A commercial kitchen inventory has two lists: the supplies that get used up, sanitizer, gloves, labels, liners, kept against a par level so they're reordered before they run out; and the equipment, ranges, mixers, walk-ins, with what each cost and when it's next serviced. A kitchen that also keeps other people's food, a shared kitchen's members or a co-packer's clients, needs a third rule: their goods aren't on your lists. Below is what goes on each list, a filled-in example with $565.50 of supplies on hand and $663.50 to order, how par levels work, and a free template.
The short version
- Supplies: item, unit, par level, on hand, cost; to order = par − on hand.
- Count supplies weekly, at the same time, before the supplier's order cut-off.
- Equipment: item, quantity, make or serial, date bought, cost, condition, next service.
- Service dates on the equipment list stop the walk-in failing on a Friday night.
- Members' or clients' goods are theirs: keep them off your inventory and your stock value.
- Food ingredients you use in your own products belong on a recipe-costed inventory, not this sheet.
- TaroStack keeps your supplies on a reorder list and others' goods as theirs. More below.
Supplies
Shenandoah Commons Kitchen, a made-up shared kitchen in Harrisonburg, Virginia, I use in these examples, counts its own supplies every Monday:
| Item | Par | On hand | To order | Cost a unit | Value on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanitizer, 1 gal | 6 | 2 | 4 | $18.00 | $36.00 |
| Dish detergent, 5 gal | 2 | 1 | 1 | $64.00 | $64.00 |
| Nitrile gloves, box of 100 | 20 | 7 | 13 | $9.50 | $66.50 |
| Hairnets, box of 100 | 6 | 4 | 2 | $6.00 | $24.00 |
| Paper towels, case | 4 | 1 | 3 | $38.00 | $38.00 |
| Trash bags, 55 gal, case | 3 | 2 | 1 | $42.00 | $84.00 |
| Sanitizer test strips, vial | 4 | 1 | 3 | $12.00 | $12.00 |
| Food labels, roll of 500 | 10 | 3 | 7 | $8.00 | $24.00 |
| Sheet pan liners, pack | 6 | 6 | 0 | $22.00 | $132.00 |
| Plastic wrap, 18 inch roll | 4 | 1 | 3 | $19.00 | $19.00 |
| Fryer filter paper, box | 2 | 1 | 1 | $45.00 | $45.00 |
| Degreaser, 1 gal | 3 | 1 | 2 | $21.00 | $21.00 |
| All supplies | $565.50 |
Getting every supply back to par costs $663.50 this week. A par level is the amount that covers a normal week plus a little: high enough that a busy week doesn't run you out of gloves, low enough that the storeroom isn't full of paper towels. How par levels compare with reorder points is in par level vs reorder point.
Equipment
| Item | Quantity | Bought | Cost | Condition | Next service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Six-burner range with ovens | 2 | Aug 2025 | $4,200 | Good | Feb 2027 |
| Convection oven, double stack | 1 | Aug 2025 | $9,800 | Good | Dec 2026 |
| 60-quart mixer | 1 | Sep 2025 | $7,500 | Good | Mar 2027 |
| Steam kettle, 40 gallon | 1 | Oct 2025 | $11,000 | Good | Dec 2026 |
| Fryer, 50 lb | 1 | Aug 2025 | $2,600 | Fair | Nov 2026 |
| Walk-in cooler | 1 | Jul 2025 | $14,000 | Good | Jan 2027 |
| Walk-in freezer | 1 | Jul 2025 | $16,000 | Good | Jan 2027 |
| Stainless prep tables | 6 | Aug 2025 | $2,400 | Good | |
| Sheet pan racks | 4 | Aug 2025 | $1,000 | Good | |
| Equipment at cost | $68,500 |
The equipment list does two jobs: it's the record your insurer and accountant ask for, and its service column is a maintenance schedule. The fryer marked "fair" with a service due next month is the one to watch.
Whose goods are on your shelves
In a shared kitchen, most of the food in the walk-in belongs to members, not the kitchen. It doesn't go on the kitchen's inventory or into its stock value; it belongs to each member, on their shelves, and the kitchen keeps it for them. The same is true for a co-packer holding a client's ingredients. More examples of inventory sheets are in inventory spreadsheet examples.
Get the template
Download the commercial kitchen inventory template. Two sheets: supplies, where the par level, what's on hand and the cost give what to order, its cost and the value on hand, with items to order in red; and equipment, with quantity, make or serial, date bought, cost, condition and next service, totalled at cost. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A weekly supplies count catches gloves running low on Monday, not on Thursday when a busy week uses them. And thirty members' goods in the walk-in don't fit on a supplies sheet at all, though somebody still has to know whose they are and how much is there.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps your supplies on a reorder list and others' goods as theirs.
Supplies that reorder themselves. Each supply has a reorder point, suggested from how fast it's actually used, and comes up on the reorder list in days of cover, with the supplier's lead time and minimum; an alert says when one drops below its point.
Members' or clients' goods as theirs. With We make or keep goods for clients turned on, a member's or client's goods are their own: received at no cost to you, counted where they sit, released when they take them, and never in your stock value. Each gets a monthly statement.
Counts on a phone. Counting works on a phone, even in a walk-in with no signal, and sends itself later. How a count sheet is laid out is in inventory count sheet example.
| The job | Spreadsheet | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Gloves running low | Found on Monday | Alert below the reorder point |
| What to order this week | Par minus on hand | Reorder list in days of cover |
| Members' goods in the walk-in | Not on the sheet | Theirs, counted and released |
| Counting the walk-in | A clipboard | A phone, offline |
Reorder lists, alerts and counts are on every plan, from $49 a month; keeping members' or clients' goods is on Standard at $99. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.