Stock In, Stock Out, Stock Left: Turn Your Inventory Sheet into an App

To turn an inventory spreadsheet into an app, split it into four linked tables (Items, Stock In, Stock Out and Locations) and let the app calculate stock left for each item instead of typing it. In Ambisius you can do this on the free plan: staff log goods in and out from a form on their phone, and a Low stock view shows what to reorder.

Why the stock sheet stops adding up

Most small warehouses, shops and distributors start with one sheet: a row per item, a column for stock, and someone updating the number at the end of the day. It works until two people edit the file at once, a SUMIF range misses the new rows, or someone types a number over the formula. Then the figure on the screen no longer matches the shelf, and the only way to find out why is a full stock count.

The same item also ends up under three names, like "Bolt M8", "bolt m8" and "M8 Bolt", and each one has its own stock. And on a phone, a wide grid with tiny cells is the last thing a warehouse worker wants to touch while carrying a box.

The fix isn't a cleverer formula. It's separating the things you track. Items are one list. Every time goods arrive or leave, that's a new record in its own table, linked to the item. Stock left is never typed; it's worked out from those records.

Flip the switch to see the same stock movements as a spreadsheet and as linked tables in Ambisius.

What you'll set up

Four tables, the same ones in the Warehouse Stock template. Items holds each product or part once, with its unit and a minimum stock. Stock In records goods arriving: which item, how many, the date, where they were put and the supplier's delivery note number. Stock Out records goods leaving: which item, how many, the date and what they were for. Locations lists your warehouses, storerooms or shelves, so every movement says where it happened.

Stock In and Stock Out link to Items, so staff pick the item from a list instead of typing its name. No more duplicates, and if you rename an item once, every movement shows the new name.

Track stock in, stock out and stock left in 5 steps

1. Create the Items table with Name, Unit (a Single Select with pcs, box, kg) and Minimum stock (a Number).
2. Create Stock In and Stock Out, each with Quantity (Number), Date, and a relation to Items and to Locations. One item now has many stock-in and stock-out records.
3. On Items, add two Rollups: Total in, the sum of Quantity from Stock In, and Total out, the sum of Quantity from Stock Out.
4. Add a Formula and describe it in plain words: "Stock left is Total in minus Total out." Then a second one: "Stock status is Low if Stock left is at or below Minimum stock, otherwise OK."
5. Filter Items to Stock status is Low and use Save as to keep it as a new view called Low stock. Pin it to the workspace's Dashboards page so it's the first thing you see.

Try it here: log goods in or out and watch stock left and the status change. Switch to the Low stock view to see only what needs reordering.

From now on, stock left updates by itself every time someone saves a stock-in or stock-out record. Because it's a Formula, it has no input and never appears in the form, so nobody can overwrite it by accident. To review the week, filter Stock Out by Date with the This week preset, or by Location to see what left one storeroom.

Staff log movements on their phones

Warehouse staff don't need a laptop or a grid. In the Ambisius mobile app for Android and iOS, each table shows as cards, and + Add Data opens a form: pick the item, type the quantity, choose the location, tap Submit. Add an Image property and they can take a photo of the delivery note or a damaged carton with the camera, right inside the form.

As the Owner or an Admin, you can build a short custom form for each job. A "Goods received" form might show only Item, Quantity and Photo, with Item and Quantity set to Required, and Location hidden with your main warehouse as its Default value. Staff choose the form from the tabs at the top of + Add Data.

Staff join as Members with no seat cost, and you decide what they can change. Set Items to Restricted with staff as Viewer: they can check what's in stock but can't edit item details or minimums, while Stock In and Stock Out stay open for them to add records. Add the Created by property to Stock In and Stock Out to see who entered each movement.

Questions people ask

Start from the Warehouse Stock template: Items, Stock In, Stock Out and Locations, ready for your own items.