Contents

Build Your Vision

How to Plan Your Inventory

3 min read

You'll have inventory folded into your cash forecast: the cash leaves when you buy stock, even though the cost reaches profit only as each unit sells. Profit and taxes don't change.

Before You Start

  • Where: the "Working Capital" card on a Blueprint's dashboard, between Design and Invest. It shows only when your finalized Design sells products.
  • Plan: free on every plan. The step is optional and never locks anything.
  • Have ready: what your unsold stock cost (not what it will sell for), and how often you restock.

Steps

  1. Enter what's on the shelf. Under "Inventory on the Shelf Today", type the cost of the stock you hold now. It's the opening balance for month 1. An import that found an inventory tab fills it for you.
  2. Choose how purchases are planned. Under "Inventory Purchases", pick one:
    • "My Schedule": click "Add Purchase" for each restock, with an amount, the forecast month of the first purchase and how often it repeats. A twice-a-year buy is one purchase that repeats every 6 months.
    • "Plan For Me": set "Months of cover", "Restock" and "Order" (how far ahead). The restocks are worked out from your forecast and re-planned whenever it changes.
  3. Tick which costs are inventory. Under "Which Costs Are Inventory?", tick the product costs that are goods bought ahead of the sale. Leave costs charged per order, like packaging or a storefront subscription, unticked.
  4. Click "Apply to My Forecast". You're back on the dashboard. Saved with nothing entered, the card reads "No inventory".

Tips

  • After you generate the forecast on Build, "How the Shelf Moves" shows purchases, goods sold and the shelf balance month by month.
  • "The Shelf Runs Empty in Month N" means your purchases don't cover the forecast's sales. From that month, goods count as bought as they sell, so the cash line never looks better than your plan. Buy more, or more often.
  • With "Plan For Me" and a forecast, "Convert to purchases I can edit" turns the plan into a "My Schedule" list.

Common Questions

Why doesn't my profit change?
Profit already counts each product's cost when it sells. Inventory only moves when the cash leaves, so this step changes the cash forecast alone.

Do I lose my schedule if I switch to "Plan For Me"?
No. Only one counts at a time. The other is kept and comes back when you switch.

Can Occam plan it?
Yes. When Occam's Proposal includes a purchase plan, this page offers it with "Use This Plan", which switches you to "Plan For Me".