

Is it really free to install? Yes, on the free plan. The free plan allows one workspace, so installing a second template means upgrading or removing the first.