Florist Inventory List: Stems, Hard Goods and Shrink

A florist inventory list keeps two kinds of stock that behave nothing alike. Stems are perishable: each delivery has a day it came in and a few days to sell it, so the list is about which stems to use first, and what gets thrown out is a real cost, called shrink. Hard goods, the vases, foam, ribbon and wrap, keep, so they're counted against a par level and reordered by the case. Tie the two together with arrangement recipes, and you know what a dozen roses really costs. In the example below, a shop has $190.10 of stems in the cooler, two deliveries to use today or tomorrow, a dozen roses in a vase costing $22.02 in flowers and supplies, and $30.40 of stems thrown out this week, 8.9% of what it bought. Below is each sheet, how to read shrink, and a free template.

The short version

• Record each delivery of each stem: the day it came in, stems received and on hand, cost a stem.
• Set how many days your shop sells each stem for; the list works out the sell-by date and what to use first.
• Count hard goods against a par and order in whole packs.
• Write each arrangement as a recipe of stems and hard goods, and cost it.
• Log every stem thrown out, with a reason; shrink is a cost like any other.
• Count stems often and hard goods monthly.
• TaroStack keeps stems by delivery and date and costs every arrangement. More below.

Stems

Fireweed Floral, a made-up florist in Anchorage, Alaska, I use in these examples, counts its cooler on October 14:

"Sell within" is the shop's own rule for how long a stem stays good enough to sell, which depends on the variety, the grower, and how it was handled before it arrived; set it from experience. The hydrangea and the lilies go into today's arrangements, or into a discount bucket, before they're lost. The stems on hand are worth $190.10 at cost. How the same idea works for any dated stock is in inventory list with expiration dates.

Hard goods

The order column fills each item back to par in whole packs. Set the par a little higher before the holidays that empty the vase shelf; how to set a par is in how much inventory to keep on hand.

Arrangements

Each arrangement is a recipe: the dozen roses is 12 roses, 5 stems of eucalyptus, 5 of baby's breath, an 8-inch vase, a yard of ribbon, a card and a packet of flower food, each priced from the other two sheets, plus 20 minutes of design at $20 an hour. When rose prices jump before a holiday, change the cost a stem and every arrangement that uses roses updates. The "left" column still has to pay rent, delivery and the cooler, and cover shrink. How recipe costing works step by step is in steps in recipe costing.

Shrink

That's $30.40 of the $343.50 of stems bought, 8.9%. The reason column is what makes the log useful: lilies opening too far point to buying fewer or selling them faster, hydrangeas wilting to how they're kept, bent necks to the grower or the delivery. A waste log template works the same way for any perishable stock.

Get the template

Download the florist inventory list. Four sheets: stems by delivery, with the sell-by date, days left, what to use first and the value; hard goods against par, with what to order; arrangements, each a recipe of stems and hard goods with its cost, price and what's left; and a shrink log with its cost and its share of the stems bought. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.

Where this stops working

Forty varieties, deliveries twice a week, weddings booked months ahead with their own stem counts, and a holiday when rose prices double. A sheet can't take the stems out of the cooler when an arrangement is sold, say how many roses the weddings already need, or show what each arrangement cost with this week's prices.

How TaroStack does it

TaroStack keeps stems by delivery and date and costs every arrangement.

Stems by delivery and date. Each delivery goes in as a lot with its date and its sell-by, so picking takes the oldest stems first, and stems close to their date show in your alerts.

Arrangements as recipes. Each arrangement is a recipe of its stems and hard goods. Recording what was made takes them off stock at what you paid, so the cost of a dozen roses moves with this week's rose price, and the wedding and event orders are sales orders for their date that show whether the stems are in the cooler while you're still typing.

And the shrink. Throwing out stems is an adjustment with a reason, reported by reason and by item, so you can see whether lilies or hydrangeas cost you most. Margins are reported by product and by customer, and a price-creep report per supplier shows whose prices are rising.

Recipes, batches, lots, adjustments and margins by product and customer are on every plan, from $49 a month. 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.

Questions people also ask

How do florists keep track of inventory?

Count stems by delivery, with the day each came in and how long they sell it for, and count hard goods against a par. Log what's thrown out. The template does all three, with arrangement recipes to cost each design.

What is shrink for a florist?

The stems bought and thrown out unsold. In the example, $30.40 of $343.50 bought, 8.9%, with a reason for each so the causes can be fixed.

How do you cost a floral arrangement?

List its stems and hard goods with their quantities, price each at what you paid, and add your design time. In the example, a dozen red roses in a vase is $22.02 in flowers and supplies and $28.69 with 20 minutes of design.

What should be on a flower shop inventory list?

Each stem with its delivery date, stems on hand, cost and sell-by date; hard goods with their par levels; and a log of what's thrown out.