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However, if your products are turning over so fast that you feel like you can’t keep up (and are possibly even leaving orders unfulfilled), you might need to make some adjustments to decrease your turnover ratio. It means you’re fulfilling a demand and efficiently moving your products without having them sit on the shelf for months on end. A large business that does millions of dollars in sales will naturally have a much higher number than a one-person operation.īut, generally, a higher inventory ratio is better. It all depends on your individual business and the sorts of products you sell. What is considered a strong inventory turnover ratio? Is there a benchmark number that you should be aiming for? What is considered a “good” inventory turnover ratio? It’s often smart to run both of these formulas to get a clearer idea of how efficiently you’re running your business. The second is more accurate, but it requires a few more details to calculate.
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The first is easy to calculate and gives an overall picture, but it doesn’t account for markup or seasonal cycles. So, which one should you use? Both of these equations have their pros and cons. “But, wait!” you’re thinking now, “That’s way different than the number the first formula gave me!” That’s true-these methods will spit out different results. This indicates that you are turning over your inventory nearly six times each year. Using this method, you would divide your cost of goods sold by your average inventory balance. In doing so, you will discover that your average product is on the shelf for less than one day.Ĭost of Goods Sold ÷ Your Average Inventory To figure out how many days you have inventory on hand, you just need to divide that number by 365. This means you turn over your entire amount of inventory a little over 17 times each year. There are actually two different ways to calculate your inventory turnover:ĭuring the year, let’s say you do about $70,000 in sales, and your average inventory balance is around $4,000. It uses numbers you should already have in your balance sheets and financial reports. Inventory turnover might sound complex, but the math behind it is really quite simple. It could also indicate that your products are priced low-maybe too low. Too high of turnover rate, and you run the risk of running out of product.
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However, there are some challenges here as well. If your inventory turnover is high? For the most part, that’s good news! Your goods are in demand and you’re moving product efficiently. Business owners who discover that their turnover needs some improvement might need to make some tweaks to their approach, such as lowering prices or changing products. If your inventory turnover is low, that usually means your sales are on the weaker side-products are sitting around for quite some time before actually being sold. This number is helpful not only for better managing your products and supply levels, but also for getting a general feel for how your business is performing Inventory turnover is the percentage of your inventory that you sell during a specified period of time.
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